An illustration from a Ramayana: King Dasaratha is comforted by his queens, Mewar, circa 1710

gouache with gold on paper, inscription in Devanagari in upper panel on yellow ground, red borders, inscription on reverse and numbered '66'

This scene, from book II of a widely-dispersed Tulsi Ramayana from Mewar, depicts the episode when King Dasaratha, distraught after the departure of Rama, Sita and Lakhshmana for their forest exile, is helped back to his palace consolingly by his four wives. The text above describes some of the woeful circumstances that occurred as a result of Rama's departure: the fire-priests ceased their ceremonies, the cows stopped suckling their calves, the planets dimmed in the sky, and the people began to condemn Queen Kaikeyi. Several examples from the same series have been sold at auction, most recently at Bonhams New York, 17 March 2014, lots 119-121.