Editing Sphinx (section)

== Asia ==
[[File:Bharhut Gateway Sphinx.jpg|thumb|left|Buddhist sphinx on a [[stupa]] gateway, [[Bharhut]], 1st century BC<ref name="DD" />]]
A composite mythological being with the body of a lion and the head of a human is present in the traditions, mythology and art of [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>Deekshitar, Raja. "Discovering the Anthropomorphic Lion in Indian Art." in ''Marg. A Magazine of the Arts''. 55/4, 2004, p.34-41; [http://www.sphinxofindia.rajadeekshithar.com Sphinx of India].</ref> Variously known as ''puruṣamr̥ga'' (Sanskrit, "human-animal"), ''purushamirugam'' (Tamil, "human-animal"), ''naravirala'' (Sanskrit, "human-cat") in India, or as ''nara-simha'' (Sanskrit, "human-lion") in Sri Lanka, ''manussiha'' or ''manutthiha'' (Pali, "human-lion") in Myanmar, and ''norasingha'' (from Pali, "human-lion", a variation of the Sanskrit "nara-simha") or ''thep norasingha'' ("man-lion deity"), or ''nora nair'' in Thailand. Although, just like the "nara-simha", she/he has a head of a lion and the body of a human.

In contrast to the sphinxes in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, of which the traditions largely have been lost due to the discontinuity of the civilization,<ref name="Demisch, Die Sphinx">{{cite book|last=Demisch|first=Heinz|title=Die Sphinx. Geschichte ihrer Darstellung von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart|year=1977|location=Stuttgart}}</ref> the traditions related to the "Asian sphinxes" are very much alive today. The earliest artistic depictions of "sphinxes" from the South Asian subcontinent are to some extent influenced by [[Hellenistic art]] and writings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |date=2024-03-14 |title=Purusha-mriga and other fantastic beasts |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/purusha-mriga-other-fantastic-beasts-devdutt-column/article67938320.ece |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> These hail from the period when Buddhist art underwent [[Hellenistic influence on Indian art|a phase of Hellenistic influence]]. Numerous sphinxes can be seen on the gateways of [[Bharhut]] stupa, dating to the 1st century B.C.<ref name="DD">"Sphinxes of all sorts occur on the Bharhut gateways" {{cite book |last1=Kosambi |first1=Damodar Dharmanand |title=Combined Methods in Indology and Other Writings |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195642391 |page=459 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OhtAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

In South India, the "sphinx" is known as ''puruṣamr̥ga'' (Sanskrit) or ''purushamirugam'' (Tamil), meaning "human-animal". It is found depicted in sculptural art in temples and palaces where it serves an [[apotropaic]] purpose, just as the "sphinxes" in other parts of the ancient world.<ref name="Demisch, Die Sphinx" /> It is said by the tradition, to take away the sins of the devotees when they enter a temple and to ward off evil in general. It is therefore often found in a strategic position on the [[gopuram]] or temple gateway, or near the entrance of the [[sanctum sanctorum]].

[[File:Purushamrigachidambaram01.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Male purushamriga or Indian sphinx guarding the entrance of the Shri Shiva Nataraja temple in [[Chidambaram]]]]
The ''puruṣamr̥ga'' plays a significant role in daily as well as yearly ritual of South Indian [[Hinduism|Hindu]] temples. In the Shodhasha-Upakaara (or sixteen honors) ritual, performed between one and six times at significant sacred moments through the day, it decorates one of the lamps of the Deepaaradhana or lamp ceremony. And in several temples the ''puruṣamr̥ga'' is also one of the ''[[vahana]]'' or vehicles of the deity during the processions of the [[Brahmotsava]] or festival.

In [[Kanyakumari district|Kanyakumari]] district, in the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent, during the night of [[Maha Shivaratri]], devotees run 75 kilometres while visiting and worshiping at twelve Shiva temples. This Shiva Ottam or Running for Shiva is performed in commemoration of the story of the race between the Purushamirugam and [[Bhima]], one of the Pandavas of the Hindu Epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''.

