“The room that became the imperial cult chamber during the Tetrarchy was in pharaonic times the first in a series of halls that made up the temple's inner sanctum. Immediately upon entry, visitors (exclusively priests in the Egyptian cult, because the unpurified were never allowed into this part of the temple) were confronted with a large doorway on the opposite, southern wall that led into another hall, which led to the barque shrine, where the image-bearing boat was kept, and finally ended in the holiest chamber of all, the sanctuary of Amun. This first room was therefore a liminal space, marked as important by its inaccessibility to the general public, yet it was not a room in which the presence of the deity resided per-manently. It was, however, a space where a visitor physically realized the transition from secular to sacred space, by moving through it, or at least seeing through it, toward the gods (or rather, the statues of the gods in the inner sanctuary). The choice of this room as the focus of Roman modifications to Luxor Temple seems therefore a particularly powerful political statement. By the Romans' blocking the southern doorway of this room, which once led to the pharaonic inner sanc-tum, and filling it instead with images of the Roman emper-ors, the reconfigured room simultaneously usurped access to the pharaonic god and was reconstituted as a space in which the Roman emperors, represented by their painted presence, underwent a divine transformation. Diocletian especially, illustrated with the attributes of Jupiter, the Roman avatar of Amun, was not only presented as the divine ruler of Egypt but also as the arbiter of legitimate temporal power” (McFadden 2015, 127-128).
This is folio 66 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Sumantra relating Rama's message to Dasharatha (top); morose citizens (bottom).
This is folio 36 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Dasharatha with Minister Sumantra (top); Rama taking leave of the citizens (bottom).
This is folio 53 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows the trio on its way (top); people gathering to see Rama and paying homage (bottom).
This is folio 60 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows a scene in Citrakuta where tigers, elephants, deers etc. roam together.
This collection includes digitized negatives created by field experts and professional photographers during research surveys between 1966 and 1990. The images document heritage buildings in various Indian states (Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, etc) that are decayed, damaged, or inaccessible. Also included are images of rare terracotta sculptures unearthed in excavations conducted at archaeological sites in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Karnataka, and a collection of miniature paintings commissioned by Mughal and Rajput patrons during the 16th to the 19th centuries in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
This is folio 45 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows boatman (kewat) washing Rama's feet (top); the trio on boat (center); Rama worshipping Shivalinga, and offering his ring to Kewat.
This is folio 67 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Dasharatha falling down on hearing Sumantra's words, queens bewailing; citizens in deep sorrow (bottom).
This is folio 41 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Minister Sumantra persuading Rama to return (top); Rama and Lakshmana making hair locks (jatas) with the milk of a banyan tree (vata vriksha) (bottom).
This is folio 25 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Kaikeyi joyous (top); Dasharatha in bed (left); Kausalya and Rama conversing; worried courtiers (bottom).
This is folio 51 from the Ayodhyakanda chapter of the Ramcharit Manas manuscript. The illustration shows Rama addressing the villagers (top); Lakshmana enquiring about the way (bottom).