# Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in the forest

- Date: c. 1830
- Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting: 21.5 x 15.1 cm (8 7/16 x 5 15/16 in.); Overall: 23.9 x 17.3 cm (9 7/16 x 6 13/16 in.)
- Culture: Northern India, Pahari Region, Himachal Pradesh, Rajput Kingdom of Kangra, Court of Aniruddh Chand (reigned 1823–1833)
- Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1989.332)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1989.332/1989.332_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Although banished from their home, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana enjoy ten years of relative peace in the wilderness. They build a small hut, make clothes of bark cloth, and eat from the bounty of the forest. Lakshmana neatly prepares meat and roasts kabobs over a fire.

The oval format, adopted from European models, suggests this scene was part of an album series. The pale hues and placement of figures in a space that recedes into the background reveal awareness of imperial Mughal paintings. The hilly scenery was likely inspired by the landscape surrounding the Kangra Valley.