id:			314241
accession number:	2018.107
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.107
updated:		2022-12-07 10:00:26.691000

Ravana’s sister Shurpanakha complains that her nose and ears were cut off by Lakshmana, from Chapter 30 of the Aranya Kanda (Book of the Forest) of the “Shangri” Ramayana (Rama’s Journey), 1690–1710. Northern India, Pahari Region, Himachal Pradesh. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; page: 21.6 x 31.8 cm (8 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.); image: 18.4 x 28.9 cm (7 1/4 x 11 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.107

title:				Ravana’s sister Shurpanakha complains that her nose and ears were cut off by Lakshmana, from Chapter 30 of the Aranya Kanda (Book of the Forest) of the “Shangri” Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1690–1710
creation date earliest:		1690
creation date latest:		1710
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
copyright:			

---

culture:	Northern India, Pahari Region, Himachal Pradesh
technique:	Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

---

CREATORS

---

measurements: Page: 21.6 x 31.8 cm (8 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.); Image: 18.4 x 28.9 cm (7 1/4 x 11 3/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	[[verso, lower right corner, in Sanskrit, upside down]] aranya 61
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	[[recto, in the borders, indistinct Takri script]] Shurpanakhā (?)--- lankā āyī ---- rāvaṇe prati jhūth bachan boldī hoyi je tan raje bich matra (?) hoyī hai. Sri rām chandre khar dūsana sāra māre mera dheya(?) hoyā. Sri rām chandre de sath isdī ek istri ----
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	[[verso, top, in Takri script]] 71
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	[[verso, left side, in Takri script]] 71
	translation:	
	remark:		

---

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Indian Gallery 242 Rotation
	opening date:   2018-09-10T04:00:00
	<i>Indian Gallery 242 Rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 10, 2018-April 7, 2019).

---

LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Indian Gallery 242 Rotation</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 10, 2018-April 7, 2019).

* <em>The Rama Epic: Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe</em>. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (organizer) (October 21, 2016-January 15, 2017).

* Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 20-May 29, 2011); Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (June 24-October 2, 2011).

---

PROVENANCE

	(Walter Randal, New York, NY, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
	date: 1956–July 1969
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection
	date: December 1969–2018
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2018–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


---

fun fact: 
The <em>Ramayana</em> of Valmiki describes Shurpanakha as hideous, misshapen, and potbellied with hair the color of copper.

digital description: 


wall description: 
In one of India’s major Hindu epics, the <em>Ramayana</em>, the god Vishnu incarnated himself as the hero Rama in order to defeat the powerful demon Ravana, who has 20 arms and 10 heads, seen in the boat at the upper right. This scene takes place on the island of Lanka, Ravana’s capital, surrounded by a golden brick wall and populated by his demon minions. Just inside the door, Ravana’s sister, the demoness with crimson hair, is demanding that her brother avenge the severing of her nose by Rama’s brother. Ravana decided then to abduct Rama’s wife, Sita, the act that propelled the climactic battle.<br><br>The place where this important, extensive <em>Ramayana </em>series was painted remains uncertain. Scholars have argued for one or another Pahari court, but no definitive evidence has yet come to light.
---

RELATED WORKS

---

CITATIONS

	Cummins, Joan. <em>Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior. </em>Grantha, 2011.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 80.
	url:		

	McGill, Forest, ed. <em>The Rama Epic: Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe. </em>San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2016.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 118, pp. 203, 228.
	url:		

---

IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.107/2018.107_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.107/2018.107_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.107/2018.107_full.tif