Lakshmana in the service of Rama in the forest

Leaf from the Shangri Ramayana

In the epic Ramayana, Lakshmana is extolled as an exemplar of brotherly devotion with his steadfastness and loyalty towards his brother Rama. In the Valmiki Ramayana, Lakshmana is described by Rama as his “ second innermost self” (2.4.43) and elsewhere Lakshmana is called as a “ second life to Rama”(1.18.28)

After choosing to accompany his brother Rama, and Rama’s wife Sita in Rama’s fourteen year exile, Lakshmana served them with reverence, sparing no labour or pain in securing their comforts.

The folio depicts the period of their exile in the forest after Rama’s wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Fatigued by their search for Sita, Rama sleeps off his exhaustion, while his brother Lakshmana remains attentive, guarding Rama in his sleep. A vast emptiness surrounds the two brothers, the yellow stars bright in the darkness of the night, while a crescent moon peeks from a thin strip of clouds in the distant horizon.

The artist renders the colours in the painting with masterly skill. Situating the two brothers under a grove of five trees, whose verticality leads the viewer’s gaze towards the horizon, one is able to contemplate the vastness of the landscape, the solitude of the brothers and the lonely and difficult task ahead in their search for Sita.

The artist renders the scene with a perfect balance of delicacy of line and boldness of colour. The trees are all depicted with different contours of the leaves, in various hues, with frail barks and branches. The tree in the middle of the grove rendered bereft of leaves seems to rise up in red flames towards the starry sky. The red hues are also skillfully applied to highlight and lead the gaze to the two figures - with Lakshmana’s and Rama’s swords and the quiver rendered in red, the tilak mark on Lakshmana’s forehead, subtle shading on Rama’s lips and cheeks and the contoured lines modelling the body are rendered in red.

The peach robes compliment the sombre grey that surrounds them. The dark skin of Rama merges with the colour of the dark night making him one with the atmosphere. Admirably rendered is a peaceable expression on Rama’s face as he sleeps, the yellow marks of sandalwood bright on his face. Delicate modelling and finely rendered brushwork mark out intricate details of the leaves, the arrows, the ornaments, the hair and fur of the deer skin on which Rama sleeps.