Meet Navagunjara: A mythical creature composed of nine different animals 

You might have read about Hydra, the seven-headed snake or Chimera, a hybrid of a lion, goat, and snake in Greek mythology. But did you know that there is a creature with the complexity of nine different animals in the Indian mythology? We are talking about Navagunjara. The motif originates from the folklore and legends of the Jagannath temple of Puri. Prince Arjuna of Hastinapur was the person who saw it first, say legends. It was identified as the avatar of Lord Krishna. 

Sarala Das, known as the Adi Kabi (first poet of the language), narrated it in Sarala Mahabharata in Odiya language in the 15th century. According to legends, Sarala Sevi was the pen name of Siddeswar Parida, who served in the army of King Kapilendra Deva (r. 1434–1467), the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire that ruled parts of eastern and southern India, including the present-day Odisha as the center of his empire. 

The Navagunjara motif of Odisha 
According to legends, the Navagunjara represents the manifestation of Vishnu, in  a form named Visvarupa. The complex figure has a bull's hump on its slim waist, a peacock's head and neck, and a serpent's tail. It stands on three legs: A a tiger and a deer's hind legs, and an elephant's left foreleg. A lotus in full bloom is held in the shape of a human hand by the right foreleg. In some folktales, a rooster's head is shown in place of a peacock's. 

Arjuna sees Navagunjara  
The tale begins in Mahabharata where the Pandavas (protagonists from the Hindu mythology Mahabharata) were at Vanaprastha (in exile in the forest). Arjuna came across a unique complex creature that was a combination of the rooster, lion, snake, peacock, elephant, bull, deer, horse, and human during that time. While mesmerized, Arjuna also experienced fear at the sight of this strange animal and raised his bow aiming at it. But he soon realised that Navagunjara was a manifestation of Lord Vishnu. This is when he bowed down and surrendered his weapons before the Lord.  

Navagunjara in Art  
Navagunjara is depicted alone and with Arjuna in Odisha art. On the northern side of the Sri Jagannath temple in Puri, a carving depicts Arjuna worshipping the Virat-swarupa, an incarnation of Lord Krishna. In Puri and Odisha, many households have this art painted on their outer walls. It is also reflected in the Patachitra paintings on cloth, palm leaf, wood, and paper, by artists of Raghurajpur, close to Puri. A vivid Navagunjara figurine can also be found on the traditional ganjifa cards, round playing cards popularised at the Mughal courts. 

In his book The Hindu Pantheon (1810), Edward Moore (1771–1848) published a line drawing of Navagunjara bearing the name tag Viratarupa. Moore had purchased a picture of Navagunjara from Charles Stuart (ca. 1758–1828), an East India Company–employed army officer who served in Kolkata. Stuart might have travelled to Odisha and obtained the image there, most likely in Puri. British painter and engraver Matthew Haughton (1766–1821), who worked in London, also made an engraving of this mythical creature.