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Indra Visits Sita in Ravana's Garden

c. 1775-1780
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
After 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.

Object Details

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