Man-Lion Avatar

Fourth avatar or incarnation of the god
Vishnu; the man-lion’s form is usually
rendered as the head and shoulders of a
lion, and the torso and legs of a man. As
with all the avatars of Vishnu, the ManLion avatar comes to restore the cosmic
balance, which has been thrown out of
equilibrium by the disproportionate
power of some individual. In this case
the source of trouble is the demon-king
Hiranyakashipu, who by the power of
his asceticism (tapas) has gained three
boons from the gods: that he cannot be
killed by man nor beast, by day or by
night, and neither inside nor outdoors.
These boons render him virtually
invulnerable; Hiranyakashipu proceeds
to conquer the earth and drive the
gods from heaven. He oppresses his
son Prahlada, who despite his
father’s power remains a sincere devotee
(bhakta) of Vishnu. The more devotion
Prahlada shows to Vishnu the more
abuse his father gives him, until
finally Hiranyakashipu, maddened at
the thought that someone refuses
to worship him, is at the point of
killing Prahlada.
Prahlada calls on Vishnu for help,
and the Man-Lion, a being which is neither man nor beast, bursts forth from a
pillar in the palace. The Man-Lion seizes
Hiranyakashipu in the palace doorway,
which is neither inside nor out, at twilight, which is neither day nor night, and
uses his sharp claws to tear out the
demon’s entrails, killing him. Once
Hiranyakashipu has been killed, Vishnu
installs the righteous Prahlada as the
king of the realm. This action reveals an
important truth about the Hindu view of
reality. Although Prahlada is a “demon”
(asura), he is not inherently evil, nor is
he simply a being to be exterminated.
All kinds of beings have their rightful
place in the Hindu cosmos—problems
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Man-Lion Avatar
Portrait of the god Vishnu’s Man-Lion avatar.
Vishnu takes this form to defeat a demon who
has conquered heaven and earth.
come when they gain disproportionate
power and use it to their own ends.