Tabing (rectangular hanging) with a scene from the Ramayana

This story cloth depicts a scene from the great Hindu epic Ramayana and shows Ravana kidnapping Sita and carrying her in his airborne vehicle across the skies to Lanka. Sita drops her ornaments to the ground, to provide clues to her husband Rama, so that he can search for her. Below, Rama and Lakshmana are as of yet unaware of Sita’s abduction, having been lured into the forest by the golden deer disguise of the ogre Maricha. Jatayu, king of the birds, depicted in the upper left, is shown prior to his attempt to rescue Sita, during which he is mortally wounded. The mythical bird lives only long enough to tell Rama which direction she has been taken.