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{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = Munneswaram Sharabha.jpg
| caption = Shiva as Sharabha subduing Narasimha, panel view from [[Munneswaram temple]] in [[Sri Lanka]].
| name = Sharabha
| affiliation = [[Shaivism]]
| consort = [[Parvati]] as [[Pratyangira]] ([[Shaivism]])
| god_of =
| weapon =
}}{{Short description|Part-lion and part-bird beast in Hindu mythology}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}

'''Sharabha''' ({{lang-sa|शरभ}}, {{IAST|Śarabha|Sharav}},Tamil: ஸரபா, {{lang-kn|ಶರಭ}}, Telugu: శరభ) or '''Sarabha''' is a part-lion and part-bird beast in [[Hindu mythology]], who is described eight-legged and more powerful than a lion or an elephant, possessing the ability to clear a valley in one jump. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eight-legged deer.<ref name="Pattanaik">{{cite book| last = Pattanaik| first = Devdutt| title = Shiva to Shankara decoding the phallic symbol| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Oka4ekgGDRoC&pg=PA29| year = 2006| publisher = Indus Source| isbn = 978-81-88569-04-5| pages = 123–124| work = Sharabha (Shiva Purana) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw1057-zaryahan.jpg|title=शरभ|work=Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary|page=1057|access-date=18 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226140735/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=%2Fscans%2FMWScan%2FMWScanjpg%2Fmw1057-zaryahan.jpg|archive-date=2012-02-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Shaiva]] scriptures narrate that 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'''.<ref name="Waradpande">{{cite book| last = Waradpande| first = N. R.| title = The mythical Aryans and their invasion| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GR1uAAAAMAAJ| access-date = 2010-01-09| year = 2000| publisher = Books & Books| isbn = 978-81-85016-57-3| pages = 43, 46| work = Sharabha }}</ref> The Vaishnavas refute the portrayal of Narasimha as being destroyed by Shiva-Sharabha and regard Sharabha as a name of Vishnu. The Vimathgira purana, Vathistabhaana purana, Bhalukka purana, and other puranas narrate that Vishnu assumed the form of the ferocious [[Gandabherunda]] bird-animal to combat Sharabha.

==Development and iconography==
In Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is initially described as an aggressive beast that roared and scared other animals in the hills and forest areas. Similies compare warriors to Sharabha. In the Hindu epic [[Mahabharata]], this form of Sharabha was defined 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 but as an ordinary beast 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 [[Nāga]]s and one of the names of god [[Vishnu]] as well as [[Buddha]].<ref name="Hopkins">{{cite book| last = Hopkins| first = E. Washburn| title = Epic mythology| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h6betcw_DgAC&pg=PA18| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 2008| publisher = Encyclopedia of Indo-Aryan Research| isbn = 978-1-4437-7716-2| pages = 18–19 }}</ref><ref name="Mihira">{{cite book |author2=Bangalore Venkata Raman |author3=B. Lakshminarain Rao | last = Mihira| first = Sree Varaha| title = Brihat Jataka of Varahamihira| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Bf7PKVpe3p4C&pg=PA583| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1986| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publishers| isbn = 978-81-208-1396-0| page = 583 }}</ref> In defining the ecological theme in Hindu medicine related to jungle and the aroma of meats, Sharabha has also been listed among the deer natives of [[Kashmir]], [[Nepal]], and [[Sikkim]]. However, the features explained are of an eight legged animal of the size of a camel with huge horns and conjectured as a large Himalayan goat.<ref name="Zimmermann">{{cite book| last = Zimmermann| first = Francis| title = Volume 4 of Indian medical tradition Alternative Medicine Series| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=V1o_PRCLOeMC&pg=PA82| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1999| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publishers| isbn = 978-81-208-1618-3| page = 82 }}</ref>

