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, who was angered by his son’s staunch devotion to Vishnu and threatened to behead him (Bhagavata Purana 7:8:1-13).
Here, Hiranyakashipu raises his sword to decapitate Prahlada, who is tied to a pillar. An attendant holds the king’s shield and waves an honorific fly whisk made from the white tail-hairs of a yak (cauri or chowri). A caption in white takri script in the upper border identifies the subject.
See also its series mate M.71.49.1. This dispersed series was formerly in the royal collection of Raja Dhruv Dev Chand of Lambagraon, Kangra. Additional folios are in the British Museum, London (1966,0725,0.2) and the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.1071).
