Marjara Kesari Narasimha, Bargarh

The Marjara Kesari Narasimha ('cat-lion man-lion') temple at Nrusinghnath in Bargarh district, Odisha, 160 kilometres from Sambalpur — a distinctive form of Narasimha depicted as a composite cat-and-lion-man deity on the Gandhamardan Hills, which the Odia Hunter Cult tribal communities worship. The temple is 15-century Chauhan-period; the main deity is a self-manifest rock formation in the composite Marjara Kesari form. The Gandhamardan Hills are also sacred as the mountain the Hindu Hanuman is said to have lifted carrying the Sanjivani herb to save Lakshmana in the Ramayana. The hills preserve 10-century Buddhist monastery remains (Ratnagiri-Udayagiri-Lalitgiri complex is 400 km east). The temple is one of the few sacred sites in India where a Tribal-Hindu composite deity is worshipped by both tribal and caste Hindu communities. ASI partial protection.