The murals of Wat Reach Bo Part 2

 

 The murals of Wat Reach Bo of Siem Reap (Cambodia)

Vittorio Roveda

(Copyright text and pictures)

Due to the size and complexity of Wat Bo murals I had to separate my presentation in two parts

Part 1 – Introduction and murals of the West and North walls.

Part 2 – Murals of East and South walls, conclusion and bibliography

PART 2

We have seen in part 1 the cosmogonical part of the west wall, and on the North w all the adventures of Ravana’s youth. The Birth of Rama, Lakshmana and their brothers; (and of middle register (N.wall).

 It was only on the top east wall that the story of Seta starts, followed by the marriage with Rama, and Rama exile. To the adventure in the forest, follows Ravana kidnapping Seta, then the efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to find her. With the adventures of Ravana in Lanka end what I have distinguished of part 1 .Now I will start Part 2q with the main events to liberate Seta, the conquering of Lanka, the terrible injuries of Lakshmana who finally manages to kill Indrajit, and ultimately the death of Ravana, with whixh wends the Ramayana and the mural paintings of Wat Bo.

Because a very complicated order of reading that characterize the decoding of Wat Bo, we have to start from

East wall, upper register

This register must to be read from left to right. 

Fig.1.E  - The long panel on the upper register of the east wall announces indirectly the birth of Sita, insofar we see Ravana consulting his brother Vibhisana on the meaning of the first words uttered by the just-born Sita, “Ruin to Rap” (left). Seated behind Ravana is Queen Mandodari, in a posture of lament. They decided to get rid of Sita; the baby girl was placed into a chest and a servant that threw itt into the waters (sea or river?).  Immediately, four devatas, headed by Mani Mekkhala, protected and carried the chest to the shore, where it was discovered by Janaka, a king that had retired to a hermit’s life (right). In the Reamker, this rescue is called royal ploughing ceremony (Jacobs, 1.5-10).

Figf.2.S. - Janaka had the chest with Sita transported to his hermitage, where he is seen holding the baby in his arms (right). As narrated in the texts, the baby was fed with the milk springing from Janaka fingers; he also had a hammock ready for the infant. However, Janaka could not keep the infant with him. So, he put Sita into a golden chest to be buried under a tree by his assistant (right); from the foliage of a tree, two devatas are watching because they have become the baby’s guardians.

Fig.3.E.- The narrative goes back to Ayuthaya, where Dasaratha is in his palace is bent forward towards his four sons, already grown up, but still with the topknot of children.

Fig.4.E. -In the next panoramic view, they are shown demonstrating their ability in the use of bow and arrow, with Rama shooting an arrow towards what appears to be two maidens, one of which is depicted as a hunchback, although this is likely the same maiden twice (left). In the next panel, the four brothers are shown as students, with pointed hats and later kneeling in front of their four teachers (right)

Fig.5.S. -When the ruler of Kaiyaket, father of Kaiyakesi learned he was the grandfather of one of these princes, he sent a message to Dasaratha asking that Bharata come to live at Kaiyaket. Bharata did not want to leave his father and brothers, but his father could not refuse the request of Kaiyaket so he said Satrughna could accompany him. On the panel, we see a chariot carrying Bharata and his brother Satrughna going to Kaiyaket escorted by soldiers wearing Western hats, but carrying the typical pheak lance with curved cutting blade (bottom left). When they reached the royal palace, they greet the king and queen (right). 

The end the upper register of the east wall. 

East wall, middle register

This register must be read from right to left.

Fig.1 E.- The left part of the picture shows Rama giving order to Angada to protect his camp. The right picture shows , Ravana took the disguise of an ascetic, depicted sitting near a building amongst rocks, in order to deceive Rama. Rama, with Laksmana, Vibhishana, Sugriva and Hanuman, are shown kneeling in front of the presumed teacher/ascetic. Ravana said that Sita was the wife of Ravana, happier with him than she could be with Rama. Rama replied that Sita was Lakshmi, faithful to her husband no matter what happened. Ravana then warned Rama that Vibhishana was the brother of a demon and that he will betray him; then he flew away. Note: Rama and Laksmana sit with their hands held in a position of respect, but Vibhisana is shown with his hands as if in agitation, and the monkeys hold their hands at their sides.

