Narasimha

Narasimha is the fourth avatar of Vishnu, in the form of half-man, half-lion. According to the Bhagavata Purana, to protect his devotee Prahlada he emerged from a pillar at dusk and slew the godless king Hiranyakashipu. This form symbolizes the protection of devotion and the destruction of unrighteousness, and bears witness to the Lord's presence everywhere and at all times. Narasimha Jayanti, on the bright fourteenth of Vaishakha, is celebrated as his birth festival.