Narasimha is the man-lion avatar of Vishnu who killed the demon king Hiranyakashipu. He appears with a human body and a lion’s head and claws, a form designed to protect the devoted prince Prahlada from his tyrannical father.
Hiranyakashipu had received a boon from Brahma that made him extremely difficult to kill: he could not die by a man or animal, indoors or outdoors, by day or night, or on earth or in the sky. Vishnu became Narasimha and killed him at twilight, on a palace threshold, while holding him on his lap and using claws rather than a conventional weapon.
Narasimha is generally the fourth avatar in the Dashavatara, immediately after Varaha. The name combines Sanskrit nara, “man,” and simha, “lion.” Worshippers may encounter both fierce forms, such as Ugra Narasimha, and calmer forms associated with protection, devotion, and yoga. Prahlada, not Hiranyakashipu, is the figure most closely linked with Narasimha’s compassion.