Narasimha

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Narasimha

Place of OriginIndia, Orissa

Dateabout 1200

Dimensions36 1/4 × 20 × 11 1/2 in. (92.1 × 50.8 × 29.2 cm)

Mediumsandstone

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1987.176

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 35

Label TextHindu savior god Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha ("man-lion") to defeat demon king Hiranyakashipu. The evil king had gotten the chief of the Hindu gods, Brahma, to promise that he could not be killed at the hands of men, beasts, gods, or demons; nor could he die inside or outside, nor during day or night. Vishnu-as-Narasimha (who was neither wholly man, beast, nor god) burst out of the porch pillar of the king’s palace (which was neither inside nor outside) and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk (which is neither day nor night). Here we see Narasimha after the heroic deed, sitting in a meditative pose aided by a band, which holds his knees in position. He has a diminutive consort perched on his lap and holds Vishnu's symbols, the conch shell and wheel, in his raised hands. He is seated on a lotus blossom, symbol of creation, cosmic renewal, and purity and is heralded above by two sets of mithuna (celestial couples) and hovering apsaras (divine beauties). The form of the sculpture and its pierced openings indicate that it was once part of the façade of a medieval temple in Orissa (now Odisha), northeast India.Published References"Art of Asia acquired by North American museums, " 1988, Archives of Asian Art, vol. 42, 1982, repr. p. 104.

Cole, Elizabeth, "Narasimha: Hindu images of belief," School Arts, vol.90, No.6, Feb.1991, pp.31-34, repr. (col.)

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 30, repr. (col.)

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 13, repr. (col.)

Cummins, Joan, ed., Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior, Nashville, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 2011, no. 65, pp. 148, 149, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryNashville, Frist Center for the Visual Arts; New York, Brooklyn Museum, Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue Skinned Savior, June 2010-May 2011, no. 65, p. 149, repr. (col.) p.148Comparative ReferencesSee also Donaldson, T.E. Hindu Temple of Orissa III, 1987, pp. 1124-1125, pp. 1367-1369, figs. 3758-3765, in Studies in South Asian Culture XII.