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Gandabherunda (IAST:Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa) is a form ofVishnu inHindu mythology. According to legend,Narasimha, anavatar of Vishnu, assumes this form of adouble-headed eagle to subdueSharabha, a form ofShiva.[1] Gandabherunda is worshipped along with his consortNarasimhi, a fierce form ofLakshmi, also revered as Simhamukhi Lakshmi.
The two headed eagle is holding twoelephants in hisclaws andbeaks, revealing his enormous powers. In a coin found inMadurai, he is holding asnake in his beak.[2] All 2-dimensional depictions show a symmetrical image in which he is adouble-headed eagle while other images show his long tailfeathers like apeafowl. In theChennakeshava 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 ofNarasimha, the fourth incarnation ofVishnu in theDashavatara ofVishnu and he disemboweled and killed bothSharabha andHiranyakashipu at the same time. He is present in many Hindu scriptures.[4]
AfterNarasimha disemboweled and killed the asura kingHiranyakashipu, he burned and killed all other asuras and won over them. In the original story of this incident, the asura king Hiranyakashipu and the asura queen Kayudhu's sonPrahlada prayed to him along with the devas and devis and celebrated him, after which Narasimha went toVaikuntha.[5] HoweverVaishnava andShaiva scriptures tell a story, one that includesVishnu andShiva. In this story, thedevas anddevis, 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 hisVirabhadra 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 ofSharabha, 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 andKailasha respectively.
Gandabherunda is the emblem of theKingdom of Mysore ofWadiyar rulers, and after India was united, it was kept byMysore State as its emblem. The Mysore State was enlarged in 1956 CE and renamed asKarnataka in 1973 CE, and Gandabherunda is the official state emblem ofKarnataka. It is used as officialemblem ofGovernment of Karnataka. It is astatuemotif inHindu temples.[6]
A statue showing Gandabherunda is found on the roof of the Rameshvara temple in the temple town ofKeladi inShimoga District, the capital of theKeladi Nayakas. Gandabherunda is used by the Wadiyar rulers ofMysore as a royal emblem.Government of Karnataka has Gandabherunda as a state symbol and is found on bus terminals and tickets issued byKarnataka State Road Transport Corporation. Gold Coins from the reign ofAchyuta Deva Raya is the first to use Gandabherunda on coins.[7] The crests of theIndian Navy ships named INS Mysore -INS Mysore (C60) andINS Mysore (D60) depicts Gandabherunda.
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Gandu Bherunda is aKannada 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 bySathyam.Bollywood actorAmrish Puri played the antagonist in the film.
