Narasiṃha et ses sanctuaires

Narasiṃha, being only one particular manifestation of Viṣṇu, is half way between Viṣṇu as the supreme god, and the minor gods and goddesses who are committed to the protection of villages. His myth makes him quite fit for his function of royal god who protects the dharma over a given territory, since he can kill enemies. At the same time, a "terrible" god is not so suitable for ordinary worship and dispensation of boons. The devotees will fear his anger. Moreover, his connection with bloodshed gives him an impure aspect, which would make the pure castes loath to worship him, though, as a guardian of the dharma, he should be worshipped by the higher castes.In fast, his shrines are all in the hands of Śrīvaiṣṇava priests and pure. The present study shows by which devices the murderous god is turned into an auspicious one, fit for pure worship. Narasiṃha is only a case in point of a general process. Other gods, with the same function, offer similar or different solutions of the same problem: as a matter of fact, it is possible to establish a typology of these royal gods of Hinduism.