Sacred Art & Iconography

"Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.142.90)

Stone relief fragment, India (Jammu and Kashmir) or Pakistan, 6th to 7th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987.142.90

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. ""Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.142.90)." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sacred-art-iconography/narasimha-man-lion-hiranyakashipu-met-1987-142-90.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). "Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.142.90). Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sacred-art-iconography/narasimha-man-lion-hiranyakashipu-met-1987-142-90

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-narasimha-the-man-lion-incarnation-of-vi,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {"Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.142.90)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sacred-art-iconography/narasimha-man-lion-hiranyakashipu-met-1987-142-90},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A stone relief fragment, India, Jammu and Kashmir, or Pakistan, 6th to 7th century, showing Vishnu's man-lion avatar Narasimha slaying the evil king Hiranyakashipu. The Metropolitan Museum's own title names the avatar directly. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession 1987.142.90, Asian Art department, Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Gift of Samuel Eilenberg, 1987.

Facts

Subject Matter

Devotional Function

Reliefs of this kind and period were typically set into the exterior wall or a niche of a Vaishnava temple as one scene in a decorative program depicting Vishnu's ten avatara, meant to be viewed by worshippers circumambulating the building rather than serving as the shrine's own primary cult image. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Kashmir

This source names Kashmir directly: "relief fragment, India, Jammu and Kashmir, or Pakistan, 6th to 7th century, showing Vishnu's man-lion avatar Narasimha slaying the evil king Hiranyakashipu."

Source "Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu," accession 1987.142.90 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Narasimha

This source names Narasimha directly: "showing Vishnu's man-lion avatar Narasimha slaying the evil king Hiranyakashipu."

Source "Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu," accession 1987.142.90 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Pakistan

This source names Pakistan directly: "fragment, India, Jammu and Kashmir, or Pakistan, 6th to 7th century, showing Vishnu's man-lion avatar Narasimha slaying the evil king Hiranyakashipu."

Source "Narasimha, the Man-Lion Incarnation of Vishnu, Slaying the Evil King Hiranyakashipu," accession 1987.142.90 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)