Thekimpurushas (Sanskrit:किंपुरुष,romanized: Kimpuruṣa) are a race of beings featured in Hindu literature, described as possessing the bodies of human beings and lion heads. They are associated with, and sometimes considered the same as thekinnaras,[1] though somePuranas distinguish between them.[2] They are attendants of the god of wealth,Kubera.[3]
Brahma is described to have created the kimpurushas and the kinnaras from his own reflected image.[4]
The kimpurushas, along with a number of other beings, praise the glory of theNarasimhaavatar ofVishnu after he slaysHiranyakashipu.[5]
The beings sing the praises ofMahabali for his selfless deed of offering thethree worlds to theVamana avatar of Vishnu.[6]
Budha transforms a number of women into kimpurushis (female kimpurushas) and instructs them to make a mountain their abode and take kimpurushas for their consorts.[7]
The poet-saintAppar references the kimpurushas as one among the eighteenclasses in hishymns.[8]
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