Saturday, July 17, 2010

விஷ்ணு சில தகவல்கள்





In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatāra (Devanagari अवतार, Sanskrit for "descent" [viz., from heaven to earth]) refers to a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation", but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation".

The term is most often associated with Vishnu, though it has also come to be associated with other deities. Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten Dashavatara of the Garuda Purana and the twenty-two avatars in the Bhagavata Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable. The avatars of Vishnu are a primary component of Vaishnavism. An early reference to avatar, and to avatar doctrine, is in the Bhagavad Gita.

Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars. The various manifestations of Devi, the Divine Mother principal in Hinduism, are also described as avatars or incarnations by some scholars and followers of Shaktism. The avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of other deities, which some scholars perceive to be imitative of the Vishnu avatar lists.

Etymology and meaning
Further information: Incarnation
The Sanskrit noun avatāra is derived from the verbal root tṝ "to cross over", joined with the prefix ava "off , away , down". The word doesn't occur in the Vedas, but is recorded in Pāṇini (3.3.120). Avatāra was initially used to describe different deities, then around the 6th century CE it began to be used primarily to describe the manifestations of Vishnu.[6] While earlier texts mention deities taking on different forms, the Bhagavad Gita (4.5-9) is the first text to discuss the doctrine associated with the term even though the word avatāra itself is not mentioned

The common translation "incarnation" due to its christological implications is somewhat misleading as the concept of avatar corresponds more closely to the view of Docetism in Christian theology, as different from the idea of God 'in the flesh' in mainstream Christology.

Related to the idea of avatar is that of vibhūti, that is, the idea of manifestations of the divine in various aspects of human life and the natural world.

Avatars of Vishnu
Main article: Vishnu

Matsya, fish avatar of VishnuThe concept of avatar within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trinity or Trimurti. The descents of Vishnu are also integral to his teaching and tradition, whereas the accounts of other deities are not so strictly dependent on their avatar stories. Although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avatars, within the Vaishnavism branch of Hinduism Narayana, Vasudeva, and Krishna are also seen as names denoting divine aspects which descend as avatars.

The Bhagavata Purana describes Vishnu's avatars as innumerable, though there are ten incarnations (Dasavatara, Sanskrit: ten avatars) that are widely seen as his major appearances. Krishna and Rama are the two mostly widely known and worshiped avatars of Vishnu, with their stories told in the two popular epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Different lists of Vishnu's avatars appear in different texts, including: the dasavatara from the Garuda Purana; lists of twenty-two, twenty-three, and sixteen avatars in the Bhagavata Purana; thirty-nine avatars in the Ahirbudhnya saṃhitā; the dasavatara again in Agni Purana; the first eight of the dasavatara in Padma Purana. The commonly accepted number of ten was fixed well before the 10th century CE. In addition, various Vaishnava saints and founders are considered to be partial avatars.

Vishnu's avatars typically descend for a very specific purpose. An oft-quoted passage describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu—to bring dharma, or righteousness, back to the social and cosmic order:

Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
In order to protect the good and punish the wicked,
In order to make a firm foundation for righteousness,
I come into being age after age. (4.7–8)

The various avatars categorized in many different ways. For example: Purusavatara is the first avatara; Gunavataras are represented by the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv) who each preside over one of the gunas (rajas, sattva, and tamas); Lilavataras are the well-known ones, and include Avesavataras (beings into whom part of God Himself has entered) and saktyamsavesa (into whom only parts of His power enter); Kalpa-, Manvantara-, and Yuga-avataras descend during different cosmic ages.[15] Some Vaishnavism schools consider Krishna to be the source of all avatars (Krishnaism).

Dashavatara
Main article: Dashavatara

Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu (18th century painting, probably of Pahari provenience)The ten best known avatars of Vishnu are collectively known as the Daśāvatara (a dvigucompound meaning "ten avatars"). This list is included in the Garuda Purana (1.86.10"11).

The first four are said to have appeared in the Satya Yuga (the first of the four Yugas or ages in the time cycle described within Hinduism). The next three avatars appeared in the Treta Yuga, the eighth descent in the Dwapara Yuga and the ninth in the Kali Yuga. The tenth, Kalki, is predicted to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga.

Matsya, the fish-avatar who saved Manu - the progeniter of mankind from the great deluge and rescued the Vedic scriptures by killing a demon
Kurma, the tortoise-avatar, who helped in the Samudra manthan - the churning of the ocean
Varaha, the boar-avatar, who rescued the earth from the ocean, by killing her kidnapper-demon Hiranyaksha
Narasimha, the half man-half lion avatar, who killed the tyrant demon-king Hiranyakashipu, to rescue the demon's son Prahlada, who was a Vishnu-devotee
Vamana, the dwarf-avatar, who defeated the demon-king Bali
Parashurama, sage with the axe who killed the thousand-armed king Kartavirya Arjuna
Rama, the king of Ayodhya and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana
Krishna, the king of Dwarka, a central character in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata and reciter of Bhagavad Gita
Gautama Buddha
Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"), who is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga.
Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, is sometimes considered as one of the Dasavatar[citation needed], omitting Buddha from the list. In other traditions, Balarama is considered as a partial avatar of Vishnu or an avatar of Shesha, the serpent on which Vishnu sleeps.

