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8 out of 9 avatars (no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9) are involved in saving the world of gods from the power attained by the demons, while only 6 is concerned with saving humans alone. Whenever there was a conflict of interest between the gods and the non-gods, incarnation of God sided with the gods and in fact outright cheated the non-gods. The general structure of the Hindu Avatar myth follows a strict progression as follows: 1. A demon (Asuras) gains great power through austerities and becomes invincible 2. The demon defeats gods (Suras, Devas) totally and takes over their lands 3. The Suras pettitions one of the great deities. 4. The deity takes a form suitable to trick the Asura. 5. Demon is defeated without violating any legal conditions within the law. 6. Suras praise the demon slayer. A casual look will verify that most of the incarnations do not fulfill the reason for avatar. Evidently it is a one sided story and certainly refers not to how the supreme God of all Creations deal with his creation, but how the King of a group of people deal with their enemies. It is this obvious character of the avatar that I treat as historical.
The Reality Check with Time This would imply that except for the Balabhadra and Krishna avatars all avatars took place over a million years ago. Even those two fall within the vast time frame of 3000 to 867000 BC (nearly a million years). It would also imply that human civilization with highly sophisticated social system, kingship, chariots, war machines, flying vehicles etc were in existence in India for over three million years.
“Using the Hubble constant and information about the expansion of
the Universe from the Hubble Space Telescope, we have been able to
measure the age of the Universe to between 12 and 14 billion years
old.” Dr. Wendy Freedman
|
Incarnation - Vasudeva - Vishnu |
Asura - Prati-Vasudeva |
Matsya (Fish) Avatara |
Killed Hayagriva |
Kurma (Tortoise)Avatara |
Associated with the Churning of the Milky Way to get the Amrit |
Varaha (Boar) Avatara |
Killed Hiranyaksha |
Nara Simha (Man-Lion) Avatara |
Killed Hiranyakasipu (brother of Hiranyaksha) |
Vamana (Dwarf) Avatara |
Defeated Mahabali (Grandson of Hiranyakasipu) |
Parasu Rama (Rama with the Axe) |
To reclaim Kerala (An Asura Kingdom?) |
Rama |
Killed Asura Ravana (Grandson of Mahabali) |
Bala Rama |
Killed Asura Dhenuka |
Krishna |
Killed Kamsa son of an Asura, taken to be the son of Ugrasen |
If there is a historical germ in these stories, then we must look at it from the historical period essentially after the development of Sanskrit literature. This post dates the beginning of Christian Era. What is given below is the most probable historical explanation. The myths essentially speaks about an on going war between the Vaishnavism (referred as Suras, Devas,gods) and the Asuras (referred in internet sites as daitya, danava, titans, demons, demigods, rakshasa, cannibals,devil).
“some are of opinion that the use of the words like daitya, danava, etc, is in accordance with the Puranic character of narrating events of past ages. (Buddha lived long before the authors of the current Puranas.) These words refer to those persons who, in ancient times, followed anti-Vedic religions and consequently found the teachings of Buddha as valid and useful. A similar use of words is found in the legends concerning the destruction or the loss of Vedas. The Puranas say that the Vedas were destroyed or stolen by the asuras namely Hayagriva, Sankha and others. There is no doubt that in these legends the world asura refers to those persons who were against Vedic discipline and who created obstacles to the propagation of Vedic culture. It must be borne in mind that no mythical tale can spring through pure imagination; such tales must have their bases in some for of reality?”
It would be worthwhile to trace the etymology and history of the Asuras.
Who are the Asuras?
Much scholarly work were done in this regard that I quote the essential passages from them. They should speak for themselves.
ASURA.
[Source:
Dowson's
Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] 'Spiritual, divine.'
In the oldest parts of the Rig. veda this term is used for the supreme spirit, and is the same as the Ahura of the Zoroastrians. In the sense of 'god' it was applied to several of the chief deities, as to Indra, Agni, and Varuna. It afterwards acquired an entirely opposite meaning, and came to signify, as now, a demon or enemy of the gods.
