The Monkeys and Bears Fight Ravana and His Demons (verso), from a Romance of Chandrabhanu and Lavanyavati of Upendra Bhanja (Indian, died 1740)

The verso of this 1774 painting entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it has been exhibited and studied as part of the museum's Indian miniature holdings. Its role in scholarly discussions of Indian narrative painting has contributed to renewed interest in Upendra Bhanja's literary sources and their visual adaptations.

This narrow, horizontally‑oriented painting forms the reverse side of an illustrated manuscript page from the 18th‑century Odia romance Romance of Chandrabhanu and Lavanyavati, attributed to the poet Upendra Bhanja (d. 1740). The composition is densely populated with miniature figures engaged in combat, architectural elements, and a landscape rendered in muted earth tones with occasional green foliage.

Executed in a miniature painting tradition, the work employs fine brushwork to delineate intricate details within a confined space. The palette is dominated by browns, blacks, and subdued ochres, with limited highlights of green for foliage. The figures are stylized with exaggerated limbs and expressive faces, characteristic of courtly Indian manuscript illustration.

Illustrated romances like this one were central to the visual culture of Indian courts, serving both literary and didactic purposes. The depiction of mythic battles with hybrid beings aligns with broader South Asian iconographic motifs, offering insight into the narrative aesthetics that influenced later regional art forms.