In the Bhagavata Purana

Mohini, the only female avatar of Vishnu (statue in a Belur temple)As many as forty specific avatars of Vishnu are mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, though the book adds that the number is innumerable.Twenty-two avatars of Vishnu are listed numerically in the first book:

Four Kumaras [BP 1.3.6] - the four Sons of god Brahma
Varaha [BP 1.3.7]
Narada [BP 1.3.8] the divine-sage who travels the worlds as a devotee of Vishnu
Nara-Narayana [BP 1.3.9] - the twin-sages
Kapila [BP 1.3.10] - a sage and one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy
Dattatreya [BP 1.3.11] - the combined avatar of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Yajna [BP 1.3.12] - the lord of fire-sacrifice, who took was the Indra - the lord of heaven
Rishabha [BP 1.3.13] - the father of King Bharata and Bahubali
Prithu [BP 1.3.14] - the sovereign-king who milked the earth as a cow to get the world's grain and vegetation and also invented agriculture
Matsya [BP 1.3.15]
Kurma [BP 1.3.16]
Dhanvantari [BP 1.3.17] - the father of Ayurveda medicine
Mohini [BP 1.3.17] - the enchantress
Narasimha[BP 1.3.18]
Vamana [BP 1.3.19]
Parasurama [BP 1.3.20]
Vyasa [BP] 1.3.21] - the compiler of the scriptures - Vedas and writer of the scriptures Puranas and the epic Mahabharata
Rama [BP 1.3.22]
Balarama [BP 1.3.23]
Krishna [BP 1.3.23]
Buddha [BP 1.3.24]
Kalki [BP 1.3.25]
Besides these, another four avatars are described later on in the text as follows:

Prshnigarbha [BP 10.3.41] - the son of Prshni
Hayagriva [BP 2.7.11] - the horse-faced avatar
Hamsa [BP 11.13.19] - the swan
Golden avatra [BP 11.5.32] - the avatara in Kali-yuga for propagating hari-namasankirtan

other Vaishnava avatars

Purusha avatars
Purusha avatars are sometimes described as the original avatars of Vishnu or Krishna within the Universe:[unreliable source?]

Vasudeva
Sankarshan
Pradyumna
Vamana
Guna avatars
Main article: Trimurti
The personalities of the Trimurti (Hindu trinity) are also sometimes referred to as Guna avatars, because of their roles of controlling the three modes (gunas) of nature, even though they have not descended upon an earthly planet in the general sense of the term 'avatar'.

Vishnu - As controller of the mode of goodness (sattva)
Brahma - Controller of the mode of passion and desire (rajas)
Shiva - Controller of the mode of ignorance (tamas)
Manvantara avatars
Manvantara avatars are beings responsible for creating progeny throughout the Universe. There are said to be unlimited numbers of these avatars.[52][unreliable source?]

Shaktyavesa and Avesa avatars
Avataric incarnations are classified as two kinds

direct (sakshat)
indirect (avesa)
When Vishnu himself descends, he is called sakshat or shaktyavesa-avatara, a direct incarnation of God. But when he does not incarnate directly, but indirectly empowers some living entity to represent him, that living entity is called an indirect or avesa avatar.[unreliable source?]

There are said to be a great number of avesa avatars. Examples include Narada Muni, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Parashurama. Parashurama is the only one of the traditional ten avatars that is not a direct descent of Vishnu.

According to the Sri Vaishnavism sect of Hinduism, there are two types of primary or direct avatars, Purna avatars and Amsarupavatars:

Purna avatars are those in which Vishnu takes form directly and all the qualities and powers of God are expressed, (e.g. Narasimha, Rama and Krishna).unreliable source?]
Amsarupavatars are those in which Vishnu takes form directly but He is manifest in the person only partially. (e.g. avatars from Matsya to Parashurama).
The avesa or indirect avatars are generally not worshiped as the Supreme being. Only the direct, primary avatars are worshiped in this way. In practice, the direct avatars that are worshiped today are the Purna avatars of Narasimha, Rama and Krishna. Among most Vaishnava traditions, Krishna is considered to be the highest Purna avatar. However, followers of Chaitanya (including ISKCON), Nimbarka, and Vallabha Acharya differ philosophically from other Vaishnavas, such as Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya, and consider Krishna to be the ultimate Godhead, not simply an avatar. That said, all Hindus believe that there is no difference between worship of Vishnu and His avatars as it all leads to Him. According to Madhvacharya (chief proponent of Dvaita or school of differential monism), 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. See Madhva's commentary on Katha Upanishad.

BP - Bhagavatha Purana

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