The word is found with this signification in the later parts of the Rigveda, particularly in the last book, and also in the Atharva,. veda. The Brahmanas attach the same meaning to it, and record many contests between the Asuras and the gods. According to the Taittiriya Brahmana, the breath (asu) of Prajapati became alive, and "with that breath he created me Asuras." In another part of the same work it is said that Prajapati "became pregnant. He created Asuras from his abdomen." The Satapatha Brahmana accords with the former statement, and states that "he created Asuras from his lower breath." The Taittiriya. Aranyaka represents that Prajapati created gods, men, fathers, Gandharvas, and Apsarases from water, and that the Asuras, Rakshasas, and pisachas sprang from the drops which were spilt. Manu's statement is that they were created by the Prajapatis.
According to the Vishnu Purana, they were produced from the groin of Brahma (prajapati). The account of the Vayu Purana is: "Asuras were first produced as sons from his (Prajapati's) groin. Asu is declared by Brahmana to mean breath. From it these beings were produced; hence they are Asuras." The word has long been used as a general name for the enemies of the gods, including the Daityas and Danavas and other descendants of Kasyapa, but not including the Rakshasas descended from Pulastya.
In this sense a
different derivation has been found for it: the source is no
longer asu, `breath,' but the initial
a is taken as
the negative prefix, and
asura signifies
'not a god;' hence, according to some, arose the word sura,
commonly used for 'a god.'
“The gods are the Suras and the demons the Asuras or "non-gods". This distinction, however, did not obtain in the early Vedic period. Originally the deities, and especially Varuna and Mitra, were called Asuras, but in the later part of Rigveda the term is applied chiefly to the enemies of the gods. In the Atharvaveda, as in subsequent Epic literature, the Asuras are simply demons and giants and goblins.
No conclusive explanation can be offered as to how this remarkable change took place in the course of the centuries embraced by the Vedic period. It may have been due primarily to sectarian strife between the religious teachers of those tribes which had been influenced by Babylonian modes of thought and those which clung tenaciously to the forms of primitive Aryan nature worship, and perhaps also the worship of ancestors (Pitris). In the old Persian language, which, like Greek, places "h" before a vowel where "s" is used in Sanskrit, Ahura (= Asura) signifies "god".
The Zoroastrian chief god is called Ahura-Mazda, "the wise Lord", as Varuna is addressed in early Rigvedic hymns, "wise Asura and King", and "the all-knowing Asura who established the heavens and fixed the limits of the earth". On the other hand "daeva" in the Iranian dialect, which is cognate with Sanskrit "deva", "god", came to mean "demon". "Asura" is derived from the root "asu", which signifies "the air of life", and "deva" from "div", "to shine", or "deiwo", "heavenly".”……
How the gods of the Indian Aryans became the demons of Persia and the demons of Persia became the gods of India is a problem for which a solution has yet to be found.
The Asuras became completely identified with the demons and giants; they symbolized evil, darkness, and drought. In Epic literature we read that "in ancient times the gods and Asuras were very active in destroying one another. And the terrible Asuras always succeeded in defeating the gods." .
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/iml/iml09.htm
Asuras (Sk.). Exoterically, elementals and evil, gods—considered maleficent; demons, and no gods. But esoterically—the reverse. For in the most ancient portions of the Rig Veda, the term is used for the Supreme Spirit, and therefore the Asuras are spiritual and divine It is only in the last book of the Rig Veda, its latest part, and in the Atharva Veda, and the Brâhmanas, that the epithet, which had been given to Agni, the greatest Vedic Deity, to Indra and Varuna, has come to signify the reverse of gods. Asu means breath, and it is with his breath that Prajâpati (Brahmâ) creates the Asuras. When ritualism and dogma got the better of the Wisdom religion, the initial letter a was adopted as a negative prefix, and the term ended by signifying “not a god”, and Sura only a deity. But in the Vedas the Suras have ever been connected with Surya, the sun, and regarded as inferior deities, devas.
