Usuario:Amílcar/Taller/Sharabha

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Shaivite views[editar]

La leyenda de Sharabha como una encarnación del dios Shivá es narrada en muchas escrituras hunduistas, y cada una presenta una versión diferente que se ajusta a las creencias religiosas de cada uno. Pero algo común en todas estas representaciones es la representación de Sharabha como una bestia mitad ave y animal, con una enorme fuerza capaz de domar los feroces avatares de Visnú como Narasinja y Varaja.

Shaivite views[editar]

Sharabha (right) with Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu as Prahlada and his mother look on.

The legend of Sharabha as an incarnation of Shiva is narrated in many Hindu scriptures and each presents a different version to suit one’s religious beliefs. But one common refrain in all these depictions is that Sharabha is a combination of a huge animal-bird beast with enormous strength manifested with the purpose of pacifying similar ferocious avatars of Vishnu such as Narasimha (man-lion) or Varaha (the boar).

The Narasimha-Sharabha legend is linked to gods assuming mythical animal forms to slay or subdue as the case may be. First, Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha to slay Hiranyakashipu, an asura (demon) king, who was terrorizing the universe and devotee of Shiva.[1]​[2]​ The Shiva Purana mentions: After slaying Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha’s wrath was not appeased. The world trembled, fearing what he might do. The Devas (the gods) requested Shiva to tackle Narasimha. Initially, Shiva brings forth Virabhadra, one of his terrifying forms, in order to calm Narasimha. When that failed, Shiva manifested as the human-lion-bird Sharabha. Shiva then assumed the Sharabha form. Sharabha then attacked Narasimha and seized him up until he was immobilized. He thus quelled Narasimha’s terrifying rage. Narasimha became a devotee of Shiva after being bound by Sharabha.[3]​[4]​ Sharabha then decapitated and de-skinned Narasimha so Shiva could wear the hide and lion-head as a garment.[1]​[5]​[6]​ The Linga Purana and Sharabha Upanishad also mention this mutilation and murder of Narasimha. After the mutilation, Vishnu assumed his normal form and retired to his abode, after duly praising Shiva. It was from here on that Shiva came to be known as "Sharabeshamurti" or "Simhagnamurti".[7]​[6]​

The Skanda Purana considers Narasimha as a mere irritation and not a threat to the world, contrary to what was brought out in the Shiva and Linga Puranas. The perception was that Vishnu may permanently adopt the fierce form of Narasimha, which would be detrimental to his role of doing good deeds. Hence, the purpose of Shiva assuming the form of Sharabha was to ensure that the lion body of Vishnu was discarded and he got united with his original divine form. Narasimha struck Sharabha with his body, it was Vishnu who groaned in pain and not Sharabha who was in an "adamantine body". It was then that Vishnu realised that Sharabha was none other than Shiva and bowed and praised Sharabha. Shiva then blesses Vishnu and gives him a boon to kill demons.[6]​ A Purana ends the story with gods fearing that Sharabha may not be able to control his rage and thus urging Shiva to give up his Sharabha form. Thereafter, Shiva dismembered Sharabha’s form; his limbs were given away and his torso became a Kapalika.[8]​ The Vamana Purana too discusses the tale, ending with Narasimha becoming the calm Vishnu again and Sharabha becoming a lingam, the symbol of Shiva.[6]​

In the Kalika Purana, Varaha - Vishnu’s boar avatar - had amorous dalliance with the earth goddess. He and his three boar sons then created mayhem in the world, which necessitated Shiva to take the form of Sharabha, to kill the Varaha form. Even, Vishnu requests Shiva to destroy Varaha, unable to control his own form. Here, Narasimha appears to aid Varaha. Sharabha kills Narasimha first and then kills Varaha, allowing Vishnu to reabsorb the energies of both his fierce forms. Finally, Vishnu defeats Sharabha.[9]​[10]​[11]​

Vaishnava and Smartha views[editar]

Narasimha transformed into Gandaberunda, to combat Sharabha. Ashtamukha Gandaberunda Narasimha slaying Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu, depicted in his lap.

