Imagining Rama’s Journey

Enthroned Rama and Sita receive homage from their monkey and bear allies, from the Yuddha Kanda (Book of the War) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey), ca. 1765. Northern India, Pahari region, Himachal Pradesh, Rajput Kingdom of Nurpur. Gum tempera and gold on paper; 23.7 x 14.9 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.117

The Hindu epic Ramayana, or “Rama’s Journey,” was a source of inspiration for artists throughout India. This exhibition shows them working in different contexts, continually reimagining the way scenes and characters should be depicted. For at least two millennia, in Sanskrit and many vernacular languages, authors and bards have been retelling the sweeping story of the divine hero Rama, his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana, and their demonic enemy Ravana. In effect, many different Ramayana accounts developed in localized regions and communities.  

Unifying the varied styles and media of the works on view, dating from the 1700s to 2000s, are the core narrative and consistent cast of characters. The scenes provoke questions about the nature of divinity, good and evil, justice, and destiny through a story that is endlessly adaptable, simultaneously specific and universal.