
Pushpaka Vimanam

by Aanya's Art 4 Earth
Title
Pushpaka Vimanam
Artist
Aanya's Art 4 Earth
Medium
Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Description
Pushpaka Vimanam (2023) (Sanskrit: पुष्पक विमानम् meaning “aeroplane with flowers") is Aanya's second large-scale original acrylic painting in Kalamkari style. The center of this Ramayana painting depicts the mythical flying chariot (Pushpaka Vimanam) that carried Rama and his wife Sita home to Ayodhya. Sitting in the chariot are Rama and Sita, with two vanaras (monkeys). In the background are key moments from the seven Kandas (chapters) of the Ramayana, depicted in chronological order clockwise starting from the top middle. This first scene starts with the Bala Kanda depicting the yagna, (ritual) that Rama’s father Dasharatha performed when he had been childless for years. Agni deva (the fire god) presented him with a magical payasam (pudding), to give to his wives so they would bear him children. The next scene shows Rama in his cradle as a baby with his mother, Kausalya followed by Rama and his brothers learning archery. Then we see his wife Sita at their wedding and Guha, a tribal chieftain who ferried Rama, Sita, and his brother Lakshmana across the Ganga River at the start of their exile. As they near the end of their exile, we see Rama chasing a golden deer that was the demon Maricha in disguise, sent by the demon Ravana so he could kidnap Sita. While on his quest for Sita, Rama helps Sugriva defeat Vali, the two monkey brothers who fought over the leadership of the vanaras. Out of gratitude, Sugriva promised his assistance in finding Sita. The vanaras holding stones that say “Sri Rama” on them in Telugu depicts the episode in the Ramayana when they constructed a bridge to the island of Lanka, Ravana’s kingdom where he was imprisoning Sita. After reaching Lanka, in the fight with Ravana, Lakshmana gets injured. Hence Hanuman, Rama’s most loyal vanara, carries the Himalayan mountain that contained a specific herb (sanjeevani) and flew back to Lanka to revive Lakshmana. Rama finally kills Ravana sitting on Hanuman’s shoulders, and Ravana’s virtuous younger brother, Vibhishana, is crowned king of Lanka.
In the aftermath of the battle, Rama and Sita were finally reunited, but he doubted her chastity as she had been living in another man’s kingdom. To prove her purity, Sita stepped into a fire and prayed to Agni, the god of fire, who appeared and testified to her purity. However, in the final chapter or Uttara Kanda, when they returned home and Rama became king, rumors began spreading in Ayodhya about Sita’s fidelity. Rama was forced to send her into exile in the forest, where she gave birth to their twin sons, Lava and Kusha. In the years following Rama decided to hold an Ashwamedha Yagna, where a horse would be allowed to wander through all the neighboring kingdoms and if the horse returned safely after a year, it would assert the king’s undisputed power over the entire land. Lava and Kusha, captured the horse in the forest and easily defeated Rama, his brothers, and Hanuman. Rama soon realized they were his sons, leading to the scene where they were reunited. Rama then crowns his sons as the heirs to his throne.
Uploaded
January 7th, 2024
Embed
Share
Comments
There are no comments for Pushpaka Vimanam. Click here to post the first comment.