Purushamirugam

The purushamirugam (Tamil 'man-beast') is a composite being from southern India with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Variously known as a purushamriga (Sanskrit 'man-beast') or naravirala (Sanskrit 'man-cat') in northern India; as narasimha (Sanskrit 'man-lion') in Sri Lanka; manusiha or manuthiha (Pali 'man-lion') in Myanma; and nora singh (Pali, 'man-lion'), thep nora singh ('man-lion deity'), or nora nair in Thailand.

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. 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 inner sanctum.

The purushamriga plays a significant role in daily as well as yearly ritual of South Indian Shaiva 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 diparadhana or lamp ceremony. And in several temples the purushamriga is also one of the vahana or vehicles of the deity during the processions of the Brahmotsava or festival. In the Kanya Kumari district, on the southernmost tip of India, during the night of Shiva Ratri devotees run 75 km while visiting and worshiping at twelve Shiva temples. This Shiva Ottam (or Run for Shiva) is performed in commemoration of the story of the race between the Purushamriga and Bhima, one of the heroes of the epic Mahabharata.

In Sri Lanka, the sphinx is known as narasimha or man-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 reincarnation of the deity Vishnu; this avatar or incarnation is depicted with a human body and the head of a lion. The "sphinx" narasimha is part of the Buddhist tradition and functions as a guardian of the northern direction and also was depicted on banners.

In Burma, the sphinx 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 ogresses.

Nora Nair, Norasingh and Thep Norasingh 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.

The earliest artistic depictions of "sphinxes" from the South Asian subcontinent were to some extent influenced by Hellenistic art and writings. These hail from the period when Buddhist art underwent a phase of Hellenistic influence due to India's northern India's occupation by Alexander the Great.