The Ramayana (Adventures of Rama) narrates the epic saga of the valiant Prince Rama and his dutiful wife, Princess Sita, who was abducted by Ravana, the arrogant ten-headed King of Lanka (probably modern Sri Lanka), during Rama's unjust fourteen-year forest exile from his capital of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. To rescue Sita, Rama and his faithful brother Lakshmana assembled a great army of monkeys and bears led by the Monkey-King Sugriva and his Monkey-General Hanuman. After several magical battles, the princess was freed, and the happy couple triumphantly returned home to rule their kingdom. Rama and Sita epitomize the ideal ruler and the paragon of fidelity in Hindu culture.
This illustration is from Book 6 (Yuddha kanda). It depicts the enthroned Ravana at court with his demonic legions. The pale-skinned crowned man kneeling in front of Ravana may be Lakshmana, who in some accounts was sent by Rama to ask Ravana, a renowned astrologer, for an auspicious date to attack Lanka. Despite Ravana’s arrogance and hostility towards Rama, he was forced to reveal an appropriate date because of his dharma as an astrologer.
This folio is from a dispersed Ramayana serries attributed to Guler or Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, circa 1850. Another folio from this series depicting the giant demon Kumbhakarna paying obeisance to his older brother Ravana was formerly in the Paul F. Walter Collection.
