Rama, Sita and Lakshmana Return to Ayodhya
ca. 1850-1900
Rajput School (1500-1899)
11 1/4 x 17 15/16 in. (28.6 x 45.6 cm)
Indian artist
India
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver and gold paint on paper
Credit Line:
Gift of Helen H. Reiff in memory of Robert F. Reiff
Accession Number:
1983.55
Location: Not currently on view
This painting shows a scene at the end of the epic Indian poem, The Ramayana. Rama and Lakshmana have saved Sita and they all fly home on the aerial chariot Pushpaka to see Rama crowned king of Ayodhya. They ride with twenty-three million monkeys and bears who helped them defeat the demon king Ravana. When Ravana asked Brahma to make him indestructible to gods and demons, he underestimated the power of ordinary men and animals, who became his downfall after his abduction of Rama's wife, Sita.