Rama kills demon Subahu and flings away demon Maricha into the ocean

A scene from the epic Ramayana, this Kangra style painting envisions the event when Rama and his younger brother Lakshmana upon the urging of Sage Vishwamitra, combat with the demons Subahu and Maricha in the Taraka forest. The demon brothers Subahu and Maricha along with their mother Taraka, have ravaged and spread terror around the abode of the sages, and disrupted their penances and Yajnas (ritual sacrifices). Unable to tolerate the menace any further, Sage Vishwamitra seeks the protection of Rama, who along with his brother Lakshmana proceeds to the forests and vanquishes the tormenting demons. In the ensuing combat, the demon Subahu is killed by Rama, while his brother Maricha is flung hundreds of leagues away into the ocean by Rama’s arrow.

The painter depicts the events in a continuous narration - in the far left the young princes, the blue skinned Rama and the fair skinned Lakshmana, respectfully salute the Sage Vishwamitra, who apprises them of their task ahead; in the middle foreground the two brothers are depicted protecting the sacred tented space where the ritual sacrifices are being performed by a group of sages. Rama shoots an arrow killing the horned demon Subahu, who flies up in the air; in the far right, the demon Maricha is depicted floating on the ocean having already suffered the blows of the arrows of Rama. Below right in the foreground, the young princes are shown leaving the hermitage upon completing their task.

The painter illustrates the scene with utmost delicacy- soft transparent greens and pinks colour the mountainous scapes, and the lace-like leaves of the trees on the left are rendered with exquisite precision as are the delicate twigs weaving the thatched hut. The brushwork has a lyrical quality about it - lovely wisps of smoke billow up from the fire in the central foreground, while delicate flowering creepers twist around the trees in the far left.

The painter is also an excellent portraitist exhibiting remarkable skill in depicting individual characteristics and personalities, rendering the individual anatomies with graceful naturalism. The delicacy of line in no way diminishes its surety. With light dainty touches of the brush the painter skilfully models the crown and jewels of the young princes, delineates the intricate folds of the clothes worn by the sages, the fine lines on their faces, their hair and beards in precise detail.