Rama at the hermitage of Sage Agastya

Rama at the hermitage of Sage Agastya, Pahari School, Indian painting based on the Ramayana, in the Kangra style, Chamba, India.

Indian art has always fascinated lovers of art and the great epic of India, the Ramayana has been a perennial source of inspiration to artists of all times and genres. This painting depicts a scene from the Ramayana where the revered sage Agastya meets the trio of exiles, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

The sage is seen seated on a deer skin with his left arm resting on an ascetic’s crook. Honored by the presence of the royal and divine personages to his humble abode, the sage pays homage to Rama by his generous hospitality and gifts him with the potent weapons of the god Vishnu – a powerful bow, a Brahmadatta dart resembling the sun, two inexhaustible quivers filled with arrows and a mighty sword. Overwhelmed by the generosity of the sage, Rama expresses his gratitude and informs the sage that he is searching for a suitable place where they could pass the days of their exile in peace. Agastya suggests Panchavadi.

This painting is a splendid example of the art of miniature painting that flourished in the Chamba region in the eighteenth century.