In Hinduism, the descent to Earth of deity in a visible form. The idea derives from the tradition associated with the deity Vishnu, who from time to time appears on Earth in animal or human form in order to save it from destruction or extraordinary peril.
For other uses, see Avatar (disambiguation).In Hindu philosophy, an avatar, avatara or avatarim (Sanskrit: अवतार, IAST: avatāra), most commonly refers to the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of a higher being (deva), or the Supreme Being (God) onto planet Earth.
Vishnu is said to descend from the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) into this universe as a variety of different types and forms of avatar. In some schools of Vedanta and non-theistic schools of Vedic thought, an Avatar is merely the supreme perfection of a very human yogi.
Dasavatara: The Ten Avatars of Vishnu
The ten most famous incarnations of Vishnu are collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' (das in Sanskrit means ten). This list is included in the Garuda Purana (1.86.10-11) and denotes those avatars most prominent in terms of their influence on human society.
The majority of avatars in this list of ten are categorised as 'lila-avatars' as will be discussed below. The next three avatars appeared in the Treta Yuga, the eighth incarnation in the Dwapara Yuga and the ninth in the Kali Yuga. He is also counted as an avatar Vishnu by the majority of Vaishnava movements and is included as the ninth Dasavatara in some versions of the list which contain no reference to Buddha.
Types of avatars
According to the Puranas countless numbers of avatars descend into our universe. Theologically within Vaishnavism the many avatars have been categorised into a number of different types depending on their specific personality and role as described in scripture. Some avatars are believed to be souls blessed with certain abilities of 'divine origin', although being a jiva themselves.
Purusha avatars: These are described as the original avatars of Vishnu within the universe:
Vasudeva Sankarshan Pradyumna AniruddhaGuna avatars: The avatars in control of the three modes (gunas) of nature. The Dasavatars and avatars from the Puranas (as below) are examples of this type. For further information see: Manu.
Shaktyavesa avatars: These are of two types - a direct avatar of Vishnu and a partial avatar of Vishnu's power, given to a specific living being. There are said to be a great number of avatars of this second type imparticular. An example would be Narada Muni or Buddha
Generally partial avatars of Vishnu are not worshipped as God. Only the direct, primary avatars are worshipped in this way. According to Madhvacharya, all avatars of Vishnu are alike in potency and every other quality. There is no gradation among them, and perceiving or claiming any differences among avatars is a cause of eternal damnation.
Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism Krishna is considered to be the highest avatar (the source of all other avatars), however most other Vaishnava groups accept him simply as an avatar of Vishnu . In any event, most Hindus believe that there is no difference between worship of Vishnu and His avatars as it all leads to Him.
The 25 Avatars of the Puranas
The Puranas list twenty-five avatars of Vishnu. A description of these is found in the Bhagavata Purana, Canto 1, Chapter 3 as follows:
Catursana (the four sons of Brahma) Narada (the travelling sage) Varaha (the boar) Matsya (the fish) Yajna (Vishnu temporarily taking the role of Indra) Nara-Narayana (the twins) Kapila (the philosopher) Dattatreya (combined avatar of the trimurthi) Hayagriva (the horse) Hamsa (the swan) Prsnigarbha Rishabha (father of King Bharata) Prithu Narasimha (the Man-Lion) Kurma (the tortoise) Dhanvantari (father of ayurveda) Mohini (beautiful woman) Vamana (the dwarf) Parasurama (the warrior) Ramachandra (the king of Ayodhya) Vyasa (writer of the Vedas) Balarama (Krishna's elder brother) Krishna (the cowherd) Buddha (the reformer) Kalki (the destroyer)Based on a verse in the latter texts of the Bhagavata Purana, and a number of texts from the Mahabharata and other Puranic scriptures, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is also listed as an avatar by followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
Symbolism
Many claim that the ten avatars represent the evolution of life and of mankind on earth.
Note that the time of the avatars also has some significance: Thus, kings rule reached its ideal state in Treta Yuga with Rama Avatar and social justice and Dharma were protected in Dwapar Yuga with the avatar of Krishna. Thus the avatars represent the evolution of life and society with changing epoch from Krita Yuga to Kali yuga.
The avatars described above are of Vishnu, which in a sense a symbol of the "current state" of the society.