===Shiva's incarnation===
In [[Puranas|Puranic literature]], Sharabha is associated with god [[Shiva]], who incarnates to subdue fierce manifestations of Vishnu. The legend of Sharabha fighting [[Narasimha]] - the man-lion form of Vishnu - brings to fore the overt rivalry between the devotees of Vishnu ([[Vaishnava]] sect) and those of Shiva ([[Shaiva]] sect), which exposes the fierce debate aspect.<ref name=Pattanaik/><ref name="Blurton">{{cite book| last = Blurton| first = T. Richard| title = Hindu art| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xJ-lzU_nj_MC&pg=PA123| access-date = 2009-01-09| year = 1993| publisher = Harvard University Press| isbn = 978-0-674-39189-5| page = 123| work = Sharabha }}</ref><ref name="Roy">{{cite book| last = Roy| first = Janmajit| title = Bhagavata Purana| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lr9pFQPwhXYC&pg=PA93| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 2002| publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distributors| isbn = 978-81-269-0169-2| pages = 93–95 }}</ref> The ''[[Shiva Purana]]''<ref name=Pattanaik/><ref name = "Knipe">{{cite book| last = David Knipe| first = Alf| title = Criminal gods and demon devotees essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CLmuJhU3wC8C&pg=PA153| year = 1989| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-0-88706-981-9| page = 153| editor = Alf Hiltebeitel |editor-link=Alf Hiltebeitel}}</ref> The ''[[Sharabha Upanishad]]'' portrays Sharabha with two heads, two wings, eight legs of the lion with sharp claws and a long tail.<ref name="Rao">{{cite book| last = Rao| first = T. A.Gopinatha| title = Elements of Hindu iconography, Volume 2| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AKWvPRIkvVEC&pg=PA174| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1997| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publishers| isbn = 978-81-208-0878-2| pages = 171–173 }}</ref> The ''[[Kalika Purana]]'' describes Sharabha as black in colour, with four feet downwards and four feet uplifted, with an enormous body. It also has a long face and nose, nails, eight legs, eight tusks, a cluster of manes, and a long tail. It jumps high repeatedly making a loud cry.<ref name="Roy" /><ref name="Shastri">{{cite book| last = Shastri| first = Biswanarayan| title = Kalika purana| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ivVToiARmkoC&pg=PA25| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1994| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publ| isbn = 978-81-208-1124-9| pages = 25–27 }}</ref>

[[File:NarasimhaHara.JPG|thumb|Two-headed Sharabha with four legs.]]
The iconography of Sharabeshwaramurti (Shiva as Sharabha) is specifically defined in texts such as ''[[Agama (Hinduism)|Kamikagama]]'' and ''[[Sritattvanidhi]]''. In Kamikagama, Sharabha is described in the form of a bird with golden color, with two uplifted wings, two red eyes, four legs in the form of a lion touching the ground, four legs with claws upwards, and with an animal tail. The top part of the body is shown as human but with the face of a lion with an ornamented crown; side tusks are also depicted giving an overall frightening sight. It also shows the Narasimha beneath Sharabha's legs as a lion-faced human with ''[[Añjali Mudrā|anjali]]'' (hands folded prayer gesture). (See Infobox image)<ref name= "Rao p.172-173">Rao pp.172–173</ref>

In the ''Sritattvanidhi'', the depiction prescribed for Sharabeshwaramurti is of thirty arms; arms on the right are to hold [[Vajra|thunderbolt]], mushti, abhaya, [[chakra]] (discus), sakti, [[danda|staff]], [[ankusha|goad]], sword, [[khatvanga]], [[parashu|axe]], akshamala, a bone, bow, musala, and fire; and the left hands to display noose, varada, [[Gada (mace)|mace]], arrow, flag, and another type of sword, a snake, a lotus flower, [[kapala|skull-cup]], pustaka, plough, and mrudanga with one hand encircling [[Durga]] in a hug. This form is extolled to usher good luck, cure all diseases and destroy all enemies.<ref name="Rao p.173">Rao p.173</ref>

The [[Chola dynasty]] in Tamil Nadu was particularly favourable to the beliefs of Shaiva sect. It is said that the sectarian aspect got highlighted during their reign. This is evident from the four Sharabha images, the earliest at the Vikramsolishwaram temple near Kumbakonam built by [[Vikrama Chola]] (1118–35). The other images are at [[Darasuram]] and [[Kampaheswarar Temple, Thirubuvanam|Kampahareshvarar temple]], [[Thirubuvanam]] built by a Chola ruler, [[Kulottunga Chola III]] where Sharabha's image is housed in a separate shrine.<ref name="Smith ">{{cite book| last = Smith| first = David| title = The Dance of Siva Religion, Art and Poetry in South India Volume 7 of Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4EvknQEACAAJ&pg=PA191| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 2003| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-52865-8| page = 193 }}</ref>

