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| Last Updated:: 25/08/2023

Lion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific name

 

Panthera leo Linn

 

Common name

 

Asiatic Lion

 

Hindi

 

Sher

 

Sanskrit 

 

Simha

 

Telugu

 

Mahisha

 

Distribution

 

Confined in Gir forest in Gujarat

 

Religious association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Goddess Durga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lion is the vehicle of Goddess Durga, the fierce form of the goddess Parvati, is often depicted as a warrior goddess. The lion also is the doorkeeper in several Shiva temples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord Narasimha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu was halfman (Nara) and half-lion (Simha).The goddess Narasimhi is one of the Sapta Matrikas, the Seven Mothers of Tantric religion.

 

  

 

 

 

Simhamukha Dakini

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lion is a very important symbol in Buddhism. The teachings of Buddha are sometimes referred to as the ‘lion’s roar of dharma’. Simhamukha is a Buddhist dakini with a lion face.  

 

 

 

 

Source: “Sacred Animals Of India” by  Nanditha Krishna, (Penguin Book India, 2010)