Visvamitra's penance

Ramayana, Bala Kanda. Udaipur, 1712 Language: Sanskrit Source/Shelfmark: Add. 15295, f.173 The god Indra, fearing the power that Visvamitra would gain from his asceticisms, sends Kama the god of Love and the nymph Rambha to seduce him and thereby render his penance useless. Visvamitra is on the brink of succumbing to his passion when he realises that Indra has sent Rambha to tempt him. He curses Rambha to become a rock for a thousand years. As he has not fully subdued his anger, he then has to undergo yet another thousand years of mortification before Brahma finally grants his request to becoming a Brahmin-sage. Image taken from Ramayana, Bala Kanda. Originally published/produced in Udaipur, 1712.