Vaishnava followers including Dvaita scholars, such as Vijayindra Tirtha (1539–95) refute the portrayal of Narasimha as being destroyed by Sharabha as they consider the Shaivite Puranas as tamasic - and thus not authoritative - based on their reading of Sattvic Puranas and Shruti texts. The refutation of the Sharabha legend along with ten other Shaivite legends is discussed in a text by Vijayindra Tirtha called Shaivasarvasvakhandanam.[12]​

Some regional South-Indian scriptures narrate that Narasimha took the form of Gandaberunda (literally "the mighty two-headed"), a more ferocious two-headed bird-animal, who combats and destroys Shiva-Sharabha.[13]​[14]​

The Sharabha Upanishad mentions that shara means jiva ("soul") and Hari (Vishnu) is gleaming in the form of Sharabha, and that Hari has manifested as Sharabha who is capable of granting moksha (salvation).[15]​ There is a reference to Sharabha in the Vishnu sahasranama, the 1000 names of Vishnu, and the literal meaning seems to suggest the praise of Sharabha (the lion-killing animal).[16]​

Narasimhan Krishnamachari, a scholar on Vishishtadvaita philosophy, states that the name "Sharabha" has been interpreted in two ways namely; the first interpretation means “the Destroyer (of those who transgress the bounds of ethics),” as given by the Sri Vaishnavite commentator, Parasara Bhattar and the second interpretation as given by Adi Sankara, among others.[17]​ The former is based on the Sanskrit verb SR, which means "to injure to destroy".[17]​ According to C. V. Radhakrishna Sastri, "Sara" also refers to an arrow, and the perishable body shines if it is aimed at Bhagavan, because He shines in that body."[17]​

Adi Shankaracharya, as with the reference in the Sharabha Upanishad, refers to this 356th name of Vishnu sahasranama as not mentioning the lion-killing animal at all and instead interprets the name to mean, "As the Lord shines in the body as the indwelling Self, He is called Sharabha, while the body is sara (perishable)."[18]​ As these commentaries on the Vishnu sahasranama suggest, none of them refer to the avatar of Shiva.

In Buddhist scriptures[editar]

Sharabha is depicted similar to a deer, folio from Jataka tales.

In the Jataka tales of the Buddha's previous lives, there is narration related to his birth as Boddhisattva in a forest as a Sharabha, the eight-legged deer. This story is of one compassion of the deer shown towards the King who wanted to hunt the deer. The King, while trying to hunt the deer, fell into a precipice with his horse. The deer instead of abandoning the king to his fate rescued him. The King was deeply touched by the compassion shown by the deer and thereafter promulgated a decry stating that hunting was an illegal activity in his country.[19]​[20]​

In Tibetan Buddhism, sharabha is represented as a beast with a goat's head and horns, a lion's mane and horse's body and legs. It symbolizes determination, strength and speed. Sometimes, it is represented additionally with horns of an antelope and claws of an eagle. Sometimes, the goat head is replaced by a lion's, horse's feet by a lion's and horns can be of a ram. A common feature of all representations is the horse's body. It is often depicted as mounts of young Devas or dwarfs in a Torana – a six-level archway behind an enlightenment throne of a Buddha or Boddhisattva. Together with the devas, they symbolize the perfection of effort (virya).[21]​[22]​

As emblem[editar]

Gandaberunda, the Karnataka state emblem, flanked by red maned yellow lion elephant Sharabha

The Government of Karnataka, the University of Mysore and the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL-an industrial unit owned by the Government of Karnataka) have adopted Sharabha, with modifications and also appropriate justifications, as their emblem or logo.[23]​

In Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited logo, Sharabha is depicted in the form of a body of a lion with the head of an elephant to represent the virtues of wisdom, courage and strength.[24]​ The Royal Emblem of Mysore has also been adopted by the University of Mysore as their logo too. This logo displays Gandabherunda flanked on either side by the lion-elephant Sharabha - stronger than the lion and the elephant and defender of uprightness, surmounted by a lion.[25]​