Fig.2.E - Rama decided to send Angada to Lanka with a message for Ravana asking him to free Sita. The decision-making meeting takes place under a large, yellowish canopy in Rama’s camp, showing Angada taking off in the sky at the top (damaged by water infiltration). 

Fig.3.E. - Angada met Ravana, he raised himself to the same height as Ravana by coiling his long tail to form a seat, as can be seen on the panel (center). At the end of their discussion, Angada used his foot to remove Ravana’s crown, before flying into the air, killing Ravana’s guards (top left) and then he return to Rama.

Fig.4.E. - After this, to protect himself, Ravana ordered the opening of the magic parasol of Lanka, bringing on total obscurity, to which Rama sends Sugriva to destroy it. On the panel, we can see Sugriva wrecking the parasol, creating panic and Ravana falling to the ground supporting two women.

Fig.5. E - .Humiliated by these defeats, Ravana, depicted sitting in a pavilion of his palace, ordered his brother, Kumbhakarna, to attack Rama. On the mural, Kumbhakarna is shown on a chariot pulled by reacheasei, with a royal umbrella, preceded by his army of yak leaving for the battlefront ( upper part). Vibhisana asked Rama to spare Kumbhakarna from death since he was the honest brother of Ravana, so Rama did. 

Fig.6.E,(brown background) – Vibhisanais depicted when talking to Kumbhakarna triyng to dissuade him from fighting on behalf of Ravana, to which he replied that if Rama could solve a riddle, he would withdraw for the fight. Presented with the riddle, Rama remained silent (he could not resolve it).

 Fig.7. E. (gold background) - Vibhisana proposed that Angada should go to the demon to draw the answers by cunning, which he did, facing Kumbhakarna sitting on his rolled-up tail in front of the giant in his war chariot (central panel), saying that Rama had resolved his riddle but that he, Angada, wanted to know if the answers were correctly understood, and their meaning. Since Kumbhakarna knew they could not solve the riddle, he gave him the answers and continued to fight.

Fig.8.E. (blue background).-After this, Rama sent Sugriva to lead an army to fight Kumbhakarna. Kumbhakarna tricked Sugriva by challenging him to a trial of strength (uprooting and lifting large trees), and then, when Sugriva was exhausted, captured him. The painted panel shows four scenes : (1) top right, Sugriva uprooting a tree, having been tricked by Kumbhakarna to do so with the intent to weaken him; (2) below right, the tired Sugriva holding the tree on his shoulder; (3) bottom left, being attacked and grabbed by Kumbhakarna; (4) top left, Hanuman, aided by Angada, attacking Kumbhakarna to free Sugriva.

End of middle register of the eastern wall.

East wall, lower register

This register must be read from right to left.

Fig.1.E. - The first mural of the lower register of the East wall shows Hanuman fighting Kumbhakarna on water. The narrative of the Ramakien describes an episode of Kumbhakarna making a dam with his body to block the water flowing to Rama’s army camps (this episode is not depicted at Wat Bo). After Kumphakarna’s ploy had been foiled by Hanuman, Ravana ordered Kumbhakarna to lead out an army. However, in order to make sure to win the battle, he needed the magic lance he had received from Brahma. In order to restore the weapon’s invincibility, Kumbhakarna initiated a magic rite and sharpen his weapon. To stop this, Vibhisana suggested that Hanuman transform into a decaying dog floating on the river, and Angada into a crow noisily feeding on the dog’s suppurating bowels (top part of panel). They floated past Kumbhakarna, irritating him with their stench and filth, disrupting his ceremony and breaking his lance (lower part of panel). 

Fig.2.E. - Only the upper part of the mural that follows is preserved, showing Kumbhakarna facing a figure in a small palace (left), which, following the reading of the Ramakien, would be Brahma, albeit with only one face and two arms, handing him the wonder spear; immediately to the right, he is seen holding the spear and grinding it on a stone to sharpen it, with Hanuman flying down to disrupt this effort (right). 

Fig.3.E.- The panel that follows has Ravana in his palace at Lanka giving orders to Saeng Athit, his nephew and holder of a magic glass-crystal with searing rays, to go to war (Fig. 116 E).

Fig.4.E. – Seang Athit left for the battlefield on his war chariot pulled by a reacheasei (Fig. 117 E).

