Introduction
Narasimha, "man-lion", is the fourth avatar of Vishnu, in whom he appears as a being half man and half lion. He is the fierce protector of his devotees, and one of the most popular forms of Vishnu, especially in South India.
Avatars (avataras, "descents") are the forms in which Vishnu is said to come to the world when dharma is in decline. The idea is stated in the Bhagavad Gita (4.7 to 4.8), where Krishna says that he takes birth in every age to protect the good, destroy the wicked and restore dharma. The most widely accepted list, the Dashavatara, has ten avatars: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Other lists exist, for example with Balarama in place of Buddha, and the Bhagavata Purana speaks of twenty-two avatars and says they are innumerable. The Dashavatara is the subject of many temples and works of art, from the rock-cut reliefs of Ellora (the Dashavatara cave) and Mahabalipuram, to Jayadeva's twelfth-century poem the Gita Govinda, which opens with a hymn to the ten avatars.
Family
- Incarnation of: Vishnu
The story
Hiranyakashipu, the brother of Hiranyaksha, performed austerities and received from Brahma a boon that he could be killed neither by man nor animal, neither inside nor outside a house, neither by day nor night, neither on earth nor in the sky, and by no weapon. Proud of his power, he made himself lord of the three worlds and demanded to be worshipped as God.
His son Prahlada, however, was a devotee of Vishnu, and refused. Hiranyakashipu tried to kill him in many ways: with poison, by throwing him from a cliff, by trampling him with elephants. His sister Holika, who was immune to fire, took Prahlada on her lap into a fire. She burned, and Prahlada was unharmed. This is the story that is celebrated on the eve of Holi.
At last, Hiranyakashipu asked Prahlada where his Vishnu was, and if he was in a pillar. He struck the pillar, and Vishnu emerged from it as Narasimha. At twilight, on the threshold of the palace, Narasimha placed Hiranyakashipu on his lap and tore him open with his claws, fulfilling all the conditions of the boon.
Sources
The story is told in the Vishnu Purana (1.17 to 1.20), the Bhagavata Purana (Book 7), and the Narasimha Purana. The Prahlada part of the story is a popular one.
Forms and iconography
Narasimha is worshipped in many forms, including Ugra Narasimha (fierce), Lakshmi Narasimha (with Lakshmi on his lap), Yoga Narasimha (in meditation), and Jvala Narasimha (flaming). He is usually shown with a lion's face and a human body, with claws and a mane.
Worship and temples
The Ahobilam temple complex in Andhra Pradesh has nine shrines, the Navanarasimha. The Simhachalam temple near Visakhapatnam and the Yadagirigutta temple in Telangana are also well known, and Hampi has a huge monolithic Narasimha of the Vijayanagara period. Narasimha Jayanti, on the fourteenth day of the bright half of Vaishakha, is his festival.
Meaning
The story is of the protection of the devotee, and of how a boon that appears to make someone invincible can be circumvented. The form itself, neither man nor animal, is an image of the divine breaking the categories of the world.