Yoga Narasimha - New York City, NY
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Metro2
N 40° 46.762 W 073° 57.762
18T E 587529 N 4514782
Yoga Narasimha is one of Vishnu's avatars.
Waymark Code: WMN3C6
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 12/18/2014
Views: 4
This sculpture is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Museum's website for this piece (
visit link) provides the following information:
"Yoga Narasimha, Vishnu's Man-Lion Incarnation
Period: Chola period (880–1279)
Date: 12th century
Culture: India (Tamil Nadu)
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: H. 18 3/4 (47.6 cm); W. 13 in. (33 cm); D. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998
Accession Number: 2000.284.4
On view in Gallery 240
Narasimha was an avatar of Vishnu who appeared on earth to slay the evil ruler Hiranyakashipu, who believed himself to be invincible after tricking Brahma into granting him a protective spell. Narasimha is venerated as an embodiment of valor and martial strength; here, he assumes the pose of a meditative yogi after successfully outwitting and slaying the evil king. Narasimha is thus praised as the bringer of peace and order to the world of men. As a meditative yogi, Narasimha assumed Vishnu’s four-armed form and would have carried Vishnu’s weapons—the discus (chakra) and conch—in his raised hands; his lower hands rest passively in meditation."