Fig.5.E. and 6.E. – On light-blue background, Rama called a meeting of his generals (right) and gave directives to Laksmana and his soldiers before going to the battle standing on his chariot. 

 Fig.7.E. - The ensuing battle, which is depicted in the preceding panel, continues with a confused entanglement of monkeys and yaks, with Rama emerging to fight Saeng Athit, a demon of the underworld, beating him with his bow. 

Fig.8.E. - This panel is a bit difficult to interpret. Brahma was taking care of in heaven (see Ramakien of Rama I, Volume 3, 76-96) of a magic glass ball (crystal) that could emit rays able to blind and burn the enemy. Ravana had senrt Seang Athit to get it at all costs, but Angada was the first to reach Brahma, succeeding in obtaining the magic glass for himself to give to Rama.

To achieve this, Angada had to take the semblance of  Chitraphairi, the assistant of the demon Saeng Athit. Angada is painted floating above a pavilion having taken thedemon’s form, to get the magic glass-crystal from Brahma.  Curiously, the central panel shows Saeng Athit asking the ‘glasses’ to Angada, who refuses to give them (at the top of the white plaster part).

Accordingly, we can assume that the ‘waen kaeo’ in the Ramakien was translated  into ‘glasses, or ‘spectacles’ in the Khmer narrative. Therefore, the depiction of spectacles on the mural could resulta) from  a joke by the painters painting glasses (spectacles) instead of a glass-crystal; b) a mistake in the reading by the painters since ‘crystal glass/globe’ (the ‘waen kaeo’ in the Ramakien), could mean either glasses or crystal in the Khmer language; or c) the fact that the painters followed the versions of Okna Veang Tiounn. The French term “lunettes” is also mentioned in the narrative of Mi Chak dealing with the death of Adity (Bizot 1997:102).

Fig.9.E. - On the next panel shows the episode when Laksmana was hit in the foot by the magic spear of Kumbhakarna (top right). Hanuman is shown in the effort of trying to extract the spear. Laksmana faint, lying inert on the ground with Rama trying pulling on the spear (bottom right).

The end of the east wall narrative. 

Wat Bo: North wall, upper register

Wat Bo :  North wall, upper register

This register must be read from left to right.

Fig. 1. N – We have seen that Mount Krailat had been tilt by the rage of Rammasun and Orachun (see Fig.16. W.). On the mural, Ravana is painted in a red cave lifting the palace and the mountain back to its original position (Fig. lower left). At the center, Valin is shown kneeling in front of Shiva asking for his reward in previous attempted to straighten the mountain together with is brother Sugriva. (see 17W.), Ravana was first to claim reword to his request to be given  Uma, Shiva’s consort. Quickly Ravana flew away carrying Uma on his head (top right)

Fig.2.N -  Ravana taking Uma was considered a great affront to Shiva. Vishnu was asked to go and remedy the situation. He incarnated as a common gardener and when Ravana was flying over it, Vishnu showed himself planting trees upside-down, roots in the air and foliage into the earth. Ravana commented that finding Vishnu reduced a gardener was very silly. Vishnu replied, that his foolishness was nothing when compared to his stupidity of having taken Uma who will burn his manhood and prevent him from having more sons. Ravana understood and returned Uma to Shiva taking instead Mandodari.

Fig.3.N. - This panoramic reproduce what seen in Fig.2.  At the center, as Ravana was flying to Lanka with his beautiful new consort, he passed over the palace of Valin (not shown in the picture.). Valin was very offended. Captivated by the beauty of the girl jumped into the sky, quickly reaching Ravana. After a fight, he thrashed Ravana with his weapon, weakening him and forcing him to release Mandodari, whom he stole away (Fig. 04 N, top right corner). 

Fig.4.N - Following this, the mural depicts Ravana in his palace at Lanka, desolate for the loss of Mondadori and wanting to have her back. His brothers, Vibhisana and Kumbhakarna, were summoned and suggested hem to go to see his teacher, Khobut. He advised him to seek the help of Angkhot, the former teacher of Valin, sure that Angkhot could convince him to act righteously. Ravana went to Angkhot, who took pity on him and, while Ravana waited, Angkhot flew to Kiskindha to obtain Mandodari from Valin.

