Hanuman meets mermaid son in battle (Thai Ramayana mural)

Hanuman faces his mermaid son in battle, as seen on a mural detail at the Emerald Buddha Temple. On the right side, Hanuman, in his wide-legged stance, holds a sword in his left hand while he points his right index finger at his enemy. A fish-tailed creature, who looks like a smaller Hanuman from the waist up, aims a lance back in Hanuman’s direction.

During one of the many battles with Ravana’s armies, Hanuman encounters a particularly powerful enemy with the tail of a fish. Initially, Hanuman does not recognize that this demon creature is his own son by the mermaid daughter of Ravana.