Sunday, December 25, 2016

Image: Rama and Lakshmana Fallen



(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)
Sita flies over the battlefield where she sees
Rama and Lakshmana are fallen,
Indrajit in battle
Ravana in court / Sita in the Ashoka grove

From the Library site: Indrajit, Ravana's son and a great magician, has made himself invisible and has pierced Rama and Laksmana with his magic weapons. Sahib Din suggests his invisibility by having him appear over the horizon (top left). Rama and Laksmana lie on the battlefield ensnared in these serpentine weapons, while the monkeys give way to despair. Indrajit returns in triumph to his father Ravana, who rises from his seat to congratulate him. Ravana then makes one of the female demons take Sita in his magic chariot over the battlefield to see her husband and his brother apparently lying slain. They are eventually released from their serpentine coils by the god Visnu's mount, the eagle Garuda, who comes down from heaven to rescue them.

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