Lord Narasimha
Lord Narasimha Swamy is an important Avatar of Lord Vishnu. This particular avatar is generally placed at the 4th of the 10 primary avatars of Vishnu. The consorts are Lakshmi and Narasimhi. The weapon used by this Lord is Chakra and Mace.
It is to be noted that Narasimha is addressed as Nrusimha. The name is also spelled as Narsingh, Narasingha and Narasingh. Narasimha is one of Hinduism’s most popular deities and an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Over a millennium, there are lot of evidence in temple, early epics, festival, iconography and worship.
It is to be remembered Narasimha is usually visualized having a human-like torso and lower body, as half-man/half-lion, with a lion-like face and claws. A significant number of Vaishnava groups worshipped in this deity form. This image is widely popular among them. In times of need, this lord specifically defends and immediately protects his pilgrims and devotees. He is known popularly and primarily known as the ‘Great Protector’.
There is a good evidence in the form of stone sculpture from the Hoysaleswara Temple in place known as Halebidu, in the state of Karnataka that depict Vishnu as Narasimha kills demon named Hiranyakashipu.
In the Simhachalam temple (Andhra Pradesh), there is a Lord Narasimha rock statue in the backyard. According to local legends, there are many evidence of sculpture in the temple premises of Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu, as Prahlad and his mother are bowing before Lord Narasimha. Hindu devotees visit those temples or shrines that are dedicated to this particular lord as primary deity on all the auspicious days.