Rama meets Bharata, Pahari painting, Kangra style

Meeting of Rama with his brothers, Indian painting from Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom.

This eighteenth century painting from Chamba is a beautiful example of the art of miniature painting which flourished in the hill states of the Himalayan region in India. The scene depicted in this study is taken from the Indian epic, the Ramayana, where Bharata, Kaikeyi’s son resolves to go to the forest in search of Rama and persuade him to return to Ayodhya to assume his rightful position as the king. Bharata sets out with his brother Satrughna, their mothers, the sage Vasishtha a large retinue of courtiers and an army to the forest. With the help of the Nishadas and the sage Bharadwaja, Bharata reaches Rama’s hermitage in Chitrakuda.

The meeting of the four brothers is a very emotional one. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are grief-stricken when they hear about Dasaratha’s demise. Bharata’s pleas, reiterated by the ministers are not heeded by Rama who is bound by a vow to spend fourteen years in the forest. Finally Bharata returns with the sandals of his brother Rama and placing them on the throne, starts ruling Ayodhya on behalf of Rama.