List of other people considered to be avatars
Besides the avatars of Hinduism listed in the Puranas and Vedas, some other Indian Hindus are considered to be avatars by themselves or by others. Some of these include:
Hans Ji Maharaj (1900–1966) Declared that the Satguru is an avatar with the 64 kalas Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj (1922-present) is claimed to be an avatar of Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by his followers. Mahavatar Babaji described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi as an Avatar. Meher Baba (1894-1969) said he was the last avatar of the Kali Yuga or White Horse avatar. Mother Meera (1960-present) claims and is believed to be an Avatar of Adipara-Shakti Narayani Amma (1976-present) claimed as the real Narayani Avatar Sathya Sai Baba (1926?-1929?-present) claims and is believed by his devotees to be an avatar of Shiva, Shakti and Krishna. Shirdi Sai Baba (1838-1918) some of his followers believed him to be an avatar of Dattatreya and Shiva Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886) and Sri Sarada Devi (1853–1920). This pairing of contemporaneous avatars is rare if not unique in Hindu history. Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, and Vivekananda are worshipped by devotees worldwide as a holy trinity, the latter not as an avatar but as someone who is eternally free nityasiddha or ishwarakoti, born on earth to assist avatar in His mission, possessor of total enlightenment and liberation from his very birth.Some Hindus with a universalist outlook view the central figures of various non-Hindu religions as avatars. Many other Hindus reject the idea of avatars outside of traditional Hinduism. Some of these religious figures include:
Adi Da (1939-present) states he is the Avatar of " The Bright " incarnate, and uses the title Avatar Adi Da Samraj Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892) the founder-prophet of the Bahá'í Faith, believed to be Kalki Avatar. Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (1938-present) claims to be the "Third", an avatar of the "solar line", and the successor to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Samael Aun Weor (1917-1977) claimed to be the real Kalki Avatar and Buddha Maitreya.Influence of Avatar Philosophy
Theosophy
The avatar concept was adapted by orientalising Western occultism, specifically Theosophy and Neo-Theosophy. A decade later, her co-worker the clairvoyant Charles Webster Leadbeater would claim that his young protege Jiddu Krishnamurti was actually the avatar of a Cosmic Christ-like being called the Maitreya. This view implies that an ancient zodiacal knowledge is embedded in the Ten Avatars of Vishnu. (see History of Astrology)
She considers Sri Aurobindo rather than the Buddha to be the ninth Avatar of Vishnu, on the grounds that he considered Buddha's direction towards 'a featureless Absolute' to be a mistake in the course of evolution of consciousness. Therefore there has to be a correction by Kalki.' Kalki is known to be the last or 10th Avatar of the Hindu line.
Criticism of contemporary avatars
Many new religious movements related to Hinduism (see Contemporary Hindu movements), some of which are viewed as cults, have more contentious views, including a tendency in modern times to place their guru as ishta-deva.
Swami Tapasyananda of Ramakrishna Mission, on commentating about this phenomenon, said:
Thus, if followers respect and revere the guru, it is only proper if they are using him as a conduit to God, and respect him as a teacher.
As early as the 17th century, the great Vaishnavite saint, Raghavendra Swami, in his last speech before departing from the mortal world, warned about the dangers of fraudulent gurus by saying:
General
Avataras as categorized within Gaudiya Vaishnavism Diagram showing the 'family tree' of different Avatars Description of different Avatar types Animation Project based on Vishnu's Ten Incarnations Dasavatara stotra and the ten avataras Śrî Das'āvatāra Stotra: composed by Śrî Jayadeva Gosvāmî (inc. The Avatar site Avatars of Lord Guru DattAcademic
Avatars (Incarnations or Descents) of Vishnu Dasavatar discussion with meanings Dasavataras (krishna.com) Explores the claims made by various possible Avatars Topics in Hinduism| Śruti: | Vedas · Upanishads · Śrauta | |||
| Smriti: | Itihasa (Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita) · Puranas · Sutras · Agama (Tantra, Yantra) · Vedanta | |||
| Concepts: | Avatar · Atman · Brahman · Kosas · Dharma · Karma · Moksha · Maya · Ishta-deva · Murti · Reincarnation · Samsara · Tattva · Trimurti · Turiya · Gurus | |||
| Philosophy: | Schools · Early Hinduism · Samkhya · Nyaya · Vaisheshika · Yoga · Mimamsa · Vedanta · Tantra · Bhakti | |||
| Rituals: | Jyotish · Ayurveda · Aarti · Bhajans · Darshan · Diksha · Mantras · Puja · Satsang · Stotras · Wedding · Yajna | |||
| Gurus: | Shankara · Ramanuja · Madhvacharya · Ramakrishna · Sarada Devi · Vivekananda · Narayana Guru · Aurobindo · Ramana Maharshi · Sivananda · Chinmayananda · Sivaya Subramuniyaswami · Swaminarayan · Prabhupada · Lokenath · Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu | |||
| Denominations: | Vaishnavism · Shaivism · Shaktism · Smartism · Hindu reform movements | |||
| Deities: | List of Hindu deities · Hindu mythology | |||
| Yugas: | Satya Yuga · Treta Yuga · Dvapara Yuga · Kali Yuga | |||
| Castes: | Brahmin · Kshatriya · Vaishya · Shudra · Dalit · See also: Varnashrama dharma | v • d • e |
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