Narasimha

Narasimha is the fourth avatar of Vishnu, who appears as a being half man and half lion to destroy the demon king Hiranyakashipu and protect his devoted son Prahlada. He is shown with a lion's face and a human body, often tearing open the demon on his lap, or in a calm seated form with Lakshmi. Odisha has several Narasimha shrines. At Puri, the Narasimha temple holds Shanta and Ugra images, and at Paikmal in Bargarh district he is worshipped as Marjara Keshari. Narasimha Janma, observed in Vaisakha, is his chief festival.

The story is told in the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. Hiranyakashipu, a demon king, obtained a boon from Brahma that he could be killed neither by man nor beast, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither by day nor night, neither on earth nor in the sky, and by no weapon. His son Prahlada...