Narasimha Disemboweling Hiranyakashipu, Folio from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord)

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Narasimha Disemboweling Hiranyakashipu, Folio from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord)

India, Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, circa 1760-1770
Drawings; watercolors
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Sheet: 5 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (14.92 x 24.13 cm); Image: 4 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (12.07 x 23.5 cm)
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.82.42.8)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE....
The Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE. It stresses the path of devotion (bhakti) to Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu God of Preservation. To fulfill his role as the guardian of the world and savior of humanity, Vishnu appears as a succession of heroic animals and semi-mortal saviors, called avatars, through which he intervenes in times of crisis or unrighteousness. The tale of Narasimha, the fourth avatar, embodies the sectarian rivalry present in Hinduism from its earliest times and eventually expressed primarily through Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Vishnu manifested as Narasimha (literally, "man-lion") to save the pious Prahlada from his bigoted father, King Hiranyakashipu, to whom Brahma had given a boon making him invulnerable to man or beast, unable to be killed indoors or outdoors, and unconquerable in day or night. To subvert the boon, Vishnu ingeniously assumed a form that was half-man and half-lion (neither man nor beast), and he attacked while his foe was standing on a porch (neither indoors nor outdoors) during the twilight hour (neither day nor night) (Bhagavata Purana 7:8:12-29). Here, Narasimha emerges from the porch pillar and disembowels the dethroned Hiranyakashipu. Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu’s wife Kayadhu observe the divine act with gestures of devotion. Another Nurpur rendition is in the Vicoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.104-1954).
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Bibliography

  • El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

  • Meller, Susan. Labels of Empire: Textile Trademarks: Windows into India in the Time of the Raj. Novato, CA: Goff Books, 2023.
  • El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

  • Meller, Susan. Labels of Empire: Textile Trademarks: Windows into India in the Time of the Raj. Novato, CA: Goff Books, 2023.
  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Trabold, J. The Art of India, An Historical Profile.  Northridge, CA:  California State University Press, 1975.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Paintings in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1982.
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