Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy

Narasimha
God of Protection
Vishnu as Narasimha after slaying Hiranyakashipu, Group of Monuments at Badami.
Devanagari	नरसिंह
Sanskrit transliteration	Narasiṃha
Affiliation	Lion headed man, fourth Avatar of Vishnu
Weapon	Chakra, mace, Nails and Jaws
Festivals	Narasimha Jayanti

Narasimha (Sanskrit: नरसिंह IAST: Narasiṃha, lit. man-lion), is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, one who incarnates in the form of part lion and part man to destroy an evil, end religious persecution and calamity on earth, thereby restoring Dharma.

Narasimha iconography shows him with a human torso and lower body, with a lion face and claws, typically with a demon Hiranyakashipu in his lap whom he is in the process of killing. The demon is powerful brother of evil Hiranyaksha who had been previously killed by Vishnu, who hated Vishnu for killing his brother. Hiranyakashipu gains special powers by which he could not be killed during the day or night, inside or outside, by god, demon, man or animal. Coronated with his new powers, Hiranyakashipu creates chaos, persecutes all devotees of Vishnu including his own son. Vishnu understands the demon's power, then creatively adapts into a mixed avatar that is neither man nor animal and kills the demon at the junction of day and night, inside and outside. Narasimha is known primarily as the 'Great Protector' who specifically defends and protects his devotees from evil. The most popular Narasimha mythology is the legend that protects his devotee Prahlada, and creatively destroys Prahlada's demonic father and tyrant Hiranyakashipu.

Narasimha legends are revered in Vaishnavism, but he is a popular deity beyond the Vaishnava tradition such as in Shaivism. He is celebrated in many regional Hindu temples, texts, performance arts and festivals such as Holika prior to the Hindu spring festival of colors called Holi. The oldest known artwork of Narasimha has been found in Mathura, and dated between 2nd and 3rd-century CE.

The word Narasimha consists of two words "nara" which means man, and "simha" which means lion. Together the term means "man-lion", referring to a mixed creature avatar of Vishnu.

He is known as Narasingh, Narasingha, Narasimba and Narasinghar in derivative languages. His other names are Agnilochana (अग्निलोचन) - the one who has fiery eyes, Bhairavadambara (भैरवडम्बर) - the one who causes terror by roaring, Karala (कराल) - the one who has a wide mouth and projecting teeth, Hiranyakashipudvamsa (हिरण्यकशिपुध्वंस) - the one who killed Hiranyakashipu, Nakhastra (नखास्त्र) - the one for whom nails are his weapons, Sinhavadana (सिंहवदन) - the whose face is of lion and Mrigendra (मृगेन्द्र) - king of animals or lion.