A sculpture of Sharbeshwaramurti in the Tribhuvanam temple, a Shiva temple in [[Tanjore district]], in [[Tamil Nadu]] is seen with three legs, with body and face of a lion and a tail. It has four human arms, the right upper hand holds axe, noose is held in the lower right hand, the deer in the upper left hand and fire in the lower left hand. Narasimha is shown with eight arms in the [[Airavatesvara Temple]] at Darasuram, a rare image of the Chola period, in black basalt, depicts Shiva as Sharabha. It is deified in an exclusive small shrine, as part man, beast and bird, destroying the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, Narasimha. This highlights the hostility between the Shaivite and Vaishnavite sects.<ref name="Kamat">{{cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/jyotsna/blog/blog.php?BlogID=1149|title=Gandaberunda- The Two Headed Bird|access-date=2010-01-10|publisher=Kamat Potpourri|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202000034/http://www.kamat.com/jyotsna/blog/blog.php?BlogID=1149|archive-date=2014-02-02}}</ref> In [[Maharashtra]] the stone cut Sharabha idol is placed on the outer walls of the entrance gate of many historic forts.
[[File:Peth sharabha.JPG|thumb|Sharabha idol on Kothaligad fort.]]

In iconographic representations of the myth of Shiva vis-à-vis Vishnu, Sharabha form has been built around Narasimha but substantially embellished with wings to represent [[Kali]] and [[Durga]] to denote the female powers ([[shakti]]s) of Shiva; Sharabha is also shown with a bird head and a serpent in his beak head.<ref name="Kramrisch">{{cite book| last = Kramrisch| first = Stella| title = The Presence of Siva| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA436| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1994| publisher = Princeton University Press| isbn = 978-0-691-01930-7| page = 436 }}</ref>

==In Hindu scriptures==

===In the ''Mahabharata''===
The [[Hindu epic]] ''[[Mahabharata]]'' narrates: a dog, with the help of a [[Rishi]] (sage) assumes various animal forms - starting from a dog to a tiger then to an elephant followed by a lion and a sharabha - terrorized every one in the hermitage of the Rishi. Eventually, Sharabha assumed a further fiercer form. In this fierce form he wanted to devour the Rishi. The Rishi then narrating the process of change in Sharabha's development, as a result of his benevolence, cursed Sharabha to go back to his original form of a dog.<ref name="Ganguli ">{{cite book| last = Ganguli| first = Kisari Mohan| title = The Mahabharata of Krishna-dwaipayana Vyasa, Book-12| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CnQVCgtmW-sC&pg=PA348| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 2009| publisher = BiblioBazaar, LLC| isbn = 978-0-559-13713-6| pages = 347–348 }}</ref> The epic does not relate Shiva to Sharabha.

===Shaiva views===
[[File:Sarabha Narasinmha Kangra.jpg|thumb|right|300px|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 avatar of Vishnu such as [[Narasimha]] (man-lion).

The Narasimha-Sharabha legend is linked to deities assuming mythical animal forms to slay or subdue each other. Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha to slay [[Hiranyakashipu]], an [[asura]] (demon) king, who was terrorising the universe, and was a devotee of Shiva.<ref name=Pattanaik/><ref name= Blurton/>

While the canon ending of the tale of Narasimha is that he returned to [[Vaikuntha]] after his fury vanished when he beheld the devotion of [[Prahlada]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swami |first=Bodhasarananda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4SoCwAAQBAJ&dq=narsimha+prahlada&pg=PT62 |title=Stories from the Bhagavatam |date=2016-03-02 |publisher=Advaita Ashrama |isbn=978-81-7505-814-9 |language=en}}</ref> [[Shaivism|Shaivas]] sought to made retroactive changes to assert Shiva's supremacy. The ''[[Shiva Purana]]'' mentions: After slaying Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha's wrath threatened the world. At the behest of the gods, Shiva sent [[Virabhadra]] to tackle Narasimha. When that failed, Shiva manifested as Sharabha.

The Shiva Purana and some puranas mention Sharabha attacking Narasimha and immobilising him. He thus quelled Narasimha's terrifying rage.<ref name="Woodroffe">{{cite book| last = Woodroffe| first = Sir John| title = Hymns to the Goddess|publisher = Forgotten Books| isbn = 978-1-60620-146-6| page = 151| work = Saharab }}</ref><ref name="Soifer 1991 91–92">{{cite book| last = Soifer| first = Deborah A.| title = The myths of Narasiṁha and Vāmana two avatars in cosmological perspective| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OoFDK_sDGHwC&pg=PA4| year = 1991| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-0-7914-0799-8| pages = 90–91 }}</ref> It is also said that Sharabha then decapitated and de-skinned Narasimha so Shiva could wear the hide and lion-head as a garment.<ref name="Pattanaik" /><ref name="Knipe" /><ref name="Bakker" /> The ''[[Linga Purana]]'' and the ''[[Sharabha Upanishad]]'' also mention the 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".<ref name="Rao" /><ref name="Bakker" />

The ''[[Skanda Purana]]'' considers Narasimha as a mere irritation to Hiranyakasipu 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 [[daityas|demons]].<ref name= Bakker >{{Cite book|author = Phyllis Granoff|editor = Bakker, Hans| title=Origin and growth of the Purāṇic text corpus|pages=116–131|chapter = Saving the Saviour| access-date=2010-01-15| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLN0F7GGecsC&q=sarabha&pg=PA122|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|year=2004|isbn=8120820495}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="O">{{cite book |last=O'Flaherty |first=Wendy Doniger | title = Śiva, the erotic ascetic| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC&pg=PA282| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 1981| publisher = Oxford University Press US| isbn = 978-0-19-520250-2| pages = 282–3 }}</ref> The ''[[Vamana Purana]]'' too discusses the tale, ending with Narasimha becoming the calm Vishnu again and Sharabha becoming a [[lingam]], the symbol of Shiva.<ref name= Bakker/>

In the ''[[Kalika Purana]]'', [[Varaha]] - Vishnu's boar avatar - had amorous dalliance with the [[Prithvi|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. Here, Narasimha appears to aid Varaha. Sharabha kills Narasimha first and then kills Varaha, allowing Vishnu to reabsorb the energies of both his forms.<ref name="Roy" /><ref name="Shastri" /><ref name="Frederick">{{cite book|last=Frederick M. Smith|title=The self possessed: deity and spirit possession in South Asian literature|year=2006|publisher=Columbia University Press|pages=223–4|isbn=9780231137485|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuB7K3bDWDsC&q=Varaha+Kalika+Purana&pg=PA223}}</ref> Finally, Sharabha defeats Vishnu.<ref name="Roy" /><ref name="Shastri" /><ref name="Frederick" />

===Vaishnava views===
[[File:Ashtamukha Gandaberunda Narasimha.jpg|thumb|left|Narasimha transformed into Gandabherunda, to combat Sharabha. Ashtamukha Gandabherunda Narasimha slaying Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu, depicted in his lap.]]

Vaishnava followers including [[Dvaita]] scholars, such as [[Vijayendra Tirtha]] (1514–93) refute the portrayal of Narasimha as being destroyed by Sharabha as they consider the Shaivite Puranas as [[tamasic]] - and thus not authoritative. The refutation of the Sharabha legend along with ten other Shaivite legends is discussed in a text by Vijayindra Tirtha called ''Shaivasarvasvakhandanam''.<ref name="Sharma">{{cite book| last = Sharma| first = B. N. Krishnamurti| title = A history of the Dvaita school of Vedānta and its literature from the earliest beginnings to our own times| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FVtpFMPMulcC&pg=PA412| access-date = 2010-01-15| year = 2000| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publishers| isbn = 978-81-208-1575-9}}</ref>

The Vathistabhaana purana, Vimathgira purana, Pradhana purana, Prahladhaswayam Purana, Bhalukka purana and many other puranas narrate that Narasimha took the form of [[Gandabherunda]] (literally "the mighty two-headed"), a more ferocious two-headed bird-animal, who combats and kills Shiva-Sharabha.<ref name="Kamat"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/05-09/features1382.htm|title=Nrsimhadev-Ganda Bherunada and Shiva Sarabha |date=23 May 2005|work=The Sampradaya Sun|publisher=HareKrsna.com|access-date=2 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211613/http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/05-09/features1382.htm|archive-date=2012-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thepatriot.in/2018/11/29/one-bird-two-heads/|title=One bird, two heads|date=29 November 2018}}</ref>

