Sharabha avatar

Sharabha is a creature that is part lion and part bird. According to Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is an eightlegged beast, mightier than a lion and elephant and which can kill the lion. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eightlegged deer. Shiv puran narrates that god Shiva assumed the Avatar of Sharabha to tame Narasimha the fierce manlion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by Vaishnava sect into a normal pleasant form representing harmony. This form is popularly known as Sarabeshwara (Lord Sarabha) or Sharabeshwaramurti.