Narasimha Purana (study and introduction)

by Siddheswar Jena | 1984 | 83,545 words

Hinduism Purana

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Summary: This essay studies the Narasimha Purana within the broader context of Indological and Puranic scholarship. The Narasimhapurana is primarily recognized as a prominent Upapurana centered on the adoration of Vishnu in his composite man-lion manifestation. Functioning largely as an anthological compilation, the text absorbs inherited Sanskrit material while articulating Vaishnava theology, weaving standard five-fold thematic characteristics—such as primary creation, renewal, and genealogies—alongside sacred lore, ethical duties, and the philosophical identification of Narasimha with the ultimate principle.

The objective of this essay is to offer a critical examination of the Narasimha-Purana based on comparative scrutiny of available printed recensions. The study is organized to analyze the text's mythological cycles, evaluate its treatment of classical cosmography and sacred geography, and trace the historical development and prevalence of the Narasimha cult in ancient India. In addition to resolving chronological questions regarding the text's composition, this investigation documents extensive textual parallels across the wider Puranic corpus.

Source 1: exoticindiaart.com
Source 2: shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

+ Chapter 2 - Myths and legends of the Narasimha Purana

. Part 1.1 - Legend of Yama-Yami samvada

. Part 1.2 - Birth of Agastya and Vasistha as sons of Mitra and Varuna

. Part 1.3 - Legend of the Birth of Asvins

. Part 1.4 - Origin of Maruts

. Part 2 - Devotional legends in the Narasimha Purana—Introduction

. Part 2.1 - Legend of Sage Markandeya’s overcoming Death

. Part 2.2 - Legend of Dhruva

. Part 2.3 - Legend of Sukracarya’s regaining his eye-sight

. Part 2.4 - Legend of Pundarika

. Part 2.5 - The story of Raivata-Jayadhvaja-Bahuroman

. Part 2.6 - The story of Santanu’s stepping across the ‘nirmalya’ of Narasimha

. Part 2.7 - Indra’s release from womanhood

. Part 3 - Legends glorifying ‘varnashrama-dharma’—Introduction

. Part 3.1 - Story of Brahmacarin and the devoted house-wife

. Part 3.2 - The myth of Anashrami

. Part 3.3 - Episode of Iksvaku’s life

+ Chapter 3 - Five characteristics of the Narasimha Purana

. Part 1 - Introduction to the concept of Sarga

. Part 1.1 - Creation of mind-born sons

. Part 1.2 - Sarga in the Vishnu Purana 1.2.10-66

. Part 1.3 - Sarga in the Narasimha Purana 1.36-67

. Part 1.4 - Description of Nine-fold creation

. Part 1.5 - Description of Rudra-sarga

. Part 1.6 - Description of Mental Creation

. Part 2 - Introduction to the concept of Pratisarga

. Part 2.1 - Description of Naimittika Pralaya

. Part 2.2 - Description of Prakrtika Pralaya

. Part 2.3 - Description of Atyantika Pralaya

. Part 2.4 - Description of Nitya Pralaya

. Part 3 - Introduction to the concept of Vamsa

. Part 3.1 - First account of Vamsa

. Part 3.2 - Second account of Vamsa

. Part 4 - Introduction to the concept of Manvantara

. Part 4.1 - First account of Manvantara

. Part 4.2 - Second account of Manvantara

. Part 4.3 - Third account of Manvantara

. Part 5 - Introduction to the concept of Vamsanucarita

. Part 5.1 - First account of the Solar race

. Part 5.2 - Second account of the Solar race

. Part 5.3 - First account of the Lunar race

. Part 5.4 - Second account of the Lunar race

. Part 1 - Puranic cosmography

. Part 2 - Cosmography in the Narasimha Purana

+ Tirthas

. Part 1 - Concept of a Tirtha

. Part 2 - A comparative study of Tirthas in Narasimha Purana

+ Narasimha (man-lion)

. Part 1 - Concept of the Man-Lion—Introduction

. Part 1.1 - Development of the concept of Man-Lion

. Part 1.2 - Reference to the religion of Egypt

. Part 1.3 - Reference to the religion of Greece

. Part 1.4 - Reference to the Scythian art

. Part 1.5 - The motif of Vyala figures (human-animal form)

. Part 2 - The cult of Narasimha—Introduction

. Part 2.1 - Description of Narasimha-Gayatri

. Part 2.2 - Description of Narasimha-Yantra

. Part 2.3 - Description of Narasimha-Mudra

. Part 2.4 - Description of Narasimha-Salagrama

. Part 2.5 - Description of Narasimha-Tirtha

. Part 2.6 - Description of Narasimha-Sila or Narasimhi-Sila

. Part 2.7 - Description of Narasimha-Kalpa

. Part 2.8 - Description of Narasimha-Samgrama and Narasimha-Astra

. Part 2.9 - Vratas in honour of Narasimha

. Part 2.10 - Different images of Narasimha

. Part 2.11 - Intercult rivalry and mutual identity

Date of the Narasimha-Purana

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Last Updated: 14 September, 2026