Hanuman finds Sita in the forest

Hanuman finds Sita and a female companion in the forest. Unable to tolerate any longer being held prisoner, Sita was ready to kill herself (here, with a sword), but Hanuman stops her. He shows her the ring he has brought from Rama as a sign of his mission to save her from captivity. (Learn more)

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The monkey god Hanuman finds Sita and a female companion in this modern Balinese painting photographed at Denpasar, Bali, in August 1986. All the characters are dressed in flowing Balinese-style royal clothes and crowns. Flowers, over-sized butterflies, and circle motifs float in space to fully decorate the painting’s background. The painting uses only blue, grey, pink, and brown hues to fill the black outlines of the figures.

In the Thai temple mural version of the Ramayana, Sita is preparing to hang herself because she can no longer tolerate being held prisoner by the demon king Ravana. Here she stands holding a sword, suggesting she plans a different form of suicide. In the Balinese painting Sita also has a lady-in-waiting attending her, possibly because it is unimaginable that a high status young woman would be left completely alone (even in captivity) without a companion.

Learn more about Bali, Denpasar, Hanuman, Indonesia, Ramayana, Sita, art, paintings, and women.

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