Image: Rama, Sugriva, and Jambavan

Rama Receives Sugriva, King of the Monkeys,

and Jambavat, the King of the Bears. 

Folio from a Ramayana

Date: ca. 1605

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC)

You can read more about Rama, Sugriva, and Jambavan at Wikipedia.

Details below:

Image: Battle at Lanka

Ramayana Battle Scene

(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: Rama has divided his forces, sending the chief monkeys with their separate armies to the four gates of the city. The allies launch a general attack on Lanka, in which many marvellous feats of skill and daring are performed. Rama has sent Angada to Ravana with a message about his impending doom. Enraged, Ravana orders him to be put to death but Angada breaks free (top right) and creates havoc among the demons before escaping. Ravana ascends to the roof of his palace and orders a sortie. Sahib Din combines a bird's eye viewpoint with a conceptual rendering of Lanka allowing him to use a great depth in his paintings in this book.

Detail: Angada's Mission; battles scenes.

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: Happy Reign

Rama reigns happily as king.

(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: The seventh and last book begins with Rama and Sita enthroned in Ayodhya, where Rama questions the various assembled sages about the history of Ravana and his ancestors. The resulting answers take up half of the book. When the story begins again, Rama and Sita are seen together relaxing and enjoying wine and music played by nymphs in the ashoka grove filled with wonderful trees, flowers and fruits in the gardens of the palace at Ayodhya. These are their last untroubled moments together.

Detail:

Image: Rama Battles Thataka

Rama Battles Thataka

circa 1750

(Victoria and Albert Museum)

You can read more about Thataka at Wikipedia.

Image: Dasharatha and Rama

Dasharatha and Rama

circa 1700

(Victoria and Albert Museum)

From the Museum site: This painting shows King Dasaratha embracing his son, Rama, who is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. It is an illustration of a scene from the great Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Rama, depicted blue-skinned, reassures Dasaratha, who was anxious about Rama’s safety after his confrontation with Parasurama, in an episode from the first book of the Ramayana. The three princes on horseback in front of the chariot are Rama's brothers. The painting is part of a series formerly in the ancestral collection of Raja Raghbir Singh of Shangri, descendant of the rulers of Kulu, in the Punjab Hills of northern India.

Detail:

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 rejects Surpanakha

Rama rejects Shurpanakha,
illustration by Warwick Goble
(Image source)

You can read more about Shurpanakha at Wikipedia.

Image: Ahalya bows to Rama

Ahalya bows to Rama

(from the Freer Ramayana)

More about Ahalya at Wikipedia.

Detail:

Image: Rama

Image source: Rama

Image: Sita's ordeal by fire

Image source: Sita's ordeal by fire as Rama watches

Detail:

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: Rama, Laksmana and Sugriva

Rama, Laksmana and Sugriva
(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: Sugriva has been brought to his senses and has come with his court to Rama's cave on the Prasravana mountain. Rama, Laksmana and Sugriva are seated on a rocky eminence of pinky brown, with a jade background, with other monkeys below them. Sugriva divides his forces and sends them out to search the four quarters for Sita. He sends Hanuman and his nephew Angada to search the southern region. Convinced that the sagacious and mighty Hanuman will locate Sita, Rama gives him his ring as a token that Hanuman is his messenger. Around them monkeys spring forth to the other three quarters. This is the most dramatic of the paintings in this book; especially effective is the way the springing monkeys are painted against an almost black background.

Detail:

Hanuman, Rama, and Sita

Hanuman, Rama, and Sita, with Lakshmana
circa 1780
(San Diego Museum of Art)


Detail of Hanuman:

Image: Battle of Lanka

The battle of Lanka
Ravana wounds Lakshmana; Hanuman attacks Ravana
(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: Ravana has sent out his mightiest warriors to fight the monkey leaders in single combat, but each in turn has been destroyed. He himself took the field, fighting many of the greatest warriors in turn, until he was faced by Laksmana. Pierced in his breast by Ravana's spear, Laksmana falls unconscious to the ground. Meanwhile Hanuman rushes to Ravana's chariot and strikes him with his fist. Ravana reels from this great buffet and falls in a faint. Hanuman picks up Laksmana and carries him tenderly off the battlefield to Rama, at whose feet he lays him down.

Details:

Image: Rama gives his ring to Hanuman

Rama gives his ring to Hanuman to take to Sita

(illustration by K. Venkatappa
from Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists)

Image: Rama and Hanuman

Rama and Hanuman in a Ramlila performance

(Image source)

Image: Hanuman

Hanuman Carrying Rama and Lakshmana
Rajasthan, circa 1800
(British Museum)

For more about Hanuman see Wikipedia.

Image: Indrajit in Battle

Indrajit in Battle

(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: Ravana's magician son Indrajit again advances on the monkey army, having brewed magic potions to make himself invisible at need. From his chariot and from the sky, where he is invisible, Indrajit overwhelms all the monkey leaders as well as Rama and Laksmana with his Brahma-weapons. They lie prostrate on the ground, riddled with arrows. Vibhisana and Hanuman seek out the wise bear Jambavan (also riddled with arrows), who tells Hanuman to look for the medicinal herbs which grow on the peaks of the Himalayas. Hanuman, using his power as the son of the wind god, assumes his true enormous size before taking off to cross the whole length of India.

You can read about the Indrajit's nagapasha, or snake-noose, at Wikipedia: "Upon impact, this weapon would bind the target in coils of living venomous snakes. In the Ramayana, it was used against Rama and Lakshmana by Indrajit."

Details: Indrajit; Hanuman in Giant Size

Image: Rama and Hanuman battle Ravana

Rama and Hanuman battle Ravana
Tanjore or Trichinopoly, Tamil Nadu; circa 1820
(Image source: British Museum)

From the Museum site: Rama is borne by Hanuman, and in the foreground a vanara is in the act of slaying a Rakshasa.

Detail: