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Sixteen-armed Narasimha, an avatar of Visnu, tearing the belly of demon Hiranyakasyapa on a corridur ceiling in the Vimalavasahi temple Narasimha holds a mace and a disc in his two hands, two other hands are raised over his head; with the rest he is destroying the demon The sculpture is carved in high relief in the centre of a sixteen-petalled lotus flower. The whole piece is surrounded by a rectangular panel border depicting sågar manthan, 'churning of the ocean'
Narasimha is considered the embodiment of knowledge; he destroys ignorance when he tears at the bosom of the demon. Ignorance or impurity is of three kinds related to body, speech and mind, and Narasimha destroys all three of them This interpretation may be applicable to all demons destroyed by the gods
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