Fig.5.N - However, there was a complication: Mandodari was six months pregnant with a son from Valin, and Valin was afraid if Mandodari brought the child to Lanka, Ravana would kill him. Therefore, Angkhot magically transferred the fetus into a goat, restored her virginity, and brought her to Ravana (Fig. 06 N, top right), who transported her to Lanka where he is shown happily embracing her in his palace (Fig. 07 N).

Fig.6.N –The son of Mandodari and Valin was born at Valin’s court. He received the name of Angada. When he grew to be a boy, Valin organized a great ceremony for him. The small cortege left Valin’s royal palace, accompanied by a few monkeys, under a royal parasol. The young monkey was carried by his father to an ascetic sitting under a canopy ornate with several five-tiered parasols.

Fig.7 - At the bottom right corner of the ceremonial pavilion a large crab is visible, the animal shape taken by Ravana with the intent to kill Angada; however, Ravana was captured by Valin and brought in chains in front of the palace and beaten by monkey soldiers (Fig. 7 right, in blue background).

Fig.8.N.- Ravana, defeated by many events, went to visit his teacher Khobut with the intention to become immortal. He is first seen kneeling on the ground in front of the hermit who is sitting on the mountain (Fig. 8.N, top left, then kneeling), then kneeling in front ok Kobut in his mall hermitage.

In the Ramakien, it is narrated that at the close of the ceremony, Ravana’s heart floated into a container kept by the hermit, because if the heart was kept near Ravana, it will go back into his body.

Soon after, Ravana can be seen flying off through the air and getting involved in a fight to steal the magic chariot Busabok from his brother Kubera

NOTE - This very damaged panel, almost unreadable may illustrate that when Shiva was awakened from his meditation by Ravana, enraged he scolded him and, taking a tusk from his elephant, hurled it into the breast of Ravana proclaiming that the tusk would stay in his body until the day he dies. 

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 Fig.9.N. - Ravana, hurt by Shiva, is seen in his magic chariot returning to Lanka in great pain attempting to extract the tusk from his chest. 

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Fig.10.N. - He asked the heavenly master of the arts, Visvakarman, to try to extract the tusk, seen flying down from the upper left holding a regular wood saw, but nothing could be done, except cutting the protruding ends and hiding the wound under his clothes.

The last panel of the upper register displays the beginning of the story that continues in the middle register below. Ravana flew to the paradise of Indra, Tavatimsa, spying on Indra’s wives, planning to seduce them..

*Here ends the upper register of the north wall.

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5.North wall, middle register

This register must be read from right to left.

Fig.11.N. - After a week of enjoying himself in Indra’s heaven, Ravana took off for the world of the animals. He first plunged into the ocean to make love with a large female fish before emerging on the shore satisfied, the result of which will be the mermaid, Suphanamatcha (Fig. 19 N).

Fig.12,N. -  Ravana in the world of the elephants, flirting the elephant

Fig.13.N. - The two sons born with elephantine faces are visible in the royal pavilion together with Ravana and Mandodari.

Fig.14 .N.- The young Indrajit ,after learning From Khobut to learn the virtues and sciences , part of which involved performing a ritual sitting in meditation under a tree practicing asceticism for seven years in order to obtain magic weapons from the gods

Fig.15.N. - Three gods are painted in the next panel, Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, visiting Indrajit to bless his weapons.

Fig.16.N.- Then, in Lanka, Indrajit, now that he had magic weapons, bid farewell to his father before going to raise an army and attack Indra. Indrajit, mounted on his elephant marched forth escorted by an army of yaks. Indrajit is shown twice (on dark-blue and light blue background)) holding his bow armed with the magic arrows he received from the gods, one that could transform in nagas and another that could repel the flaming magic discus of Indra The old Indra was terrified, the angels dispersed and Indra escaped on his chariot pulled by white horses.

Indrajit had won and defeated the god Indra, meriting the name or Indrajit, the conqueror of Indra. 

Fig.16b. Indrajit (left) charging Indra on his chariot, Defeating him completely and gaining the name Indrajit (Conqueror of Indra)

 Fig.17.N - The last scenes of the middle register of the north wall show another legend, that of the young Nang Mali^[1] (Fig. 31 N), who went to collect flowers in the beautiful garden of Shiva, and the demon, Nonthakan, who fell in love with her, tried to draw her attention throwing flowers at her; frightened, Nang Mali ran to Shiva (Fig. 32 N, center). The god cursed Nonthakan to be expelled and to be reborn as a buffalo, Thorapha, who is destined to be killed by his son Thoraphi (Dubhi), pictured as a young bull in a pavilion to the upper left of the panel.

