Narasimha - Early Images of Narasimha

Early Images of Narasimha

In Andhra Pradesh, a panel dating to third-fourth century AD shows a full theriomorphic squatting lion with two extra human arms behind his shoulders holding Vaishnava emblems. This lion, flanked by five heroes (viras), often has been identified as an early depiction of Narasimha. Standing cult images of Narasimha from the early Gupta period, survive from temples at Tigowa and Eran. These sculptures are two-armed, long maned, frontal, wearing only a lower garment, and with no demon-figure of Hiranyakashipu. Images representing the narrative of Narasimha slaying the demon Hiranyakasipu survive from slightly later Gupta-period temples: one at Madhia and one from a temple-doorway now set into the Kumra-math at Nachna, both dated to the late fifth or early sixth century A.D.

An image of Narasimha supposedly dating to second-third century AD sculpted at Mathura was acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1987. It was described by Stella Kramrisch, the former Philadelphia Museum of Art's Indian curator, as "perhaps the earliest image of Narasimha as yet known". This figure depicts a furled brow, fangs, and lolling tongue similar to later images of Narasimha, but the idol's robe, simplicity, and stance set it apart. On Narasimha's chest under his upper garment appears the suggestion of an amulet, which Stella Kramrisch associated with Visnu's cognizance, the Kaustubha jewel. This upper garment flows over both shoulders; but below Hiranyakasipu, the demon-figure placed horizontally across Narasimha's body, a twisted waist-band suggests a separate garment covering the legs. The demon's hair streams behind him, cushioning his head against the man-lion's right knee. He wears a simple single strand of beads. His body seems relaxed, even pliant. His face is calm, with a slight suggestion of a smile. His eyes stare adoringly up at the face of Vishnu. There is little tension in this figure's legs or feet, even as Narasimha gently disembowels him. His innards spill along his right side. As the Matsya purana describes it, Narasimha ripped "apart the mighty Daitya chief as a plaiter of straw mats shreds his reeds". Based on the Gandhara-style of robe worn by the idol, Michael Meiste altered the date of the image to fourth century AD.

Deborah Soifer, a scholar who worked on texts in relation to Narasimha, believes that "the traits basic to Vishnu in the Veda remain central to Vishnu in his avataras" and points out, however, that: "we have virtually no precursors in the Vedic material for the figure of a man-lion, and only one phrase that simply does not rule out the possibility of a violent side to the benign Vishnu". Soifer speaks of "the enigma" of Vishnu's Narasimha avatara and comments that "how the myth arrived at its rudimentary form, and where the figure of the man-lion came from remain unsolved mysteries.".

An image of Narasimha, dating to the 9th century, was found on the northern slope of Mount Ijo, at Prambanan, Indonesia. Images of Thrivikrama and Varaha avataras were also found at Prambanan, Indonesia. Vishnu and His avatara images follow iconographic pecularities characteristic of the art of central Java. This includes physiognomy of central Java, an exaggerated volume of garment, and some elaboration of the jewelry. This decorative scheme once formulated became, with very little modification, an accepted norm for sculptures throughout the Central Javanese period (circa 730-930 A.D.). Despite the iconographic peculiarities, the stylistic antecedents of the Java sculptures can be traced back to Indian carvings as the Chalukya and Pallava images of the 6th-7th centuries AD.