This fierce form of Shakti as half-female and half-lioness is the supreme embodiment of good and evil, called Pratyangira or Narsimhi (in Vaishnavism, as the wife of Narasimha). As the Purna Chandi, she is the powerfully destructive manifestation of the Brahman – as is particularly witnessed in her menacing scowl with her tongue out. Poised on her lion mount in the victorious and royal ‘lalitasana,’ the deity carries attributes like the ‘trishula’ trident, the ‘damru,’ the noose, and a bowl for alms.
Her heavily bejewelled form, carrying an elaborate ‘mukuta’ from which spews fire under the hood of a seven-headed snake, as the chief warrior goddess of Lalita Tripura Sundari’s army, is a popular deity among the Kshatriya warrior caste. Narasimhi has several legends associated with her – one common recitation is of her coming to the aid to eight sages who were performing rituals of Ashta Lakshmi. When the demon Vipulaasura attacked their penance, Narasimhi came down to defeat the demon and at the same time create a shield out of the holy lotus flower – the floral attribute of several Hindu gods – to protect the sages and allow them to perform their ‘yajna’ without hinderance. Another association Narasimhi has is with the Tantra tradition, where, as Atharvana Bhadra Kali, she is considered as the ‘teevra murti’ – the ferocious idol.
The presence of this ‘panchaloha’ bronze sculpture was also invoked in the epic Ramayana, where Meghananda performed the ‘Nikumbala yajna’ calling for Narasimhi and killing Rama – only to be stopped by Hanuman, who knew that if her ferocious form emerged, Meghananda’s will would be invincible against any attack.
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