Narasimha
Narasimha is the fourth avatar of Vishnu, the preserver god in the Hindu trinity. He appeared in the form of a half-man/half-lion hybrid, which is reflected in his name, which derives from the Sanskrit nara ("man") and simha ("lion"). In popular myth, his half-lion, half-man form allowed him to slay the tyrannnical demon king Hiranyakashipu, who could not be killed by any human or animal.
Narasimha in the Context of the Avatar Doctrine
Avatar, from the Sanskrit term literally meaning "descent", refers to an appearance of the divine in the realm of material existence. Through the power of maya (illusion, magic), it is said that God can manipulate forms in the material world, and is therefore able to assume bodily forms and become immanent in the empirical world. Although many Hindu gods are said to have avatars, the term is most ubiquitously related to Lord Vishnu, of whom Narasimha is an incarnation. Hinduism states that the Absolute can take on innumerable forms and, therefore, the number of avatars is theoretically limitless; however, in practice, Hinduism recognizes ten major avatars, collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' ('dasa' in Sanskrit means ten). Scriptural lists of these ten divine manifestations frequently differ, however, the most commonly accepted has Narasimha preceded by 1) Matsya, a fish; 2) Kurma, a turtle; 3) Varaha, a boar; and followed by 5) Vamana, a dwarf; 6) Parasurama, Rama with an axe; 7) Rama, a noble man; 8) Krishna, the teacher of the Bhagavadgita; 9) Buddha, a spiritually enlightened being or Balarama and finally 10) Kalkin, the final avatar who has yet to arrive. These avatars usually incarnate for the purpose of protecting or restoring dharma, the cosmic principle of order, when it has devolved. Krishna explains this in sloka 4.7 of the Bhagavad Gita: "Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness O Arjuna, I send forth Myself." This typically involves the performance of a particular series of events in order to instruct others, navigating humanity toward the paths of bhakti (devotion) and ultimately moksha (liberation). The avatar doctrine is a seminal concept in certain forms of Hinduism, such as Vaishnavism, which worships Vishnu as the Supreme God.
Mythology
Narasimha appears in the story of two brothers, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. During the pregnancy of their mother, Diti, her husband Kashyapa performed a sacrifice and provided numerous precious gifts for the officiating priests, including a gold-plated wooden seat for covered with grass. As the sacrifice commenced, Diti gave birth to a son and the child walked directly to the place of the sacrifice as soon as he was born. The infant immediatly began to recite sacrid texts. he was named Hiranyakashipu, and it was predicted that he would become very powerful. Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu are known in the Puranic legends as Jaya and Vijaya, two keepers of Vishnu who brought the supreme god displeasure. They were cursed to become the enemies of Vishnu in numerous births. In this particular birth, the demons were born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Having propitiated Brahma, the brothers received a boon from him which made them invulnerable to gods, men and beasts. Nor could be slain in the day or night, or inside or out. With this condition in place, Hiranyakashipu began to consider himself god in the flesh and forbade worship of all the gods. His son Prahlada, however, was a faithful devotee of Vishnu and did not give up his worship of the god despite the threats and tortures visited upon him. Enraged, Hiranyakashipu attempted to kill his son by a variety of means: drowning, tossing him off a cliff, caging him with poisonous snakes, feeding him to lions, having him trampled by elephants and burning him alive. However, the son esacped each of these ordeals unharmed. Discontent with his failures, Hiranyakashipu attempted to shatter the boy's love for Vishnu, however, the child kept singing the god's praises. One night at dusk, Hiranyakashipu finally asked his son as to the location of Vishnu, to which his son replied "everywhere". Angered, Hiranyakashipu struck the pillar in the entrance of his palace and asked if Vishnu was in there, too. The child answered in the affirmative and so Hiranyakashipu continued to kick the pillar. The pillar shook then shattered, and from it emerged Narasimha, who took the demon king on his lap and then eviscerated him with his claws. Narasimha was neither man nor beast in his nature, he appeared in twilight, and because the pillar in which he appeared was neither inside or outside the house, he fulfilled all the criteria in order to enable to defeat Hiranyakashipu,
A Shaivic account sometimes appended to this story claims that after emancipating the world from the harmful rule of Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha grew conceited with his victory. In order to put him in check, Shiva took the form of Sharabha, a mythical creature which is half-bird and half-lion. Sharabha tore up Narasimha, much as he had Hiranyakashipu, then wore the man-lion's skin as a garment. The face of the Narasimha, meanwhile, was used as an ornamentation upon Shiva's chest.
Depiction
While avatars preceding Narasimha were depicted as half-human, half-animal to symbolically assert their nature as both animal and avatars of Vishnu, Narasimha is pictured this way in order to display his actual physiognomy. He is shown either seated or standing. The main emphasis of his depictions is often placed upon his power, braveness and independence. In some depictions he is ferocious, with three large bulging eyes, a gaping mouth with fangs bared, and his mane heavy, his tailed flayed upon the ground, his claws sharp. In other depictions he is more calm, sitting or standing peacefully amongst his consorts and showing yogic signs. Often, his legs are crossed in the lotus position, held there by a meditation band (yoga-patta), as if he is engaged in contemplation. These kind of depictions are classified as Yoga-Narasimha. Sometimes he is pictured with consorts, such as Lakshmi, and in his more vicious forms he is shown carrying the slain Hiranyakashipu on his lap. His colour is bright yellow. He is most commonly pictured with four arms, but can also have 2, 8 or as many as 16 arms. He carries a variety of weapons and symbols associated with Vishnu such as the club (a symbol of knowledge), a wheel, a conch the discus and the axe depending on the number of arms he is pictured with. One hand is often held in the abhaya mudra, a symbol of fearlessness. Behind his head there sometimes rises a seven-headed serpent, representing the cosmic snake Shesha upon which he is said to sleep.
Significance
Narasimha represents the acknowledgement by Hindus that human beings and animals are closely related. Among all creatures, man is considered to be the best, and among animals, the lion is held the highest. With their combined intelligence and ferocity, they are worthy of the most powerful entity in the phenomenal world. The intelligent way in which he overcame the boon of invincibility possessed by Hiranyakashipu, and the ferocity with which he killed the demon illustrate his ability to combine the intelligence of a human being with the sheer power of beast. At the threshold between the most superior beast and human being, Narasimha illustrates the fine line between human beings and animals upon the continuum of creation.
In addition, Narasimha has had numerous pilgrimage sites and temples dedicated to him throughout India, particularly in the state of Andrah Pradesh, where there are seven pilgrimage sites to Narasimha still stand. Narasimha is a key figure of the Holi festival, or the festival of colours, during which aspects of the myth involving he, Prahlada and his father are reenacted. This is one of the most popular festivals in India. Because of Narasimha's often ferocious nature, worshippers are very meticulous when worshipping his images, fearing any display of carelessness will incur his wrath.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bassuk, Daniel E. Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: the myth of the god-man. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1987. ISBN 0391034529
- Gupta, Shakti. Vishnu and His Incarnations. Delhi: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1974.
- Mitchell, A.G. Hindu Gods and Goddesses. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1982. ISBN 011290372X
- Parrinder, Geoffrey. Avatar and incarnation: the Wilde lectures in natural and comparative religion in the University of Oxford. London: Faber, 1970. ISBN 0571093191
