Narasimha and Lakshmi

This is an oleograph of Narasimha and Lakshmi by the artist Siddalingaswamy (Shilpi Siddalinga Swami) of Mysore. It was published by Brijbasi F.A.O. Works, Mathura in the early 1900s. Narasimha is the fourth avatar of Vishnu, who incarnates in the form of part lion and part man to destroy evil and end religious persecution and calamity on earth. He symbolizes divine strength and valour. Vishnu assumed this form to protect his devotee Prahlada, pictured on the left, from the persecutions of his father. Lakshmi, depicted seated on the right, is the Goddess of wealth, fortune, love, beauty, and prosperity. She is both the wife and divine female energy (shakti) of Vishnu. Above them, between two angels, is the protective snake Shesha - the thousand-headed cosmic serpent whose heads support the earth, the creatures on it, and the heavenly spheres.