ICONOGRAPHY OF THE NARASIMHA TEMPLE IN ANANTAPUR DISTRICT

  • Unique Paper ID: 173483
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 10
  • PageNo: 857-861
  • Abstract:
  • Rayalaseema is a distinct geographic area located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, encompassing four southern districts. Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu, is depicted in a hybrid form. Four-armed sculptures of Narasimha can be found in the temples situated in the Anantapur and Kadapa districts. The temples dedicated to Narasimha illustrate a variety of forms, including Kevala, Girija, Yoga, Sthauna, and Lakshmi Narasimha, all of which are represented iconographically. Additionally, other forms of Narasimha, such as Prahladanugrahamurti, Yogananda Narasimha, Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha, and Narasimha courting Chenchita—though not mentioned in the Agama sastras—are also well represented in the temples examined. Among these, the form of Lakshmi Narasimha is notably more prevalent than the others. Furthermore, an analysis of the iconographic characteristics of the various forms of Narasimha indicates that while most sculptures align with the iconographic texts, some deviate partially from the prescribed standards. This suggests that the sculptors exercised a degree of creative freedom rather than strictly following the textual guidelines.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2025 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{173483,
        author = {Dr.P.Venugopal Reddy},
        title = {ICONOGRAPHY OF THE NARASIMHA TEMPLE IN ANANTAPUR DISTRICT},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {11},
        number = {10},
        pages = {857-861},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=173483},
        abstract = {Rayalaseema is a distinct geographic area located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, encompassing four southern districts. Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu, is depicted in a hybrid form. Four-armed sculptures of Narasimha can be found in the temples situated in the Anantapur and Kadapa districts. The temples dedicated to Narasimha illustrate a variety of forms, including Kevala, Girija, Yoga, Sthauna, and Lakshmi Narasimha, all of which are represented iconographically. Additionally, other forms of Narasimha, such as Prahladanugrahamurti, Yogananda Narasimha, Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha, and Narasimha courting Chenchita—though not mentioned in the Agama sastras—are also well represented in the temples examined. Among these, the form of Lakshmi Narasimha is notably more prevalent than the others. Furthermore, an analysis of the iconographic characteristics of the various forms of Narasimha indicates that while most sculptures align with the iconographic texts, some deviate partially from the prescribed standards. This suggests that the sculptors exercised a degree of creative freedom rather than strictly following the textual guidelines.},
        keywords = {},
        month = {March},
        }

Cite This Article

  • ISSN: 2349-6002
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 10
  • PageNo: 857-861

ICONOGRAPHY OF THE NARASIMHA TEMPLE IN ANANTAPUR DISTRICT

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