Collection Online as of September 29, 2023
The Monkeys and Bears Fight Ravana and His Demons (verso), from a Romance of Chandrabhanu and Lavanyavati of Upendra Bhanja (Indian, died 1740)
Part of a set. See all set records
Charcoal on palm leaf
Overall: 4.8 x 40.2 cm (1 7/8 x 15 13/16 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1979.21.b
Location
not on view
Description
This leaf from an 18th-century romance manuscript comes from a section of the book that retells the epic battle between the demon Ravana and the god-hero Rama. The 10-headed multiarmed demon Ravana is the second figure from the right. Rama’s army of monkeys and bears, wielding tree branches and clods of earth, fill the remainder of the leaf. The images were created using a stylus that incised into the palm leaf; charcoal was then rubbed over the leaf and wiped off, leaving only the incised areas in black.