“Sita at Ashokavana”
This ink and color on paper piece by an unknown artist dates to 16th century India. It’s an image from the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic poem written by Valmiki.
The Ramayana tells the story of Rama, one of the most popular deities of the Hindu religion. As the result of a power struggle, just prior to his coronation to be King, Rama, his wife, Sita, and Rama’s brother, Lakshmana, were banished from their homeland. While they were living in the forest, Sita was abducted by Ravana, a demon king.
This scene here depicts Ravana attempting to convince Sita to marry him. Fortunately, Sita is rescued by her love and husband, Rama, before she is forced to marry the demon king. The caption to “Sita at Ashokavana” reads “Arrived on the island of Lanka, Hanuman has shrunk in size, and eventually finds Sita near a dazzling white temple in a grove of ashoka trees within the palace complex. She is seated on the ground like an ascetic, withdrawn from worldly pleasures to reach spiritual enlightenment, and sunk in melancholy.
From his perch in a tree Hanuman can see her guarded by women demons and surrounded by Ravana’s wives, the daughters of gods and other divine creatures whom he had already captured. Ravana, who has ten heads and twenty arms, comes to beg her to marry him, but she repulses him. If she does not change her mind, Ravana threatens, he will have her killed. One of his wives seeks to divert him, but he strides angrily away.”
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