  1. ↑ a b Error en la cita: Etiqueta <ref> no válida; no se ha definido el contenido de las referencias llamadas Pattanaik
  2. ↑ Error en la cita: Etiqueta <ref> no válida; no se ha definido el contenido de las referencias llamadas Blurton
  3. ↑ Woodroffe, Sir John. «Hymns to the Goddess». Saharab (Forgotten Books). p. 151. ISBN 978-1-60620-146-6. 
  4. ↑ Soifer, Deborah A. (1991). The myths of Narasiṁha and Vāmana two avatars in cosmological perspective. SUNY Press. pp. 90-91. ISBN 978-0-7914-0799-8. 
  5. ↑ David Knipe, Alf (1989). Alf Hiltebeitel, ed. Criminal gods and demon devotees essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism. SUNY Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-88706-981-9. 
  6. ↑ a b c d Phyllis Granoff (2004). «Saving the Saviour». En Bakker, Hans, ed. Origin and growth of the Purāṇic text corpus. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 116-131. ISBN 8120820495. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2010. 
  7. ↑ Rao, T. A.Gopinatha (1997). Elements of Hindu iconography, Volume 2. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 171-173. ISBN 978-81-208-0878-2. 
  8. ↑ O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger; Wendy Doniger (1981). Śiva, the erotic ascetic. Oxford University Press US. pp. 282-3. ISBN 978-0-19-520250-2. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2010. 
  9. ↑ Error en la cita: Etiqueta <ref> no válida; no se ha definido el contenido de las referencias llamadas Roy
  10. ↑ Shastri, Biswanarayan (1994). Kalika purana. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 25-27. ISBN 8120811240. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2010. 
  11. ↑ Frederick M. Smith. The self possessed: deity and spirit possession in South Asian literature. Columbia University Press. pp. 223-4. 
  12. ↑ Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti (2000). A history of the Dvaita school of Vedānta and its literature from the earliest beginnings to our own times. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-1575-9. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2010. 
  13. ↑ Error en la cita: Etiqueta <ref> no válida; no se ha definido el contenido de las referencias llamadas Kamat
  14. ↑ «Nrsimhadev-Ganda Bherunada and Shiva Sarabha». The Sampradaya Sun (HareKrsna.com). 23 de mayo de 2005. Archivado desde el original el 6 de abril de 2012. Consultado el 2 April 2010. 
  15. ↑ Rao p.174
  16. ↑ Swami Chinmayananda, Swami. Vishnusahasranama. Chinmaya Mission. p. 107. ISBN 978-81-7597-245-2.  Stanza 37, line 1: "atulah sharabhah bheemah samayagno havirharih sarvalakshanalakshanyah lakshmeevaan samitinjayah."
  17. ↑ a b c «Vishnusahsranamam, Volume II- Annotated Commentaries by Sri Narasimhan Krishnamachari» (PDF). hobilavalli.org. Consultado el 21 de enero de 2010. 
  18. ↑ Tapasyananda, Swami, Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, pg. 91, Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math. Sanskrit and English, with an English translation of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada's commentary.
  19. ↑ «Shakyamuni Buddha - Jataka (previous lives)». Archivado desde el original el 31 de octubre de 2013. Consultado el 9 de enero de 2010. 
  20. ↑ Edward Byles Cowell; Sir Robert Chalmers; William Henry Denham Rouse; Henry Thomas Francis; Robert Alexander Neil (2000). «Sarabha-Miga-Jataka». En Edward Byles Cowell, ed. The Jātaka or stories of the Buddha's former births 4. Asian Educational Services. pp. 166-74. ISBN 978-81-206-1469-7. 
  21. ↑ Robert Beér (2004). The encyclopedia of Tibetan symbols and motifs. Serindia Publications, Inc. pp. 80, 90. ISBN 978-1-932476-10-1. 
  22. ↑ Robert Beer (2003). The handbook of Tibetan Buddhist symbols. Serindia Publications, Inc. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-932476-03-3. 
  23. ↑ «Gandaberunda- The Two Headed Bird». Archivado desde el original el 2 de febrero de 2014. Consultado el 12 de abril de 2007. 
  24. ↑ «Profile: Sharabha». Karnataka Saops and Detergents Limited. Archivado desde el original el 10 de junio de 2010. Consultado el 9 de enero de 2010. 
  25. ↑ «The University Emblem». University of Mysore. Archivado desde el original el 27 de octubre de 2013. Consultado el 10 de enero de 2010. 
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