The Indian conception of a sphinx that comes closest to the classic Greaco-Roman idea is the Sharabha and Gandabherunda, two mythical creatures, part lion, part human, part mammal and part bird, and the form of [[Sharabha]] that god [[Shiva]] took on and fought with the god [[Vishnu]] as [[Narasimha]] and Shiva as Sharabha was killed by Vishnu as [[Gandaberunda|Gandabherunda]] in the form of Narashima when Narashima killed [[Hiranyakashipu]].

In [[Sri Lanka]] {{citation needed span|and [[India]],|date=February 2018}} the sphinx is known as ''narasimha'' or human-lion. As a sphinx, it has the body of a lion and the head of a human being, and is not to be confused with [[Narasimha]], the fourth incarnation of the deity [[Vishnu]]; this [[avatar]]a or incarnation of Vishnu has a human body and the head of a lion and Vishnu as Narashima killed Hiranyakashipu. The "sphinx" narasimha is part of the Buddhist tradition and functions as a guardian of the northern direction and also was depicted on banners.

[[File:Manokthiha (Manussiha).png|thumb|Burmese depiction of the [[Manussiha]]]]
In Burma ([[Myanmar]]), the sphinx-like statue, with a human head and two lion hindquarters, is known as ''[[Manussiha]]'' (''manuthiha''). It is depicted on the corners of Buddhist [[stupas]], and its legends tell how it was created by Buddhist monks to protect a new-born royal baby from being devoured by [[ogre]]sses.

Nora Nair, Norasingha and Thep Norasingha are three of the names under which the "sphinx" is known in [[Thailand]]. They are depicted as upright walking beings with the lower body of a lion or deer, and the upper body of a human. Often they are found as female-male pairs. Here, too, the sphinx serves a protective function. It also is enumerated among the mythological creatures that inhabit the ranges of the sacred mountain [[Himapan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himmapan.com/himmapan_lion_thepnorasri.html |title=Thep Norasri |publisher=Himmapan.com |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

=== Japanese literature ===
[[Giorgio Amitrano]]'s ''Echoes of Ancient Greek Myths in Murakami Haruki's novels and in Other Works of Contemporary Japanese Literature''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Echoes of Ancient Greek Myths in Murakami Haruki's novels and in Other Works of Contemporary Japanese Literature |work=Ancient Greek Myth in World Fiction since 1989 |date=2016 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474256278.ch-006 |access-date=2024-03-13 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |doi=10.5040/9781474256278.ch-006 |isbn=978-1-4742-5627-8}}</ref> explores how [[Haruki Murakami]]'s ''[[Kafka on the Shore]]'' shares thematic elements of decadence with Oedipus' myth and parallels the protagonist's journey to self-discovery. The Sphinx motif present within the novel is established through the enigmatic creature of Murakami's design, Oshima: a mysterious, omnipotent being who has the protagonist grapple with the concept of a meaningless existence in turn of searching for authenticity by disconnecting from societal conventions of wealth and status. He tests the durability of character of the novel's protagonists through a series of tests that may challenge their perception of truth regarding their existence.

=== Burmese Literature ===
Lowell Edmunds' ''Oedipus in Burma''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edmunds |first=Lowell |date=1996 |title=Oedipus in Burma |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4351896 |journal=The Classical World |language=en |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=15–22 |doi=10.2307/4351896|jstor=4351896 }}</ref> is an explorative look on the Oedipus' myth in Burmese literature and culture. The folktale ''Pauk and the Dragon'' uses similar motifs from the Greek myth to explore Pauk's, the protagonist, road to destiny and fulfilling the quests needed to defeat the dragon: the Sphinx motif. Using intelligence, courage, and determination, Pauk defeats the dragon but not before facing the consequences of the knowledge he acquired on his journey. Decadent themes of fate, destiny, tragedy, mystery, and identity present themselves in the Burmese adaptations of Greek myths, in this case, it is Oedipus and the Sphinx. {{clear}}