Rajput Painting, Being an Account of the Hindu Paintings of Rajasthan and the Panjab Himalayas from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century v2.c19.486

v2.c19.486

The picture, which is not completely coloured, must be from a series illustrating the *Rāmāyaṇa*. Vālmīki is here seated, the book in his right hand, and his left making the gesture of exposition; the two children facing him, receiving his instruction; and round about, an assembly of hermits. With this scene may be compared the ‘Colloquy of Rishis’, of *Indian Drawings*, ii, Plate xv. In these pictures are reflected the Indian conception of the forest retreats as the abode of peace and learning. They represent, apart from the use of books, the very conditions under which the early Upaniṣads were composed and taught by the forest-dwelling Brāhmans. Pahāṛī (Kāṅgṛā), second half 18th century. Size of original. Collection of the author. Vol. i, p. 59.