Gandabherunda

Gandabherunda as a roof statue, Rameshvara temple, Keladi

Gandabherunda in a decorative painting, Brihadishvara Temple, Thanjavur

Left: Gandabherunda in a roof statue, Rameshvara temple, Keladi. Right: Gandabherunda in a decorative painting, Brihadishvara Temple, Thanjavur.

Gandabherunda (IAST: Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa) is a two-headed bird and he is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu as Narasimha and he has enormous powers in Hindu mythology.^[1] In Hinduism, Gandabherunda is a form of Vishnu as Narasimha who disemboweled and killed Sharabha, a form of Shiva and Hiranyakashipu at the same time in Hindu mythology.

Depiction

The two headed eagle is holding two elephants in his claws and beaks, revealing his enormous powers. In a coin found in Madurai, he is holding a snake in his beak.^[2] All 2-dimensional depictions show a symmetrical image in which he is a double-headed eagle while other images show his long tail feathers like a peafowl. In the Chennakeshava Temple, Beluru, Karnataka, Gandabherunda as a two headed eagle is carved in a scene of chain of destruction, which results in the destruction of the universe.^[3] Gandabherunda is a form of Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Vishnu in the Dashavatara of Vishnu and he disemboweled and killed both Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu at the same time. He is present in many Hindu scriptures.^[4]

Legend

After Narasimha disemboweled and killed the asura king Hiranyakashipu, he burned and killed all other asuras and won over them. In the original story of this incident which is true, the asura king and the asuri queen Kayudhu's son Prahlada prayed to him along with the devas and devis and celebrated him, after which Narasimha went to Vaikuntha.^[5] However Vaishnava and Shaiva scriptures tell a story in this incident, one that includes Vishnu and Shiva. In this story, the devas and devis, thinking that Narasimha would destroy the universe in his fury when fighting with Hiranyakashipu, approached the gods Vishnu and Shiva for help. In order to protect the universe, Shiva took his Virabhadra form to tell Narasimha to go away, but Narasimha stopped and drove Virabhadra away. Vishnu took the form of Gandabherunda as an alternative form of Narasimha, a two-headed eagle animal, and Shiva took the form of Sharabha, a part-lion and part-eagle animal. Narasimha as Gandabherunda with Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu fought an 18-day battle. On the 18th day, Narasimha as Gandabherunda disemboweled and killed both Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu at the same time. Sharabha then told to Narasimha as Gandabherunda to leave him to go away, after which Narasimha as Gandabherunda became calm. As a mark of respect, Sharabha removed the skin of his body and gave it to Narasimha as Gandabherunda and Narasimha as Gandabherunda wore it as a hide and gave the hide to Sharabha, who attached the hide to his body and grew it as his skin back fully. The universe now being peaceful and intact, Gandabherunda as Narasimha and Sharabha took their true forms of Vishnu and Shiva and went to their respective heavens of Vaikuntha and Kailasha respectively.

Usage

Gandabherunda is the emblem of the Kingdom of Mysore of Wadiyar rulers, and after India was united, it was kept by Mysore State as its emblem. The Mysore State was enlarged in 1956 CE and renamed as Karnataka in 1973 CE, and Gandabherunda is the official state emblem of Karnataka. It is used as official emblem of Government of Karnataka. It is a statue motif in Hindu temples.^[6]

A statue showing Gandabherunda is found on the roof of the Rameshvara temple in the temple town of Keladi in Shimoga District, the capital of the Keladi Nayakas. Gandabherunda is used by the Wadiyar rulers of Mysore as a royal emblem. Government of Karnataka has Gandabherunda as a state symbol and is found on bus terminals and tickets issued by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. Gold Coins from the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya is the first to use Gandabherunda on coins.^[7] The crest of the Indian navy ship INS Mysore (D60) shows Gandabherunda.

Gandabherunda as emblem on Mysore Palace.
Gandabherunda as emblem on Emblem of Karnataka, India.
Gandabherunda as emblem on Lalita Mahal Palace Hotel, Mysore.

In popular culture

Gandu Bherunda is a Kannada film directed by S. V. Rajendrasingha Babu and produced by Vajramuni. The playwright of the movie was the celebrated writer, H.V. Subba Rao. The film was released in 1984. The music was composed by Sathyam. Bollywood actor Amrish Puri played the antagonist in the film.

References

^ www.wisdomlib.org (22 January 2017). "Gandabherunda, Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa: 4 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
^ Ganesha Coins of Tamilnadu, 13.48
^ kamat.com, kamat.com (2 February 2014). "Kamat's Potpourri: Amma's Column - Gandabherunda-The Two Headed Eagle". kamat.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^ The Vedanta Kesari. Sri Ramakrishna Math. February 1967.
^ Kaivalya, Alanna; Kooij, Arjuna van der (8 September 2020). Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68383-848-7.
^ kamat.com, kamat.com (12 April 2007). "Mystical Bird Gandabherunda". kamat.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
^ coinindia.com, coinindia.com (2 May 2017). "The Coinindia Coin Galleries: Vijayanagara". coinindia.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2020.

External links

"Evolution of Gandabherunda" Archived 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine-article by S. Srikanta Sastri
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=iqsc4symp
A historical and unique sculpture of Gandabherunda from Balligavi: [1]

[1] www.wisdomlib.org (22 January 2017). "Gandabherunda, Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa: 4 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2022.

[2] Ganesha Coins of Tamilnadu, 13.48

[3] t.com, kamat.com (2 February 2014). "Kamat's Potpourri: Amma's Column - Gandabherunda-The Two Headed Eagle". kamat.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2023.

[4] The Vedanta Kesari. Sri Ramakrishna Math. February 1967.

[5] Kaivalya, Alanna; Kooij, Arjuna van der (8 September 2020). Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68383-848-7.

[6] t.com, kamat.com (12 April 2007). "Mystical Bird Gandabherunda". kamat.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2007.

[7] .com, coinindia.com (2 May 2017). "The Coinindia Coin Galleries: Vijayanagara". coinindia.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]