Fig.18.N. – panoramic view of the central part of the middle register

The end the middle register of the north wall.

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[1] Neang Mala in the Ramakien.

6-North wall, lower register

This register must to be read from left to right

Fig.19.N. - the narrative sequence of Ramakien or any other published telling. The inscription narrates that the king of the naga brought his young daughter to king Akineak as an offering.. Next, again not in the written narratives, Akineak is presented to Maiyarap.

Fig.20.N. - Maiyarap is shown in the process of grabbing a tiny crystal globe with the fingers of his left hand (white) and flying away probably carrying the crystal globe to be saved on Mount Trikut.

Fig.21.N. - The king of Kaiyaket had decided to send his daughter Kaikey on a modest chariot (Fig. 36 N), accompanied by two courtesans and escorted by soldiers with spears, to Atchaban for marriage with his son, Dasaratha. On the mural, the presentation of the princess is very simple and reserved. 

 Fig.22. N. - After his retirement, Atchaban went for a stroll in the forest where he met a hunter carrying a wounded dear suspended by his legs on a stick. The mural shows Atchaban coming forward with a servant holding a parasol, to negotiate with the hunter (shown to the right) who is holding the deer. At the center there is a Chinese man carefully supervising the weighting of the animal in order to claim the same amount of flesh from the king. The lower part of the scene has been lost.

Fig.23.N. - The panel that follows displays Indra’s messenger, Matuli, first bringing a chariot in offering from Indra

Fig,25.N. - The panoramic picture shows several scenes related to the story when King Romaphat, after making a sacrificial ceremony in a small pavilion of his palace (left on blue background), decided to send is daughter Arunwadi to visit the Great Hermit (central part of figure), Kalaikot, a powerful hermit with the body of a man but the head of a deer who was causing great heat and drought in the surrounding areas. She left on a chariot escorted by Western dressed soldiers, led by a forest hunter, and accompanied by courtesans (top left).

 Then, on the next panel (in a hermitage on blue background, she met Kalaikot, who abandoned his asceticism and fell in love with her, ending the drought He decided to join the girl.  Arunwadi returns to her father on a chariot (degraded by time) with one blue parasol, tenderly embracing the great ascetic, escorted by Western dressed soldiers (Fig. 43 N, lower right part).42

Fig.26.N. – In Ayutthaya, where Dasaratha, desirous of having sons,^[1] went to meet four ascetics (Fig. 45 N); then Dasaratha, together with the four ascetics went flying through the air,escorted on land by soldiers in Western hats. He, went to see King Romaphat who reluctantly introduced him to Kalaikot in order to help him become a father. Dasaratha and the four ascetics are sent to see Kalaikot. The ascetics thought that the matter had to be discussed with Shiva, so the five ascetics, headed by Kalaikot flew up to heaven (top part of panel).

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[1] In Ramakien, King Thotsarot has three wives, but was childless.

Fig.27.N. - Vishnu had to descend to earth as the son of Dasaratha, Rama, in order to terminate all the problems caused by Ravana and the other demons. Vishnu is depicted on the shoulders of Krut (Garuda) on a blue background (top left). In order to invite Vishnu to incarnate, a formal ceremony was performed on a square stepped-pavilion flanked by five-tiered parasols; on the highest step was Kalaikot, at the center of the four ascetics. After three days, a tray emerged from a sacrificial fire with four lumps of cooked rice of extraordinary flavor and aroma; on the panel, the rice-tray is shown to the left of Dasaratha and his queens, both seated on the second step of the pavilion (Fig. 48 N, center).

The fragrance of the rice reached the kingdom of Lanka where Mandodari beseeched Ravana to get some of the rice for her. Ravana sent a demoness in the form of a black crow, Ka Kanasun, to the kingdom of Ayuthaya to steal the rice . The crow stole only half a lump, which is visible on the same panel, where a black crow, not easily distinguishable on the dark background, is depicted flying down to the tray and stealing a piece of the rice and then taking off, to the right. 

