The man-lion Narasimha

Here Lalita Devi depicts Narasimha, the Hindu god Vishnu’s fourth avatar. In the form of a man-lion, Vishnu destroys a proud, tyrannical demon king who had received divine protective power so that he could not be killed either by man or animal, by night or day, indoors or outdoors, on earth or sky. This near-immortality made the demon king cruel, and to punish him Vishnu appeared as part man and part lion, emerged from a pillar on the portico at twilight, and killed the demon by lifting him off the ground.

Lalita Devi’s image includes all the story elements associated with Narasimha. Additionally, through her compositional choices, the artist connects the mediums of painting and sculpture. She uses architectural elements of arches, columns, and tiled floors to frame the god’s image (and includes the figure of a devotee) to create the format typical for devotional sculptures seen in temples.