14 Facts About Sharabha

Sharabha or Sarabha is a part-lion and part-bird beast in Hindu history, who is described eight-legged and more powerful than a lion or an elephant, possessing the ability to clear a valley in one jump.

Shaiva scriptures narrate that god Shiva assumed the form of Sharabha to pacify Narasimha - the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by the Vaishnava sect.

In Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is initially described as an aggressive beast that roared and scared other animals in the hills and forest areas.

In defining the ecological theme in Hindu medicine related to jungle and the aroma of meats, Sharabha has been listed among the deer natives of Kashmir, Nepal, and Sikkim.

In Puranic literature, Sharabha is associated with god Shiva, who incarnates to subdue fierce manifestations of Vishnu.

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The legend of Sharabha fighting Narasimha - the man-lion form of Vishnu - brings to fore the overt rivalry between the devotees of Vishnu and those of Shiva, which exposes the fierce debate aspect.

The Shiva Purana The Sharabha Upanishad portrays Sharabha with two heads, two wings, eight legs of the lion with sharp claws and a long tail.

In Kamikagama, Sharabha is described in the form of a bird with golden color, with two uplifted wings, two red eyes, four legs in the form of a lion touching the ground, four legs with claws upwards, and with an animal tail.

In Maharashtra the stone cut Sharabha idol is placed on the outer walls of the entrance gate of many historic forts.

In iconographic representations of the myth of Shiva vis-a-vis Vishnu, Sharabha form has been built around Narasimha but substantially embellished with wings to represent Kali and Durga to denote the female powers of Shiva; Sharabha is shown with a bird head and a serpent in his beak head.

Narasimha-Sharabha legend is linked to deities assuming mythical animal forms to slay or subdue each other.

Sharabha kills Narasimha first and then kills Varaha, allowing Vishnu to reabsorb the energies of both his forms.

Narasimhan Krishnamachari, a scholar on Vishishtadvaita philosophy, states that the name "Sharabha" has been interpreted in two ways namely; the first interpretation means "the Destroyer, " as given by the Sri Vaishnavite commentator, Parasara Bhattar and the second interpretation as given by Adi Sankara, among others.

In Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited logo, Sharabha is depicted in the form of a body of a lion with the head of an elephant to represent the virtues of wisdom, courage and strength.