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Laksman cuts out the heart of a deer, as seen on a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. Rama’s brother Laksman, wearing golden Siamese royal clothes and crown, kneels beside a dead doe. The deer lies on her side, her back arched, her ears flopped on the ground.
In his right hand, Laksman holds the hilt of a sword that is thrust into the deer’s chest. In his left hand, he holds up the deer’s heart, which he will pretend he took from Sita.
In the Ramayana, Laksman is unable to carry out his brother Rama’s command that he kill Rama’s wife Sita out of misplaced jealousy. Rama expects to see Sita’s heart as proof of her death, but Laksman kills a deer and delivers that heart instead.
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