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Shravana Kumar carries his infirm parents on a pilgrimage. Ramayana illustration. Raghogarh, circa 1820. Gouache ansd silver on paper. Folio 16 x 31.7cm; image 22.5 x 28.5cm
Shravan Kumar took his aged and poor blind parents on pilgrimage by carrying them, sitting suspended from each end of a rod supported over his shoulders with lengths of rope. In the Ramayana, King Dashratha of Ayodhya whilst hunting chances upon Shravan Kumar, though he cannot see him, instead hearing what he believes to be the sounds of a deer, so fires an arrow in that direction, mortally wounding Shravan. Upon hearing of their son's death, his parents expire with grief, but before their death, curse the king so that he too will die from torment of cruel separation. Later, when Dashratha's son Rama is banished for 14 years to the forest, the curse is fulfilled, with the king collapsing and dying. The story's didactic purpose is to teach respect for parents but also that one can never escape the results of one's own actions, whether king or pauper, an essential belief in Hinduism. Shravan Kumar is celebrated to this day, even on occasion imitated by young men who carry an elderly parent on pilgrimage. Images of a similar iconic nature also remain popular, with modern variations produced today.