{
"data": {
"id": 147129,
"accession_number": "1973.103",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Sugriva challenges his brother Vali, King of the Forest Dwellers, to a duel, folio 10 from the Kishkindha Kanda (Book of Kishkindha) of a Ramayana (Rama\u2019s Journey), c. 1700\u20131720. Northern India, Pahari kingdoms. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; painting: 16.4 x 26.8 cm (6 7/16 x 10 9/16 in.); overall: 20.7 x 31 cm (8 1/8 x 12 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1973.103",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Sugriva challenges his brother Vali, King of the Forest Dwellers, to a duel, folio 10 from the Kishkindha Kanda (Book of Kishkindha) of a Ramayana (Rama\u2019s Journey)",
"creation_date": "c. 1700\u20131720",
"creation_date_earliest": 1690,
"creation_date_latest": 1725,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Northern India, Pahari kingdoms"
],
"technique": "Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Indian and Southeast Asian Art",
"collection": "Indian Art",
"type": "Painting",
"measurements": "Painting: 16.4 x 26.8 cm (6 7/16 x 10 9/16 in.); Overall: 20.7 x 31 cm (8 1/8 x 12 3/16 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"painting": {
"height": 0.164,
"width": 0.268
},
"overall": {
"height": 0.207,
"width": 0.31
},
"with mat": {
"height": 0.363,
"width": 0.49
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "[[verso, in Sanskrit]] evamuktastu sugr\u012bvo r\u0101me\u1e47a ripu gh\u0101tina gach\u0101m\u012b tpajav\u012b h\u1e5b\u012bsh\u1e5b\u012b ghay\u0101 t\u0101steya satvaram. ki\u1e63kimdhya\u1e41 tvarita\u1e41 gatv\u0101 deshe p\u0101dapa sa\u1e41kule. v\u1e5bikshair\u0101tm\u0101 tam\u0101vr\u012bptate ti\u1e63\u1e6dha n\u0101hate chate. atha r\u0101mo jav\u012b tatra sugr\u012bva\u1e41 priyav\u0101di namra. kurunada\u1e41 guh\u0101dv\u0101ri sthitva tvama kuto bhaya\u1e25. vali ta\u1e41 cha\u1e63kaya yath\u0101 ni\u1e63yate ta guh\u0101 mukh\u0101t. tamaha\u1e41 niha ni\u1e63y\u0101 mi\u015bare\u1e47\u0101 \u015bani varcas\u0101. evamuktetu vacane k\u0101kusthe n\u0101mi tau jas\u0101. n\u0101da\u1e25 [a]sti gadhotha gambh\u012bro mah\u0101n\u0101 s\u012btthad\u0101 divi. m\u0101l\u0101ca k\u0101\u1e41can\u012b divy\u0101n\u0101 n\u0101 ratn\u0101 vibh\u016b\u1e63it\u0101. diva\u1e25 sugr\u012bva m\u016brch\u0101nama bhito nipa p\u0101taha. s\u0101ca pitr\u0101 sutaste h\u0101d\u0101 ditpe na divau kas\u0101. v\u0101li no m\u0101lay\u0101 tuly\u0101 sutaste hai nirmit\u0101. tato nadanmah\u0101n\u0101da\u1e41 vali\u1e41 sam\u0101iyat. sugr\u012bvo ga\u1e0dha sa\u1e41v\u012bto n\u0101 dai\u1e41rmi danti v\u0101\u1e41varam. ity\u0101rthe r\u0101\u1e43ya\u1e47o ki\u1e63ki\u1e41dh\u0101k\u0101\u1e41de val\u012b sam\u0101hvana\u1e41.",
"inscription_translation": "Lord Rama, the slayer of adversaries, remarked to Sugriva, \"You will soon depart for Kishkindha, and I will also enter this woodland where I cannot be seen.\" Rama, concealed in a grove of trees, spoke kindly to Sugriva, \"Reach the entrance of [Vali's] cave and yell bravely to confront Vali so that he emerges from the cave. I shall kill him with flaming arrows.\" After these words were delivered by the courageous Rama, a descendant of Maharaja Kakustha, the sky erupted in a loud and tremendous roar. Lord Surya, emerging from his dwelling in the heavens, placed a golden garland adorned with celestial gems around Sugriva's neck. Sugriva then informed Vali of his arrival by shouting fiercly. Sugriva, who was well-protected, pierced the heavens with his roar. Thus concludes the Ramayana chapter of Sugriva challenging Vali to a duel.",
"inscription_remark": "This inscription is oriented to assume a horizontal page turning.",
"sortorder": null
},
{
"inscription": "[[verso, left center, in Devanagari script]] 10",
"inscription_translation": null,
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": null
},
{
"inscription": "[[verso, bottom center, in Takri script]] 10",
"inscription_translation": null,
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": null
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 211775,
"title": "Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art",
"description": "Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).",
"opening_date": "1998-02-21T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 457592,
"title": "Imagining Rama\u2019s Journey",
"description": "Imagining Rama\u2019s Journey. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-September 17, 2023).",
"opening_date": "2023-03-09T05:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4 - August 5, 2003).",
"opening_date": "2003-02-04T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "(William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "?\u20131973",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "1973\u2013",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "The orange monkey Hanuman and the princes Lakshmana and Rama hide behind trees while Sugriva calls for Vali.",
"description": "In a morally ambiguous scene, the white monkey Sugriva calls to his brother Vali, the rightful king of the forest-dwellers, to emerge from a cave. Behind him, the blue hero Rama hides with his brother and monkey ally Hanuman. Clutching a deadly three-pronged arrow, Rama prepares to slay Vali, so Sugriva will rise as king and be obliged to help locate Rama\u2019s lost wife.
Paintings from this series illustrate a local Himalayan Ramayana. Their distinctive style incorporates rock formations and textiles reinterpreted from Mughal sources, probably brought to Nurpur when the Mughal emperor retreated there during the hot season.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60472394"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1973.103-sugriva-monkey-gener",
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1973.103-sugriva-challenges-h"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "\"The Year in Review for 1973.\" The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 2 (1974): 31-78.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: no. 198, p. 79; Reproduced: no. 198, p. 61.",
"url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25152513"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 309.",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n329"
},
{
"citation": "Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Oriental Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1986.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 137, pp. 312\u2013314.",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "T\u014dy\u014d kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kur\u012bvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [\u6771\u6d0b\u7d75\u753b\u306e\u7cbe\u83ef: \u7279\u522b\u5c55: \u30af\u30ea\u30fc\u30f4\u30e9\u30f3\u30c8\u7f8e\u8853\u9928\u306e\u30b3\u30ec\u30af\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\u304b\u3089= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 33, cat. no. 12.",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1973.103",
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"creditline": "Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 147129,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1973-08-06T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1690,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "c. 1700\u20131720",
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"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Sugriva Challenging Vali with Rama, Lakshmana, and Hanuman Watching",
"Sugriva (Monkey General) Challenges his Brother Bali"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 16:32:37.768000"
}
}