Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Burning of Lanka: K. Venkatappa’s Hanuman Plate
Original caption: The Burning of Lanka
Flame and architecture frame Hanuman’s swift movement through Lanka. The image belongs to the mission that begins with finding Sita and becomes a public challenge to Ravana’s power. In the narrative Hanuman is captured and brought before the ruler; Ravana orders the envoy’s tail wrapped in oil-soaked cloth and set alight. The punishment becomes the means of retaliation. Venkatappa’s plate uses the spreading fire to enlarge the scale of a single figure’s action, contrasting the apparent vulnerability of a captive with the destructive energy released by his escape.
Read the source pageLoading your collection…
Citation
K. Venkatappa. "The Burning of Lanka: K. Venkatappa’s Hanuman Plate" [source caption]. In Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, Sister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Original scan, 1914, George G. Harrap & Co.. Source scan leaf 103. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/hindu-burning-lanka
Source details
Title from the printed caption. Editorial description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Artist credited in the printed list of illustrations. Full source leaf and the adjacent narrative reviewed; historical scan colour and texture retained.
Sources
From the book
Myths of the Hindus and BuddhistsSister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy1914More from this book
Garuda: Nanda Lal Bose’s Mythological Bird Figure
Rama’s Marriage: K. Venkatappa’s Ramayana Illustration
The Death of Maricha: K. Venkatappa’s IllustrationRelated illustrations
Explore in the Codex
Entries that reference this illustration.
Cite this illustration
K. Venkatappa. The Burning of Lanka: K. Venkatappa’s Hanuman Plate. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. Scan leaf 103. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/hindu-burning-lanka