ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the paintings inside the two-storeyed building which functioned as Ramnad Palace’s hall of audience, known as the Ramalinga Vilasam. The majority of the early eighteenth-century paintings inside this building depict stories from Vaishnavaite epics, and are extremely similar to paintings found inside south Indian temples. However, alongside these ‘religious’ narratives are paintings which depict themes not found in temples, such as a historical battle scene and representations of the king engaged in various pleasurable activities. Previous analyses of the paintings in the Ramalinga Vilasam have considered these varying themes, but have not attempted to view them as parts of an overarching programme. 147
