Indian and Himalayan Art Indra Visits Sita in Ravana's Garden or made in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia c. 1775-80 Artist/maker unknown, India Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Currently not on view 1977-11-1 Purchased with the Katharine Levin Farrell Fund and the John T. Morris Fund, 1977 |
LabelAfter kidnapping Sita, the demon king Ravana imprisons her in his palace on the island of Lanka. There she is guarded night and day by demonesses. Overwhelmed by her grief and longing for Rama, she has become emaciated. This nighttime scene shows Sita on a golden throne amid the geometric flowerbeds of the palace garden. Her guardians have been magically cast into sleep and Indra-identifiable by the many eyes on his body-appears before her. The god humbly offers Sita a bowl of food, holding a cloth below it as if he were her servant. |
