Hanuman in the Underworld
(Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok)
A mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple depicts Hanuman in two places as he travels through the underworld landscape in pursuit of Ravana’s hidden soul container. Huge pink flowering lotus plants and boulders dominate the scene. Hanuman is visible standing on a boulder in the upper right, and again at the bottom center.
As in many of the Emerald Buddha Temple murals, multiple images of the same characters appear in different positions on a single landscape to represent sequential movement in the Ramayana story. Once Hanuman learns from Ravana’s demon brother that Ravana’s soul is stored separately from his body, Hanuman travels through the underworld on his journey to seek the soul container.
