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Lot Essay
In Hinduism, an avatar is the form a deity takes when she or he descends deliberately to earth to bring righteousness back to the social and cosmic order. This is best described in the Bhagavata Gita, delivered by Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) during the great epic battle, the Mahabharata:
Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil,
and for the establishment of righteousness,
I come into being age after age.
-(Gita:4.7-8)
This term is most often associated with Vishnu, who has various avatars as described in the Hindu texts. The Bhagavata Purana lists twenty-two, including Krishna and Rama, while the Garuda Purana lists ten, commonly known as the Dashavatara and depicted in the present example. They include the following:
1.Matsya - the fish avatar of Vishnu, Matsya warned Manu, the first man, of an impending flood and ordered him to collect examples of all the grains and living creatures of the world into a great boat, which Matsya pulls to safety during the deluge that destroys the rest of the world.
2.Kurma - the tortoise avatar, who helped churn the ocean of milk by bearing the churning staff on his back.
3.Varaha - after waging war on Heaven, Hiranyaksha the demon challenged Vishnu to a duel by abducting his consort Prithvi, the Earth Goddess, and hiding her at the bottom of the ocean. Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu, immediately shot out of Brahma's nose and dove into the ocean to rescue her. Once safely above water, Varaha used his chakra to disarm and destroy the demon.
4.Narasimha - when Hiranyakasha was defeated by Vishnu's previous incarnation of Varaha, his brother Hiranyakashipu, also a demon king, desired revenge. He realized it was not wise to attack Vishnu without some protection, and by performing great austerities, he gained Brahma's approval. He asked for a boon that would allow him not to be slain by day or night, by weapons or missiles, either indoors or outdoors, nor by man or beast. With this boon granted and thinking himself invulnerable, Hiranyakashipu attacked the gods until Vishnu reappeared as Narasimha, a man-lion, and eviscerated the king with his claws at the twilight hour on the threshold of the palace, thus circumventing all conditions of the demon king's boon.
5.Vamana - the dwarf beggar who presented himself to King Bali to thwart the ambitious sovereign from taking over the heavens. When giving alms, Bali granted Vamana any wish he desired. Vamana asked for all the land he could cover with three steps and the king agreed. Immediately Vishnu changed into a giant and covered the earth and sky with two steps and then asked Bali where he should place his last step. Knowing he had been bested, Bali offered his head to Vishnu, who immediately sent the king to the netherworld.
6.Parashurama, King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited sage Jamadagni, Parashurama's father, who fed his guest and the whole army with offerings from his divine cow. The king demanded the cow for the betterment of his subjects, and Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. A conflict developed King Kartavirya Arjuna chopped off the head of Jamadagni. When Parashurama returned to the hermitage and discovered what had happened, he killed the king and his entire clan with the axe given to him by Shiva, thus conquering the entire earth, which he then gave to Brahmans.
7.Rama - the king of Ayodhya and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana
8.Krishna - the king of Dwarka, a central character in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharat and reciter of Bhagavad Gita.
9.Buddha - born as Siddharatha, the crown prince of the Kapilavastu, and became the Enlightened One
10.Kalki -meaning "Eternity," "White Horse," or "Destroyer of Filth," is the final incarnation of Vishnu and will appear atop a white horse with his sword drawn and blazing like a comet. He is the harbinger of the end of our current period, the Kali Yuga ("black" or "wicked epoch"), and will destroy all unrighteousness and evil to usher in the Satya Yuga ("truth epoch" or "golden age").
Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil,
and for the establishment of righteousness,
I come into being age after age.
-(Gita:4.7-8)
This term is most often associated with Vishnu, who has various avatars as described in the Hindu texts. The Bhagavata Purana lists twenty-two, including Krishna and Rama, while the Garuda Purana lists ten, commonly known as the Dashavatara and depicted in the present example. They include the following:
1.Matsya - the fish avatar of Vishnu, Matsya warned Manu, the first man, of an impending flood and ordered him to collect examples of all the grains and living creatures of the world into a great boat, which Matsya pulls to safety during the deluge that destroys the rest of the world.
2.Kurma - the tortoise avatar, who helped churn the ocean of milk by bearing the churning staff on his back.
3.Varaha - after waging war on Heaven, Hiranyaksha the demon challenged Vishnu to a duel by abducting his consort Prithvi, the Earth Goddess, and hiding her at the bottom of the ocean. Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu, immediately shot out of Brahma's nose and dove into the ocean to rescue her. Once safely above water, Varaha used his chakra to disarm and destroy the demon.
4.Narasimha - when Hiranyakasha was defeated by Vishnu's previous incarnation of Varaha, his brother Hiranyakashipu, also a demon king, desired revenge. He realized it was not wise to attack Vishnu without some protection, and by performing great austerities, he gained Brahma's approval. He asked for a boon that would allow him not to be slain by day or night, by weapons or missiles, either indoors or outdoors, nor by man or beast. With this boon granted and thinking himself invulnerable, Hiranyakashipu attacked the gods until Vishnu reappeared as Narasimha, a man-lion, and eviscerated the king with his claws at the twilight hour on the threshold of the palace, thus circumventing all conditions of the demon king's boon.
5.Vamana - the dwarf beggar who presented himself to King Bali to thwart the ambitious sovereign from taking over the heavens. When giving alms, Bali granted Vamana any wish he desired. Vamana asked for all the land he could cover with three steps and the king agreed. Immediately Vishnu changed into a giant and covered the earth and sky with two steps and then asked Bali where he should place his last step. Knowing he had been bested, Bali offered his head to Vishnu, who immediately sent the king to the netherworld.
6.Parashurama, King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited sage Jamadagni, Parashurama's father, who fed his guest and the whole army with offerings from his divine cow. The king demanded the cow for the betterment of his subjects, and Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. A conflict developed King Kartavirya Arjuna chopped off the head of Jamadagni. When Parashurama returned to the hermitage and discovered what had happened, he killed the king and his entire clan with the axe given to him by Shiva, thus conquering the entire earth, which he then gave to Brahmans.
7.Rama - the king of Ayodhya and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana
8.Krishna - the king of Dwarka, a central character in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharat and reciter of Bhagavad Gita.
9.Buddha - born as Siddharatha, the crown prince of the Kapilavastu, and became the Enlightened One
10.Kalki -meaning "Eternity," "White Horse," or "Destroyer of Filth," is the final incarnation of Vishnu and will appear atop a white horse with his sword drawn and blazing like a comet. He is the harbinger of the end of our current period, the Kali Yuga ("black" or "wicked epoch"), and will destroy all unrighteousness and evil to usher in the Satya Yuga ("truth epoch" or "golden age").