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Concept
Sharabha
Summary
Sharabha (शरभ, ) or Sarabha is an eight-legged part-lion and part-bird beast in Hindu religion, who is described as more powerful than a lion or an elephant, possessing the ability to clear a valley in one jump in Sanskrit literature. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eight-legged deer.
The Shaiva scriptures narrate that the god Shiva assumed the form of Sharabha to pacify Narasimha - the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by the Vaishnava sect. This form is popularly known as Sharabeshwara ("Lord Sharabha") or Sharabeshwaramurti. The Vaishnavas refute the portrayal of Narasimha as being destroyed by Shiva-Sharabha and regard Sharabha as a name of Vishnu. Some Vaishnava scriptures suggest that Vishnu assumed the form of the ferocious Gandabherunda bird-animal to combat Sharabha.
In Buddhism, Sharabha appears in Jataka Tales as an earlier birth of the Buddha. It also appears in Tibetan Buddhist art, symbolizing the perfection of effort. As a figure of power and majesty, Sharabha has appeared in numerous emblems.
In early Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is initially described as an aggressive beast that roared and scared other animals in the hills and forest areas. In the later Hindu epic Mahabharata, Sharabha was described as a lion-slaying monster with eight legs, eyes on the top; living in the forest and which ate raw flesh. It is also mentioned as residing on Mount Krauncha but not as a monster. In another account, Sharabha is an ordinary beast residing along with lions and tigers on Mount Gandhamadana. The epic also includes Sharabha in the list of edible animals - the mrigajatis- the animal group of antelope, deer, hare, bear, ruru deer, sambar, gayal, boar, and buffalo - which was offered as part of food at dinner to guests. Sharabha appears primarily as the incarnation of the god Shiva, as a name of a monkey-king in the epic Ramayana, also as a proper name of heroes and serpent Nāgas and one of the names of god Vishnu as well as the Buddha. Similies in Sanskrit literature compare warriors to Sharabha.
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