The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 17, 2026

Hanuman spies Sita in the Ashoka Grove, from the “Shangri” Ramayana

c. 1700–25

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms, Himachal Pradesh

Gum tempera and ink on paper
Page: 21 x 31.6 cm (8 1/4 x 12 7/16 in.)
Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund 2025.8
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The female guards have human bodies and fanciful animal heads.

Description

After her abduction, Sita is imprisoned in a garden on the island of Lanka. Female guards appointed by her captor, the demon Ravana, surround her and jeer as she crouches on a step. The monkey in the tree above her is the hero Hanuman, a loyal friend to her husband Rama. He shrank to disguise himself and gives her a message: now that he has found her, he will bring Rama and their armies to rescue her.
  • ?–1969
    Mandi Royal Library, India
    1969–1973
    Amrit Kaur, Maharani of Mandi, sold in London to a German scientist
    1973–2012
    German scientist [d. 2020], consigned to Rob Dean for sale
    2012
    (Rob Dean, representing a German scientist, sold to Francesca Galloway)
    2012–2025
    (Francesca Galloway, London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Hanuman spies Sita in the Ashoka Grove, from the “Shangri” Ramayana|url=false|author=|year=c. 1700–25|access-date=17 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.8