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Demon king Ravana with two wives (Thai Ramayana mural)
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Bangkok, Thailand
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2006. Terms of use
See this photograph in context
- The Ramayana: The Hindu epic The Ramayana is retold through the mural, painting, and dance of Southeast Asia. (Page 2.5)
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for art, Bangkok, demons, Emerald Buddha Temple, gender relations, murals, paintings, palaces, Ramayana, Ravana, royal clothing, and Thailand.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
The demon king Ravana sits on a palace platform with two of his wives, as seen on a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. Ravana has one arm around each wife’s neck. The wives both have their right hands held to their faces, as if in grief. Another demon, perhaps a relative or a courtier, kneels on a tiled floor at the base of their royal platform.
Ravana has many wives, but when his sister tells him of Sita’s unparalleled beauty, he feels he must have Sita too. Here his wives appear unhappy to hear the news of Ravana’s fascination with Sita, Rama’s wife.
Note that in Thai temple paintings, the demon king Ravana has dark green (or blue) skin much like Rama. Rama’s facial features, however, are much more delicate and refined, while demons often are portrayed with bulging eyes and visible fangs. Ravana’s two wives shown here, however, appear as normal beautiful women with fair skin and no obvious demon features. Ravana, his wives, and the second demon man all wear Siamese style royal clothes and tall golden crowns.
This image was photographed in August 1984.
