Rama and Lakshmana Taking Leave of Parents Before Leaving for Exile

This painting belongs to the Pahari school of painting in which after the marriage of Rama and Sita, Raja Dasharatha declared that Rama would be coroneted as the next king of Ayodhya. When the news came out, Bharata's mother and raja Dasharatha's third wife Kekeyi beguiled by her confidante Manthara, staked her son's claim to Ayodhya's throne and demanded for Rama fourteen-year exile. She reminded raja Dasharatha of the two boons he had given her earlier in the battlefield. Despite persuasions, Kekeyi kept to her stand. Kekeyi called Rama and told him all about the boons and her two demands. Rama heard all without flinching and in his balanced voice, he accepted both the demands without any hesitation. Rama left the palace of Kekeyi with a composed mind and informed his mother Kaushalya the decision of his father. His mother tried her best to stop Rama but she realized that it was useless to try to dissuade him. Meanwhile, Lakshmana also came to Rama and told him that he would also accompany him because since his childhood he was never separated from him. Sita was also waiting for Rama and decided to go with him to the forest. Rama tried to dissuade Sita and Lakshmana from going to the forest but both were adamant to spend their 14years with him in the forest. So it was decided that the three of them would go together into exile. Here the Guler artist very judiciously divided his composition into three parts with soft colours and fine draftsmanship. In the center of the painting under the white canopy raja, Dasharatha and Kekeyi are shown seated in a corner and Rama is just touching his father's feet for blessings and Kekeyi is looking at him. Lakshmana is standing outside the canopy and waiting for his brother. On the right side of the painting, Rama and Lakshmana are shown leaving the palace of Kekeyi and going towards mother Kaushalya's palace. On the left corner, Rama is shown bowing before mother Kaushalya for her blessings before leaving for exile and his younger brother Lakshmana is standing behind him and waiting his turn for her blessings.