There is also a reference to Sharabha in the ''[[Vishnu sahasranama]]'', the thousand names of Vishnu, and the literal meaning seems to suggest the praise of Sharabha (the lion-killing animal).<ref>{{cite book| last = Swami [[Chinmayananda]]| first = Swami| title = Vishnusahasranama| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G2EfW1oiVw8C&pg=PA107| publisher = [[Chinmaya Mission]]| isbn = 978-81-7597-245-2| page = 107 }} Stanza 37, line 1: "atulah '''sharabhah''' bheemah samayagno havirharih sarvalakshanalakshanyah lakshmeevaan samitinjayah."</ref> [[Adi Shankaracharya]] refutes the sectarian Sharabha story and 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)."<ref>Tapasyananda, Swami, Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, pg. 91, Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math. Sanskrit and English, with an English translation of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada's commentary.</ref>

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 Sampradaya|Sri Vaishnavite]] commentator, [[Parasara Bhattar]] and the second interpretation as given by Adi Sankara, among others.<ref name = "Krishnamachari">{{cite web|url=http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol2.pdf|title= Vishnusahsranamam, Volume II- Annotated Commentaries by Sri Narasimhan Krishnamachari|publisher=hobilavalli.org|access-date=2010-01-21}}</ref> The former is based on the [[Sanskrit]] verb SR, which means "to injure to destroy".<ref name = "Krishnamachari"/> 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."<ref name="Krishnamachari"/>
{{clear}}

==In Buddhist scriptures==
[[File:Sharabha deer.jpg|thumb|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 [[Bodhisattva]] 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.<ref name="Himalaya">{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/50215.html|title= Shakyamuni Buddha - Jataka (previous lives)|access-date=2010-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031232948/http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/50215.html|archive-date=2013-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = Edward Byles Cowell|author2=Sir Robert Chalmers |author3=William Henry Denham Rouse |author4=Henry Thomas Francis |author5=Robert Alexander Neil | title = The Jātaka or stories of the Buddha's former births| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tyzjqrJ2YnwC&pg=PA166| volume = 4| year = 2000| publisher = Asian Educational Services| isbn = 978-81-206-1469-7| pages = 166–74| chapter = Sarabha-Miga-Jataka| editor = Edward Byles Cowell }}</ref>

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 [[Deva (Buddhism)|Devas]] or dwarfs in a ''[[Torana]]'' – a six-level archway behind an enlightenment throne of a [[Buddha]] or [[Bodhisattva]]. Together with the devas, they symbolize the perfection of effort (virya).<ref>{{cite book| last = Robert Beér| title = The encyclopedia of Tibetan symbols and motifs| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XlqeS3WjSWIC&pg=PA90| year = 2004| publisher = Serindia Publications, Inc.| isbn = 978-1-932476-10-1| pages = 80, 90 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Robert Beer| title = The handbook of Tibetan Buddhist symbols| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&pg=PA259| year = 2003| publisher = Serindia Publications, Inc.| isbn = 978-1-932476-03-3| page = 259 }}</ref>

==As emblem==
[[File:Seal of Karnataka.svg|right|thumb|The Karnataka state emblem, flanked by Sharabhas and centered by the Gandaberunda.]]
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 flankers of their emblazoned emblem, the [[Gandaberunda]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/jyotsna/blog/blog.php?BlogID=1149|title=Gandaberunda- The Two Headed Bird|access-date=2007-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202000034/http://www.kamat.com/jyotsna/blog/blog.php?BlogID=1149|archive-date=2014-02-02}}</ref><ref name="Univer">{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-mysore.ac.in/the-university-emblem/|title=The University Emblem|access-date=2010-01-10|publisher=University of Mysore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027112415/http://www.uni-mysore.ac.in/the-university-emblem/|archive-date=2013-10-27}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mysoresandal.co.in/profile.html|title=Profile: Sharabha|access-date=2010-01-09|publisher= Karnataka Saops and Detergents Limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610062809/http://www.mysoresandal.co.in/profile.html|archive-date=2010-06-10}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Yali (Hindu mythology)]]
*[[Griffin]]
*[[Sphinx]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Hindu deities and texts}}
{{Shaivism}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:Hindu gods]]
[[Category:Forms of Shiva]]
[[Category:Mythological hybrids]]
[[Category:Jataka tales]]
[[Category:Hindu legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Culture of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Legendary birds]]
[[Category:Lion deities]]
[[Category:Mythological monsters]]

Sharabha - Revision history

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