NARASIMHA SLAYING THE DEMON KING HIRANYAKASHIPU
Possibly Chamba, Punjab Hills, Northern India, mid to late 19th century

NARASIMHA SLAYING THE DEMON KING HIRANYAKASHIPUPossibly Chamba, Punjab Hills, Northern India, mid to late 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the horizontal composition portraying the fourth avatar of the god Vishnu, the man-lion Narasimha, tearing the demon king Hiranyakashipu's gut apart as per the Bhagavata Purana's narrative, a Vaishnava devotee assisting the scene and holding his hands in pray, the composition set within grey and black rules and ochre yellow borders, mounted on a dark red cardboard frame, the verso with four lines of black ink Devanagari script Gokarna Mahatmya Pavman Panchsul (?) no. 1931, 21.4cm x 28cm including the mount.