Narasiṃha Avatāra, the Man-Lion of Bhagavān Viṣṇu

Narasiṃha (nara means man, siṃha means lion) is the fourth of the ten main avatāras (Daśāvatāra) of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Bhagavān Viṣṇu took this fierce half-man, half-lion form to destroy the asura Hiraṇyakaśipu.

Hiraṇyakaśipu had won a vara (a boon) from Brahmā. The boon made him safe from death at the hands of any man or beast, by any weapon, by day or by night, and inside or outside. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa gives the fullest account: Narasiṃha came out of a pillar at dusk, at the threshold, laid Hiraṇyakaśipu across his thighs and tore him open with his bare nails. The form was so terrifying that Brahmā, Śiva, Indra and even Lakṣmī could not come near. Only the child Prahlāda, a devotee, went forward and calmed him.

The event

In the Varāha Purāṇa, Bhūdevī (the earth devī) recalls the event in Chapter 1:

“When Hiraṇyakaśipu obtained boons and, blinded by them, troubled the earth, you destroyed him.”

Gauramukha’s stotra

Chapter 15 of the Varāha Purāṇa has a stotra (a hymn of praise) by Gauramukha:

“The one who in each yuga takes Nṛsiṃha form — the yogi whom yogis always desire — of golden hue — terrible form — frightening face — the great-minded asura-destroyer — may he protect us!”

Narasiṃha Dvādaśī in the month of Phālguna

Chapter 42 of the Varāha Purāṇa teaches the Narasiṃha Dvādaśī vrata (a vow kept on the twelfth day) in the month of Phālguna.

The archanā mantras

Each part of the image is worshipped with a mantra:

Oṃ Narasiṃhāya namaḥ — the feet
Govindāya namaḥ — the thighs
Viśvabhuje namaḥ — the chest
Śitikaṇṭhāya namaḥ — the throat
Piṅgakeśāya namaḥ — the head
Asuradhvaṃsanāya namaḥ — the cakra
Toyātmane namaḥ — the conch

The image

A Narasiṃha image of gold or wood is wrapped in white cloths and placed in the kumbha (the water pot).

The example of King Vatsa

King Vatsa of Kimpuruṣa-varṣa was the son of King Bhārata. Enemies defeated him and drove him into the forest with his wife. He lived at the āśrama of Vasiṣṭha. The ṛṣi asked why he had come, and Vatsa told him that he had lost his kingdom and his wealth. Vasiṣṭha taught him the Narasiṃha Dvādaśī vrata.

Vatsa kept the vrata faithfully. Bhagavān Narasiṃha was pleased and gave him the Sudarśana cakra. With it Vatsa won back his kingdom, performed one thousand aśvamedha yajñas, and in the end reached Viṣṇu-loka.

Why to honour Narasiṃha

Chapter 48 says:

“Those fearing pāpa should worship Narasiṃha-rūpa.”

Those who fear pāpa (sin) should therefore honour the form of Narasiṃha.

The Agni Purāṇa account

The fourth chapter of the Agni Purāṇa carries on from the Varāha account. Bhagavān Varāha had slain Hiraṇyākṣa. His brother Hiraṇyakaśipu then took the throne. He began to seize the share of the devas in the yajña and ruled all three worlds as a tyrant.

Hiraṇyakaśipu had boons that protected him from death by man, beast or weapon, by day or night, and inside or outside. He thought himself unbeatable. Yet his son Prahlāda stayed firm in his devotion to Bhagavān Viṣṇu, and this made the asura angrier. Hiraṇyakaśipu mocked Prahlāda: “Is your Viṣṇu in this pillar?” Bhagavān Viṣṇu then came out of the pillar as Narasiṃha, half man and half lion. This form fell outside every condition of the boons.

Narasiṃha killed Hiraṇyakaśipu on his own lap, at the threshold of the hall, at dusk, which is neither day nor night. He used his own nails and no weapon. The devas praised Narasiṃha, and when they had praised him he gave every deva back his own place.

The form of Narasiṃha in the Agni Purāṇa

Chapter 49 of the Agni Purāṇa describes the mūrti of Narasiṃha. The mouth is open. The image presses Hiraṇyakaśipu upon its left thigh and tears open the asura’s chest. It wears a garland at the throat and holds the cakra and the gadā (mace) in its hands.

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa account

The seventh Skandha of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa (Chapters 8 and 9) gives the most complete account of the Narasiṃha avatāra.

