Monkey allies of Rama sit together on the ground (Thai Ramayana mural) 1136091600

Monkey allies of Rama sit together on the ground (Thai Ramayana mural)

Seven differently colored monkeys sit on the ground with three of their crowned monkey kings in this detail from a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. The monkeys are painted in shades of blue, purple, green, brown, and black. Their three kings wearing tall spired gold crowns sit toward the left.

In the Ramayana, once the monkey god Hanuman hears about how Rama's wife Sita was kidnapped, he goes to his monkey relatives and asks them to fight on Rama's behalf to release Sita from her imprisonment by the demon Ravana. They agree to help.

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