Image: Ramayana Embroidery

Rumal with Scenes from the Ramayana 

embroidery, 18th century

(Metropolitan Museum of Art)

From the Museum website:
At the upper right, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana bid farewell to Rama's mother before their exile in the forest. The middle scene depicts Ravana, disguised as an ascetic, attempting to seduce Sita in the forest while her husband is hunting a golden deer sent by Ravana as a diversion. Sita is abducted by Ravana and next seen imprisoned in his palace on Lanka (lower left). Finally, Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, and the monkey and bear armies cross Nala's bridge to Lanka and advance on Ravana's fortress, slaying Ravana. Returning to the center of the embroidery, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana depart in triumph, carried on palanquins.

You can find out more about the Ramayana at Wikipedia.

Details:

Rama and his army march to Lanka

Ravana with Sita as his prisoner

Rama Battles Ravana

Image: Rama Pronounces Judgment

Harvard Art Museum

Thai Rubbing from the West Wall of the Temple of Wat Po, Bangkok; Rama Asks Sugrib to Decide Punishment for Hanuman and Nilabad; forms complete illustration with 1960.4.87

More information from the Thai Temple Rubbings website

Image: Rama and Sugriva; Rama and Vali

Rama and Sugriva;

Rama and Vali

West Bengal, Murshidabad, circa 1770-1775

(LACMA)

You can read more about Vali at Wikipedia.

Details:

Image: Rama's coronation

Image source: Rama's coronation.
Even the gods are in attendance:
you can see Shiva and Brahma in the front,
and Ganesha is also there in the back.

Image: Hanuman (from the Ramakien)

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

(Wikimedia)

Hanuman, from the Ramakien:
Hanuman enlarges his body to protect Rama's pavilion
Here is more from the image description at Wikimedia:
Hanuman swallows the pavilion of Ram to protect him from Maiyarap (Ahiravan), the demon king of the underworld.

Detail:

Anandajoti Bhikkhu at Flickr

From the Thai Rubbings website:

Detail:

Image: Hanuman Looks for Sita

Hanuman Looks for Sita
(Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok)

More information from the NCPedia website:

Sequential images of Hanuman looking for Sita in the demon Ravana's palace are seen on a Ramayana mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. The two adjacent images illustrate how framed space is used to indicate time lapses in Thai temple mural paintings. Hanuman, the white monkey god, appears in two different rooms, seemingly at once. When the viewer moves from left to right to view the painted scenes, however, the understanding intended is that Hanuman first checked the left room for Sita, and then the right room. The right image also is painted as if it were slightly in front of the left one, overlapping it, and thereby leaving it behind in the past. In a sense, the murals move to the right much like a comic book or a slow motion version of film movies where one image follows another to convey the plot action and passage of time.

Also of interest here is the way the demons' bedrooms are depicted. The two fierce demons are both asleep facing front with their top arms around beautiful women partners. Lavishly clothed and crowned, the demons and their female consorts sleep side-by-side with their heads on wedge-shaped pillows. The couples are sleeping on cloth-covered platforms.

In the Ramayana story, when Hanuman does not find Sita hidden in these demon bedrooms, he moves on to hunt for her elsewhere on Ravana's island of Lanka. He will find her hidden in the forest.

From the Thai Rubbings website:

Details:

Image: Hanuman and the herb mountain

Hanuman and the herb mountain

(Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok)

More information from the NCPedia website:

Hanuman climbs a mountain to obtain herbal medicine ingredients, as seen in a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. A giant white Hanuman scales a mountain about double his height to find medicinal herbs for Laksman. Hanuman's arms are stretched upward and he wears golden clothes and ornaments. Hanuman's smaller monkey troops follow behind him, running on the ground and waving their swords. Two house roofs are visible at right and the sun is covered with aqua-colored clouds.

In the Ramayana story, when Hanuman tries to delay time by physically stopping the Sun, the Sun replies that is not possible. Instead, the Sun offers to rise the next morning covered by clouds so that Hanuman has enough time to collect the herbs needed to heal Laksman's poisoned spear wound before the deadline set for Laksman's death.

From the Thai Rubbings website:

Image: Hanuman Makes a Bridge

(Wikimedia)

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

(Anandajoti Bhikkhu at Flickr)

Hanuman Makes a Bridge

Thai Rubbings website:

Details:

Image: Sahatsadecha and Hanuman

Sahatsadecha and Hanuman

Thao Sahasadecha shoots the Sith arrow at Hanuman

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

Detail:

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

Anandajoti Bhikkhu at Flickr

Anandajoti Bhikkhu at Flickr

Thai Rubbings Website:

Image: Indrajit's Ceremony

Champhoowaraj turns into a huge bear and bites the Rothan tree to disrupt Intarachit's nagabat arrow ceremony

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

NCPedia:

Hanuman in disguise as a bear watches Ravana's demons making magical poisoned arrows, as seen in a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple.

Ravana's demon son Intarachit sits upon a royal daybed in the forest in front of a giant tree stump as he makes the arrows. The poisoned arrows are treated with serpent venom and are intended to kill any enemy they strike. Ravana's demon courtiers watch in two groups at the lower left and right, while sepents providing the venom wriggle on the ground in the center.

Unnoticed, Hanuman is seen here in normal appearance at the right of the tree stump. Then, disguised as a bear, he watches from the giant tree stump above the demons as they make their arrows. He is using his special powers to interfere with the demons' effort to make the arrows deadly. The arrows then will fail to kill and defeat Rama's army in the next battle.

In the Ramayana, after Laksman recovers from his poisoned spear wound, Rama enters battle directly to meet Ravana's brother Kumprakarn who speared Laksman. Rama kills Kumprakarn, further enraging the demon king Ravana who turns to his son Intarachit. Intarachit has special powers of invincibility and can make magic weapons such as deadly arrows poisoned with serpent venom. Hanuman, disguised as a bear, interferes with the demon magic and ensures that the arrows will not be fatal, but rather will turn into snakes as they fall.

From the Thai Rubbings Site:

Details:

Image: Suvannamaccha and Hanuman

Suvannamaccha and Hanuman

(photo by Warakorn Tanadkij in Chiangmai)

Image: Khon mask postage stamps

Khon mask postage stamps

(photos by David Clay)