Reading the painting from left to right, Ravana carries Sita away from her opulent hermitage in the highly stylized forest while Rama chastises to Lakshmana over the corpses of Maricha and the golden deer.

The juxtaposition of these two scenes in painting is unusual, and the focus on Lakshmana suggests that a failure of fraternal duty leads to Sita’s abduction as much as the villainy of Ravana. By ignoring his elder brother’s command, Lakshmana ignores his duty. All around, flowers blossom in vibrant colors, contrasting the perfection of nature with the failings of Lakshmana.
]]> The upper scene depicts Ravana with nine human heads and a tenth donkey head promising the demon Kalanemi half his kingdom if he can defeat Hanuman. The lower scene depicts Ravana supervising his demon soldiers as they sound horns and drums to awaken his indolent giant brother Kumbhakarna from his usual six-month slumber. Both demons are reluctant to fight and are ultimately killed by Rama’s allies.
This painting illustrates Ravana’s desperate attempt to coerce mercenaries, who contrast with the willing heroes fighting with Rama. While Rama is the ideal king, certain of his victory, Ravana stubbornly enlists allies into a war he is doomed to lose.
The ornate border, adorned with flowers and animals, suggests that the painting was created in a workshop in Jaipur. A black Sanskrit inscription below the border corrects the gold label in the top left that misidentifies Kalenemi. This correction may indicate the artist’s unfamiliarity with the Kalanemi narrative, which only occurs in some tellings of the Ramayana.]]> Image: 8 1/16 x 5 7/8 in.
Sheet: 12 x 8 7/16 in.]]> The confinement of women to the private sphere on the edges of the composition also evokes conceptions of female subservience implied by the golden statue. The hierarchical organization of the male figures and architectural components infuse the central, public space with a sense of order, authority, and righteousness.
The compositional lines draw the viewer’s attention consistently back to Rama, designating his position of importance at the center. Looking closely, one can also detect traces of preliminary drawings in the white planes of the composition.]]> Image: 10 3/4 x 14 1/8 in.
Sheet: 13 1/4 x 16 3/4 in.]]>