Decoding the Ramayana Panel of Ellora Cave 16 in the Context of the Valmiki Ramayana

Abstract

Indian sculpture represents one of the most significant artistic traditions of the Indian subcontinent, through which religious narratives, philosophical ideas, cultural values, and literary traditions have been transformed into visual forms. Within this rich sculptural heritage, the Kailāsa temple at Ellora Cave 16 occupies a distinctive position, particularly for its extensive representation of themes derived from the Rāmāyaṇa. The Rāmāyaṇa sculptures of the Kailāsa temple provide an important visual interpretation of the epic narrative and demonstrate how a complex literary tradition was translated into a spatial and symbolic sculptural programme.However, the identification and interpretation of individual Rāmāyaṇa scenes at Ellora Cave 16 remain challenging, as the sculptural sequence does not always correspond clearly to a linear narrative. The absence of identifying inscriptions and the condensed visual composition create difficulties in establishing the exact identity of figures and episodes. Therefore, a systematic comparison with the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa is required to decode the selected figures and understand their narrative sequence. The present study attempts to decode eight principal figures and narrative scenes of the Rāmāyaṇa panel by examining their iconographic features, gestures, attributes, spatial arrangement, and compositional relationships, and by comparing them with the corresponding episodes in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Particular attention is given to the direction of visual reading and to the manner in which individual figures and scenes are arranged to communicate a continuous narrative within the architectural space of the temple. The study also distinguishes between scenes having direct textual parallels in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa and elements that may belong to the wider and evolving Rāmāyaṇa tradition. The study thus highlights the close relationship between literary tradition and visual representation and contributes to a broader understanding of how the Rāmāyaṇa was interpreted and transmitted through the medium of medieval Indian temple sculpture at Ellora.

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