Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit the hermitage of the sage Bharadvaja at Prayaga, from Chapter 48 of the Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey) (c. 1650): Art, History and Detai

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit the hermitage of the sage Bharadvaja at Prayaga, from Chapter 48 of the Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey) (c. 1650) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In a scene from their exile in the forest, the royal party arrives at the hermitage of a sage who greets him with folded hands. The blue Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana bow slightly in respect to the sage. The hermitage appears luxurious, with floral ornament inlaid in marble, bottles in niches, and an entrance similar to Mughal viewing windows.

Object facts

• Title: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit the hermitage of the sage Bharadvaja at Prayaga, from Chapter 48 of the Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)
• Date: c. 1650
• Culture: Central India, Malwa Region, Madhya Pradesh
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 18.1 x 15.6 cm (7 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.129

A detail from the museum

Prayaga is the sacred site where the Ganges, Yamuna, and Sarasvati Rivers converge, formerly known as Allahabad.

Collection credit

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.