The British Library has published a lavishly illustrated new title devoted to the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana. The book ties in with the major British Library exhibition, Ramayana: Love and Valour in India’s Great Epic (16 May – 14 September 2008), which unveils nearly 120 paintings from the British Library’s lavishly illustrated 17th century manuscripts of the Ramayana epic commissioned by Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar (1628 - 1652).

The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest and most enduring stories, is considered to be fundamental to the art and culture of India and South East Asia and is still regularly performed in dance, drama and shadow-puppet theatres around the world. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, the epic follows Prince Rama’s quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of the demon king Ravana, with the help of an army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the authorship of the sage Valmiki and dated to around 500 BC to 100 BC.

The Mewar Ramayana manuscripts on display at the British Library were produced between 1649 and 1653 for Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar in his court studio at Udaipur. Illustrated on the grandest scale, the vivid, brightly coloured scenes are packed with narrative detail and dramatic imagery, with no episode of the great epic overlooked.

This new Ramayana publication includes illustrations of all of the Mewar Ramayana paintings on display in the British Library’s major summer exhibition, as well as some additional unexhibited illustrations – 140 in total in full colour - together with a running summary of the story and an introduction putting the manuscripts into their cultural and artistic contexts by the exhibition curator, J P Losty.

SYNOPSIS OF 'THE RAMAYANA'

The Sanskrit epic 'The Ramayana' is, quite simply, the greatest of Indian epics - and one of the world's supreme masterpieces of storytelling. It tells how Prince Rama won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita, but was exiled with her and his brother for 14 years. During her exile Sita was carried off by the demon king Ravana, and Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked and killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.Among the greatest treasures of the British Library are five of the seven volumes of the illustrated manuscript of the Ramayana with originally over 400 paintings prepared between 1649 and 1653 for Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar at Udaipur in Rajasthan.

The seven books of the Sanskrit epic were each illustrated on the grandest scale, with the paintings occupying the whole page in four different styles of Mewar painting, including two in the style of the studio master Sahib Din, whose signed work on the sixth book, "The Book of Battles", is one of the greatest works of seventeenth century Indian art. Unlike most such large series of Indian paintings, these have not been dispersed into various collections but remain intact. The huge scale of the project allowed the artists to focus on telling an epic story on the largest scale and the cumulative effect of seeing picture after picture packed with detail is overwhelming.

Click here to read about 'The Ramayana' exhibition.