South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c8.s3.14

c8.s3.14

Hēmādri states that Narasimha must be represented with muscular shoulders, a stout neck and a slender waist. Half man and half lion, his face must be fiery and so also the mane round it. Standing with his right foot bent forward (ālidha) he splits with his sharp nails the breast of the tyrant Hiranyakasipu, who, as the wise men say, is an embodiment of ignorance. The Pāncharātrāgama thus describes the form of Narasimha suited for meditation:— "(Terrible) like flaming fire, he has a lion-face with a human body, furious fangs, a protruding tongue, an open mouth, a thick mane and muscular chest. He stands in the ālidha posture in an angry mood and splits the breast of the giant, thrown flat upon his thigh, with the sharp nails of both his hands. In his two other hands he holds the symbols of the club and the discus." The Mayamata, while giving almost the same description of him, states that the cruel form of Narasimha is installed on mountain-tops, caves, forests or the enemy's territory when the enemy has to be destroyed; when installed, however, in villages and towns he has four hands, two of which wear the conch and the discus.