Rituals
Historical background
Weddings and festivals provide the artists with a scope to explore religious rituals and at the same time courtly etiquette, dress, and ornaments in great detail.
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row: Kuni (Manthara) and Kaikeyi; Kaikeyi in the ‘sulking’ room; Kaikeyi obtains from Dasharatha that her son, Bharata, will be crowned instead of Rama; Dasharatha is broken-hearted; A chariot is sent to fetch Rama and Sita; Vasishtha talks to them and sends a messenger to the queens; Second row: Guha and a second person pay homage to
the exiles and ferry them across the river; The exiles reach Bharadvaja’s hermitage; They cross the Yamuna on a raft and walk ahead through the forest; Third row: Dasharatha’s funeral cortege, and cremation; Mourning scene; Fourth row: Bharata and his followers cross the river and proceed towards Mt Chitrakuta.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Ceiling (from left to right and then from right to left and so on); Top row: The bridal procession leaves Mithila; They meet Parashurama; King Dasharatha falls at his feet; Rama challenges Parashurama; Second row: Wanting to test Rama, Parashurama asks him to demolish the staircase he built by piling up the bodies of the kings he had killed, which enabled his own ancestors to reach svarga (i.e. heaven) easily. Rama does so; Third row: Parashurama bestows his bow upon Rama and departs; Fourth row: The party arrives in Ayodhya and is greeted by a welcoming committee.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall, ceiling
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Ceiling (from left to right and then from right to left and so on), last two rows: Life in Ayodhya; Bharata and Shatrughna leave to visit their uncle Kekaya (?); Rama and Sita bathe in a tank under the gaze of Vasishtha and two other ascetics.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall, ceiling
Date: mid-19th century
Description: From top to bottom: Rama fights against the rakshasas; Rama beneath a tree and watches Sugriva valiantly fighting agains Ravana’s troops; Ravana in council; Ravana enters the fray and wounds Lakshmana; Rama on Indra’s chariot and Hanuman on foot, fight against Ravana; The heads and the limbs of the rakshasa warriors fly through the sky and land in the hands of their wives; Ghost-like creatures fight on Ravana’s side, but are routed by Rama; A heavenly chariot appears, Dasharatha accompanied by a host of celestials descends to meet Rama, Lakshmana and Sita; Vibhishana arranges for the pushpaka vimana (aerial chariot) to take Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and the allies back to Ayodhya; The allies board the chariot; During the flight, Hanuman spots a temple; He jumps off the chariot and pays homage to the enshrined deities; Hanuman, hands Rama’s ring to Bharata, just at the moment when he was entering the fire; The aerial chariot arrives on Mt Chitrakuta at the ashram of Bharadvaja; He hosts a meal for Rama and his allies; The pushpaka vimana lands in Nandigrama, where Bharata is worshipping Rama’s sandals; The allies confer with Bharadvaja (?); Music and dance; Preparations for a yajna; Rama and Sita discard their old clothes.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row (left): Rama and Sugriva look at the victims on the battlefield; Council scene; (right) Ravana in council; Second row (left): Ravana’s cremation; Vibhishana mourns his brother’s death; Rakshasa priests comfort him; Ablutions after Ravana’s
last rites; Rama in council; Third row: The pushpaka vimana (aerial chariot) flies above the causeway and Rameshwaram; (right); Lakshmana and Sugriva (?) consecrate Vibhishana: Vibhishana prostrates before Rama, Lakshmana and the allies.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row: Ravana in council; Lakshmana seated on Hanuman’s shoulders fights against three rakshasas; Two messengers report to Ravana and Kumbhakarna; Ravana gathers his rakshasa troops; Second row: Ravana in council listens to the reports of four messengers; Lakshmana riding on Hanuman’s shoulders kills Mahodara; Messengers report to Ravana; Rakshasas carrying pots; Vibhishana
talks to Rama and Lakshmana; The troops of the allies storm Lanka; Third row: Vibhishana’s consecration; Vibhishana prostrates before Rama; Rama talks to the allies; Hanuman and the allies visits Sita in the ashoka grove; She is bathed; They carry her in a palanquin; Fourth row: The allies in the pushpaka vimana land in Kishkindha; They fly above Jatayu’s remains, the remains of Ravana’s chariot (?) and above a river (?); Fifth row: Trumpeters announce the return of the exiles.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row: Vibhishana sees Ravana’s troops approaching; Sugriva sends his troops
across the bridge; A battle scene; Second row: The allies invade Lanka; Hanuman grabs Mandodari by the hair; Rama in council; Ravana enters the fray and Indra sends his divine chariot to Rama; Third row: Sita is carried in a palanquin; She prostrates before Rama; Sita’s fire ordeal; The gods witness the scene; She then prostrates before Rama; Fourth row: The empty aerial chariot; The allies in Ayodhya (?), Hanuman runs towards Guha who arrives by boat; Central tableau: Ramapattabhisheka.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Rama’s consecration; Rama and Sita enthroned flanked by Bharata, carrying an umbrella, Shatrughna (right) and Lakshmana (left); Hanuman kneeling in the foreground holds Rama’s foot; Among the allies, on the right are Vibhishana, Guha, the ladies of the court; On the left are groups of monkeys, bears, musicians, and among the crowd, members of the Zamindar’s family may have been portrayed.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row: Lakshmana meets Rama in the forest; They return to their hut and find it empty; Rama is comforted by Lakshmana; Bottom row: Rama and Lakshmana cut Kabandha’s arms, kill him, cremate his body, and his liberated soul ascends to heaven.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakkanur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: mid-19th century
Description: Top row: Sita’s abduction; Bottom row: Rama and Lakshmana meet the dying Jatayu; They cremate his body, and perform their ablutions.
Location: Tamil Nadu Palace;Bodinayakknur
Positioning: Darbar Hall
Date: Late 16th or early 17th century
Description: Rama and Sita enthroned; Lakshmana and the rishis on the left, Bharata, Shatrughna and Vibhishana on the right; In the foreground Hanuman kneels before Rama; Sugriva rewards the allies.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temples;Venugopala Parthasarathi Temple;Chengam
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling
Date: Late 16th or early 17th century
Description: Rama and Sita enthroned; Top row: Bharata Shatrughna, Vibhishana and other heroes on the top row; Bottom row: Guha (?); Angada (?); Jambavan and other allies.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Venugopala Parthasarathi Temple;Chengam
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling
« Previous 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 27 Next »