Fig.28.N.- Dasaratha and his consorts are travelling on four elephants, the king on a white one, escorted by bearded soldiers in colonial uniforms and carrying rifles. The king and his three wives sit in a royal pavilion to be admired by the people of their country (lower right), including men wearing Western hats. Soon Dasaratha gets involved in a fight with a demon, Herantathut, who has descended from the sky (upper and lower center-left).

Here ends the narrative of the North wall.

It continues on the top register of the eastern wall.

END OF PART 1

Wat Bo: West wall, upper register

1-West wall, upper register

This register must be read from left to right.

Fig.1.W. - Hiran, feeling over-potent, rolled up the surface of earth and brought it to Badan, the underworld. Shiva commanded Vishnu to destroy the giant and restore the earth’s surface

Fig.2.W. - For the occasion, Vishnu took the form of a potent white boar..  Hiran, unaware that the boar was really Vishnu, beat the boar viciously. Vishnu, regaining his godly shape, assaulted the giant (Fig. 2. W, bottom left). Vishnu then unrolled and replaced the Earth’s surface.

Fig. 3.WE. -Vishnu returned to his abode in the middle of the ocean and from his umbilicus emerged a lotus carrying a small, beautiful boy, Anomatan. It is interesting to note the similarity of the iconography here with that of Vishnu reclining and the creation of Brahma as in Hindu mythology.

These first image painted on the top left corner of the western wall that initiates the visual narrative refers to the story that does not appear in any known Cambodian publications, but only in the Thai Ramakien.

Fig.4. W. - Indra bringing Anomatan (as a youth of white skin) dressed in princely costumes, to see Shiva.  They proceeded on elephants driven by mahouts, with carriers of parasols, together with cavaliers and guards in Western costumes, until they faced the doors of Shiva’s palace. Admiring the boy Shiva ordered to build a beautiful city for him (instantly, by magic).

In the city, surrounded by walls, there is grand palace of complex structure (Fig. 07 W). To the upper left side of the panel, Indra can be seen conferring the city to Anomatan. In an open compound or perhaps a garden, there are four rishis, wearing their traditional pointed headdress (right). According to Ramakien, the site chosen for the building of the city was a clearing in a forest inhabited by four ascetics. Indra composed the name of the city by the first syllables of the four rishis names: A-Yu-Tha-Ya. Their names were Achonkhawi, Yukakra, Thaha and Yakha.

In the Ramakien is said that contemporaneously to the making of Ayudhya, in the underground, Brahma built the new city, a gift to Chaturaphak (a yak with four faces). Iit was later moved to Lanka.

Fig.5.W. – Detail of the city of Ayhudhya.

*Here end the upper register

2 -West wall, middle register

Fig.6.W.- There was a yak named Asura Phrom^[1] who, greedy for more power, begged Shiva to be granted invincibility and a magic club. He immediately abused his new power, tormenting gods and humans. However, Maliwakha Phrom^[2] informed Shiva of the danger, who gave him a sacred sword which was more powerful than the club he had given to Asura Phrom. Maliwakha Phrom, took the sword of Shiva, flew to the palace in Ayuthaya, descended from the sky to present the sacred sword to Atchaban, the new king Ayuthaya Fig.6.W. ^.

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[1] Also called Asura Phak in Ramakien.

[2] Later renamed Maliwarat in Ramakien.

Fig.7.W. - The demon Triburam entered the forest to perform meditation and asceticism for seven years and seven days sitting near a river and encircled by magic fires in the belief that he could obtain more power and invincibility from Shiva (Fig. 7. W, center). On the mural, Shiva is shown sitting on the back of Nandin (Fig. 15 W, left, or Fig. 16 W), with a servant protecting him with a parasol, appearing in front of Triburam, kneeling to request a boon of supernatural powers (Fig. 16 W). Before granting the favour, Shiva made Triburam promise he would not use his might against the inhabitants of the earth or the heavens, to which Triburam agreed, but soon disobeyed, succumbing to his lust.

Fig.8.W. -When Shiva was told of the misbehavior of Triburam, he decided to raise an army against the yak (Fig. 17 W). The painting shows the god standing on Nandin, while holding his massive bow with his right arm. Shiva will later donate the bow to the king of Mithila, Janaka and which only Rama will be able to lift. Triburam, after raising a well-equipped army, fought Shiva.

Fig.9.W. - Because of his boon, the arrow used by Shiva had lost its power and could not reach or kill Triburam, forcing Shiva to use the fire of his third eye to reduce him to ashes, although this not depicted.

