Editing Narasimha (section)

==Iconography==
[[File:Narasimha by Raja Ravi Varma.jpg|thumb| Narasimha slays Hiranyakashipu. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]]]
Narasimha has a lion face with clawed fingers fused with a human body. He is coming out of a pillar signifying that he is everywhere, in everything, in everyone. Some temples such as at [[Ahobilam]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], the iconography is more extensive, and includes nine other icons of Narasimha:<ref name="dalal2010p262"/>
*Prahladavarada Narasimha: Narasimha blessing Prahlada.
*Yogananda Narasimha: Narasimha as serene and peaceful, teaching yoga.
*Guha Narasimha: Narasimha in a pillar of Hiranyakashipu's palace to disembowel and kill Hiranyakashipu.
*Ugra Narasimha: Narasimha disemboweling and killing Hiranyakashipu.
*Vira Narasimha: Narasimha killing all asuras and asuris. 
*[[Lakshmi Narasimha]]: Vishnu as Narasimha with Lakshmi as Kanakavalli.
*Jvala Narasimha: Narasimha emitting flames of power. 
*Sarvatomukha Narasimha: Narasimha with a powerful face.
*Bhishana Narasimha: A ferocious form of Narasimha.
*Bhadra Narasimha: Blessing form of Narasimha.
*Mrityormrityu Narasimha: Narasimha destroying death of Prahlada by disemboweling and killing Hiranyakashipu.

The earliest known iconography of Narasimha is variously dated to between the 2nd and the 4th-century CE, and these have been found in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.<ref name=merister292/> Most images and temples of Narasimha are found in the peninsular region of India, but important ancient and medieval archeological sites containing Narasimha icons are also found as [[Vaikuntha Chaturmurti]] in Kashmir and [[Khajuraho temples]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Alexandra Anna Enrica van der Geer|title=Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured Through Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ3quxh9gsgC |year=2008|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-16819-0|pages=404–407}}</ref> while single face versions are found in [[Garhwa]] and [[Mathura]] (Uttar Pradesh) and in [[Ellora Caves]] (Maharashtra).<ref name="dalal2010p262"/> Other major temples with notable icons of Narasimha are found in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] ruins in Karnataka.<ref name="dalal2010p262"/> Some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples, such as those found in [[Tigawa|Tigava]] and [[Eran]] (Madhya Pradesh), dated to early 5th-century, include Narasimha along with other avatars of Vishnu.<ref name=merister292/> The [[Thuravoor, Cherthala|Thuravoor Temple]] is the most important shrine to Narasimha in Kerala; the form of Narasimha there is known as ''Vatakanappan''.