By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
The Chaturmukha Vishnu is a very rare form of Vishnu once worshipped in Kashmir from the 8th and 9th century, when it was an important centre of Hinduism. The image shows Vishnu with four heads. Three clear faces are those of Vishnu, the Narasimha or the Lion face, and the face of the Varaha avatar. The fourth face varies according to scriptures. Different scriptures describe the fourth head as either a demonic face or the face of Kapila or the face of Lakshmi, or even Hayagriva, the horse. In artwork, sometimes, the fourth head is absent and only the other three heads are shown.
