Hanuman spies Sita in the Ashoka Grove, from the “Shangri” Ramayana
Unknown Artist
c. 1700–25
Medium
Gum tempera and ink on paper
Dimensions
painting: 18 × 28.6 cm · page: 21 × 31.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund
Accession Number
2025.8
About this artwork
After her abduction, Sita is imprisoned in a garden on the island of Lanka. Female guards appointed by her captor, the demon Ravana, surround her and jeer as she crouches on a step. The monkey in the tree above her is the hero Hanuman, a loyal friend to her husband Rama. He shrank to disguise himself and gives her a message: now that he has found her, he will bring Rama and their armies to rescue her.