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      Fig. 28 Mangku Mura, Kamasan, Sutasoma’s Sacrifice to the Naga (detail), 1973, paint on cloth, 67 x 87 cm, Forge Collection, Australian Museum, E74182 (photo Finton Mahony).

      A different depiction of sacrifice is presented in paintings of the Sutasoma story. Originally derived from Indian stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, in Bali it has been incorporated into the tales of the priestly figures who precede the main Ramayana.⁴² Sutasoma is an incarnation of the Buddha, known as Bhatara, God, Boda (or Jina) in Bali, but he is also a relative of Rawana. Sutasoma is not the usual fighting hero, but instead offers peace in the face of his enemies. As he wanders through the forest he meets two beings fighting, an elephant-headed man, Gajahwaktra, and a serpent. He ends their quarrel and makes both his followers. Further on he encounters a tigress who is so hungry she is about to eat her cub. To prevent this great sin, Sutasoma offers himself as her food, but he is brought back to life by the god Sakra. At the climax of the story, Sutasoma confronts the world-threatening cannibal king Purusada, who has been taken over by Rudra, the destructive form of Siwa. Rudra attempts to destroy Sutasoma by turning into a giant dragon and eating him, but Sutasoma’s power is such that he can passively resist this assault, thus releasing Purusada from Rudra’s power.

      The main scene of the dragon or giant naga attempting to devour Sutasoma is the most important in the story. Underlying it is the concept that the two gods involved, Buddha and Rudra, are one and the same. The scene represents the transformation of a thing into its opposite, called matemahan in Balinese, by which the pure destructive, demonic form is revealed as a manifestation of its opposite, the pure goodness of Sutasoma. Sutasoma’s sacrifice is a purification of the world (Fig. 28).

      Frequently depicted from the main Ramayana is the abduction of Sita by Rawana. Rawana arranges this by having his demon follower, Marica, turn into a deer, who lures Rama away from where he, Sita and Laksamana, Rama’s brother, are living in the forest. When Rama shoots Marica with an arrow, the demon/deer cries in pain, and Laksamana and Sita think that Rama is in trouble. After a quarrel, Laksamana goes off to find his brother. Then Rawana appears disguised as a priest and steals Sita away, flying her off on his winged vehicle, Wilmana. The Garuda-like Jatayu eagle attempts to stop Rawana. In their frequently depicted battle, Jatayu is mortally wounded, but before he dies he tell Rama of Sita’s abduction.

      Rama wanders in the forest in search of allies and meets the monkey brothers Bali (or Subali) and Sugriwa, who are fighting for the throne of the monkey kingdom. In a focal scene for Balinese paintings, Rama intervenes in the brothers’ duel by shooting Bali with an arrow, thus committing Sugriwa to bring his monkey forces, including his nephew, their general Hanoman, to Rama’s aid. The killing of Bali shows Rama in an ethically dubious light, although in ancient Indian and Balinese books of royal ethics, kings are permitted to use any strategy necessary to achieve their ends.

      Fig. 29 Karangasem, Arjunawijaya: Arjunasahasrabahu Captures Rawana (detail). Inscription reads: ‘Syat Arjunawijaya/ring segara/lawan sang Rawana/sang Arjuna triwingkrama/kahejuk sang Rawana’/Arjunawijaya fights in the sea against Rawana. Arjuna has taken his triwikrama (pamurtian or monstrous) form and Rawana is captured, c. 1900, paint on cloth, patched together, mounted on bamboo matting, with bound-on painted bamboo edge, 79 x 355 cm, Forge Collection, Australian Museum, E76379 (photo Emma Furno).

      Fig. 30 Kamasan, Building the Bridge to Langka, with Tantri scene below, c. 1810–30, traditional paint on bark cloth, 150 x 127 cm, tabing, from Pura Jero Kapal, Gelgel, Forge Collection, Australian Museum, E76168 (photo Emma Furno).

      Fig. 31 Kamasan, The Death of Indrajit, before 1849, paint on cloth, langse, from a temple in Kusamba, State Museum Berlin, IC876c.

      Hanoman flies to Langka to meet with Sita in Rawana’s asoka tree garden, where he gives her a token that Rama is coming for her. On the way out, Hanoman fights with Rawana’s demons, and destroys part of their palace. Balinese artists frequently depict Hanoman’s fight with the demons, although paintings showing Hanoman’s mission to Sita are less common, despite this being a common theme for dance-drama.

      The next major topic for Balinese artists is the march of Rama’s army to the island kingdom of Langka (modern-day Sri Lanka). Rama’s monkey army, aided by other creatures (called paluarga by Kamasan artists), must build a causeway to invade the island. Led by the architect Nala, they set about carrying rocks to do this, while their general, Hanoman, calls on his grandfather, the Sun, not to beat down too hotly on them. An extraordinary painting of this scene shows Hanoman flying up to the Sun (top) (Fig. 30). The scene recalls the story of Hanoman’s birth, also known to painters through a text called Kapiparwa, in which Hanoman threatens to eat the Sun, such is the monkey’s great power.⁴³

      Once Rama’s forces are across the causeway, the battle with Rawana’s army begins. The war, as with other epic battles, is described in terms of surges by different leaders. It ends in the defeat of Rawana’s forces. One very beautiful mid-nineteenth century Kamasan painting shows the death of Rawana’s brother, Indrajit, at the hands of Laksamana, as the monkeys, led by

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