The form

Hiraṇyakaśipu struck a pillar with his fist. He was demanding to know whether Prahlāda’s Bhagavān Viṣṇu was in that pillar too. Narasiṃha came out of it. A sound like the roar of cosmic dissolution rose from within, and the pillar split.

The form was new in creation. It had a lion’s head with blazing eyes, like the sun at pralaya (the dissolution of the world). It had a man’s body of boundless power, a mane that blazed like fire, and nails like thunderbolts. He was neither man nor beast. He stood outside every kind of being that Brahmā had made, and so he fell outside the first clause of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s boon. (Chapter 8)

The killing

The killing met each clause of Brahmā’s boon:

Not inside or outside. Narasiṃha seized Hiraṇyakaśipu at the threshold, the doorway of the palace hall.
Not day or night. The killing took place at the meeting of day and evening, at dusk (sandhyā).
Not on earth or in the sky. Narasiṃha laid the asura across his own thighs.
Not by a weapon, and not by a living or lifeless thing. He used his own bare nails.
Not by any being Brahmā created. Narasiṃha was Bhagavān Viṣṇu himself, in a form that Brahmā had not created.

He tore open Hiraṇyakaśipu’s chest with his nails.

After the killing

His anger did not cool after the killing. Narasiṃha sat on the throne of Indra with the asura’s blood on his nails. His mane blazed and his eyes blazed. The whole assembly of devas, maharṣis, Siddhas, Pitṛs, Nāgas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas and Apsarasas showered flowers and sang from far off, but none could come near.

Brahmā offered his stotra. Śiva offered his stotra. Indra offered his stotra. All stood at a distance. The devas sent Śrī Lakṣmī herself to go to him. She stopped at the sight of this new form and could not go forward.

Prahlāda comes near

At last Brahmā sent Prahlāda. The child was five years old. He walked up without fear and fell flat at the feet of Narasiṃha. He offered a stotra of niṣkāma bhakti (devotion that asks for nothing). When Narasiṃha saw his devotee, his heart at once filled with karuṇā (compassion). He lifted Prahlāda and laid his lotus-like hand on the boy’s head. By that touch Prahlāda received paramātma-sākṣātkāra (direct sight of Paramātmā). Narasiṃha was fully calmed. (Chapter 9)

What the Bhāgavata teaches through this account

Bhagavān Viṣṇu is present everywhere and in everything, even in a pillar. He comes out to protect his devotee wherever the devotee’s faith calls him.
No boon given by a lesser deva, even Brahmā, can bind Bhagavān Viṣṇu.
The selfless love of a devotee reaches Bhagavān Viṣṇu where no ritual qualification, power or learning can. Prahlāda came near when Brahmā, Śiva and Lakṣmī could not.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa account

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa (Chapters 40 to 44) tells of the Narasiṃha avatāra as part of its Daśāvatāra sequence. It keeps these details:

Hiraṇyakaśipu is shown just before his death. He sits on a high throne, covered with dark jewelled ornaments. Around him are rākṣasas with great tusks and dark forms like the yamadūtas (the messengers of Yama).
Prahlāda saw his father from far off as one already near death (maraṇāni samīpe). He saw this with divine sight (divya-dṛṣṭi).
When Hiraṇyakaśipu challenged Prahlāda about the pillar, he struck it with the Candrahāsa sword. Narasiṃha burst out. The Purāṇa stresses the vast size of the form inside the pillar, which spread over many yojanas.
Narasiṃha killed Hiraṇyakaśipu at sandhyā time, at the threshold of the dwelling. He laid him on his thigh and tore open his chest with nails “equal to the vajrāyudha” (the thunderbolt weapon). The asura’s body turned to dust.
After the killing, Narasiṃha laughed, the laugh of the destroyer who is satisfied.
Brahmā crowned Prahlāda ruler of the rākṣasas. All people turned toward dharma. Indra was set back in his place, with all the devas in svarga (heaven).

Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa lives on Śrī Śaila

Only the Narasiṃha Purāṇa gives this declaration. When the Narasiṃha avatāra was done, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa chose the peak of Śrī Śaila (Śrī Śailam) as his lasting home, for the constant welfare of all beings (Chapter 44):

“For the welfare of all beings, Nārāyaṇa resides on the peak of Śrī Śaila, protecting the devotees and destroying those who are not his devotees.”

Śrī Śailam is therefore the home of Narasiṃha after the avatāra.

Sources

Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Book 1 (Chapters 1–50)
Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 4, 49
Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 7th Skandha, Chapters 8–9
Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapters 40–44