The end of the middle register of the west wall. 

1 -West wall, lower register

This register must read from left to right.

Fig.10.W.- Some panels were originally illustrating the legend of Nonthok.

The much damaged murals show only two fragmentary scenes. Seated in a pavilion, next to the palace of Shiva, a bald Nonthok is shown pointing the index finger of his left hand towards flying deities (Fig. 10 W, left). In the second scene, we see the upper part of a dancing girl, the incarnation of Vishnu, pointing her finger at her own thigh (Fig. 10W, right), which Nonthok copied and fell, killed by his own diamond finger. 

Fig.11.W. - In the next panel, we find reincarnated as Ravana receiving the teaching of Khobut

(Fig. 22 W, left); the young Ravana looks submissive, and after having been completed his studies, he went to enjoy the flowers and fruits in the garden of the god Orachun, infuriating him.

Fig.12.W. - The succeeding scenes shift to go to the legend of the origin of the two monkeys, who, in the future, will be allied with Rama. Khodom, formerly a great ruler but without any sons, became totally devoted to ascetic life. While he remained immobile for 2,000 years, a pair of birds nested in his beard. Khodom overheard the birds say he was cursed because he had no children. Therefore, by a secret fire, he made a woman appear, named Kala Atchana, whom he married. From them a girl was born, named Sawaha, and later his wife Kala Atchana mothered two boys: one from Indra and another from Suriya, the sun god.

Fig.13.W. - One day Khodom, who is depicted caricatured with a floppy belly, went to bathe with the children. Khodom is shown walking towards the river with a boy on each hip, one of green skin that being the child of Indra, then other with red skin that being the child of Suriya, and the girl Sawaha, with white skin, walking at his side. The left part of the sanel shows Kala Atchana and Khodom sitting in their hermitage holding their three children, each with different skin colour). Sawaha complained to her father that he was carrying the sons of somebody else while letting his real child walk. The old hermit became furious and threw the three children into the river, saying that his own children would swim back to him, and those of someone else would become monkeys. The only one to return was Sawaha and the two brothers were carried away by the water and transformed into monkeys (extreme right of panel), to become known as Valin and Sugriva, rulers of the kingdom of Kiskindha; Valin was the king and Sugriva the viceroy.

Fig.14. W.-Sawaha who had betrayed her mother Kala Atchana was cursed by her to stand frozen atop Mount Chakkrawan with an open mouth eating only wind until she was put into the mouth some fecundating drops of Shiva. She gave birth to a white monkey named Hanuman, who would become the most devoted and effective soldier of Rama.

Fig.15.W. - Hanuman, who was born fully grown, with two arms  and twice with multiple arms, large and strong, shows off his powers to all.

Fig.16.W. - Rammasun (Parasurama) rushed to her trying to snatch the jewel away, chasing her, while Mekkhala disappeared into the clouds. Rammasun became furious and cut a path into the clouds with his axe producing thunder until he crossed the path of Orachun, who was very irritated. The two quarreled and fought fiercely. Rammasun took Orachun by the feet, swung him around and threw him against the rocks of Mount Sumeru (Fig. 33 W), causing the mountain to tilt.

Fig.17.W. - Shiva ordered that all the deva, naga, khrut, and learned men, along with Valin and Sugriva, help to straighten the mountain. They used a naga as a pulling rope wrapped around Mount Sumeru, but the mountain could still not be straightened. Sugriva, who was holding the naga, tickled the naga on his navel causing the naga to contract, allowing Valin to move and straighten the mountain although little. On the panel Sugriva is depicted holding the naga, with Valin shown seated in front of Shiva.

Fig.18.W. - Only the top part of the panel is preserved, showing many nagas at the back of a building in which there are two asura and their consorts (Fig. 35 W). To the right of this is illustrated the episode of the naga, Kala Nak, king of the underworld, who wanted to eliminate the herds of demons surrounding his city (Fig. 36 W), and decided to attack. Saha Maliwan knew that to repel the attack of the nagas he needed garudas and that his friend Latsatian possessed a magic arrow that transformed into garudas.

 Fig.19. W. -The painters displayed a large garuda sizing the head of Kala Nak.

The end of the west wall narrative.

It continues in the top register of the northern wall

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