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.

This form of Vishnu has not four, but eight arms. Four arms hold the traditional conch shell, discus, mace and lotus flower. The other four hands hold a bow, an arrow, a sword and a shield. Sometimes, the image just has four arms. The gada (mace) is replaced with the gadanari or it is personified as a woman. The chakra is replaced by the chakrapurusha, a wheel embodied as a man.