http://www.theosophy.org/Blavatsky/Theosophical%20Glossary/Thegloss.htm
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/asura.html
Asura, from Sanskrit meaning a "power-seeking" and "power-hungry" being (I don’t see how this meaning comes from the word. But this is how the Brahminic world sees it -Ninan), is similar to a Titan, often, but somewhat misleading, described as a "demon"; or anaya (non-Aryan) people of ancient India. The term's derivation is uncertain. Some scholars derive it from Ashur, the Assyrian god, or from the breath (asu) of Prajapati, or from the root as (to be). According to a Hindu myth, a-sura is the negation of sura, an Indo-Aryan liquor, and refers to non-Aryan abstainers. In Hindu mythology sura came to mean a minor godin contrast to a-sura, "not-god" or "demon," but this is believed to be a false etymology.
In older part of the Rg Veda, asura refers to the supreme spirit, like the Zoroastrian Ahura Mazdah, or to Vedic deities (devas) such as Varuna, Agni, Mitra, and Indra. In younger Vedic texts and Hindu mythology asuras become demons or titans who war against the devas (gods). (cf., in the Iranian tradition ahura came to mean "god" while dacva came to mean "demon")
According to Satapathe Brahmana the devas and asuras both came from Prajapati, but the former chose true speech while the latter chose the lie. Aitarcya Brahmana relates that devas hold power by day and asuras hold equal power by night.
The non-Aryan Danavas and Laityas were called asuras. These may have been peoples who were opponents of the non-Aryans and who were mythologically equated with titans and demons.
Asuras are not necessarily evil while devas are not necessarily good. They are consubstantial, distinguished only by their mutual opposition, which is not conceived as an absolute ethical dualism. A.G.H.
Small pockets of Asura regions existed in northern India and regions beyond Himalays as well. Vrishaparvan, was a famous Asura king, who ruled some unknown kingdom in the Himalayas. The founder of the Puru dynasty of kings in north India (described in the epic Mahabharata as the forefather of the Pandavas and Kauravas), viz king Puru, was the son of Sarmishta, the daughter of king Vrishaparvan. Vrishaparvan's priest was the sage Sukra, (alias Usanus), who was a Bhargava (the son or a descendant of the sage Bhrigu.) Often the Asura kings chose, sages in the line of Bhrigu as their priest, whereas the Devas chose, sages in the line of Brihaspati or Angiras, as their priests. Mahabali was yet another Asura king whose priest also was named Sukra, in the line of Bhrigu.
Characteristics of Asuras
Historically therefore Asuras were a highly religious people with tremendous power, who were opposed to the Aryan Vedic religion, and of the Vaishnavites. As a characteristic they were highly moral and kept high ethical standards even in war.
They kept their word even at the point of defeat, death and disaster. We can see that they even allowed Vishnu to take respite in between the combats and never retracted their offers or promise. All through the Avatara myth story we can notice that as a rule, Asuras could not be defeated by the Suras under normal moral methods. It always required subtle deceit, trickery and treachery even for the Supreme Person Vishnu to defeat the Asuras. In fact, it appears that these deceits, tricks and treachery were eulogized and considered honorable by the Suras, if we take the Avatar Puranas as true.
Taking the antagonism of Vedics to the Asuras in general, the natural early choices will be Jains and Buddhists.
Asuras in the Jain and Buddhist Puranas
The Jain Puranas also mentions Asuras as anti-Vasudeva and names the Asura Kings in that list. So we should also assume that Asuras were also against Jainism.
http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/Religionet/er/buddhism/BGLOSSRY.HTM
Asura
This term is often translated as "ogre" or "titan." They are one of the six states of existence that are in samsara. Different types of Buddhism view them differently. Asura is usually seen as positive, resulting from good karma like human beings and gods. In this interpretation, they dwell in the lower heavens. Other views treat the asuras as resulting from bad karma and hence they are seen as the enemies of the gods. Some types of Buddhism ignore this category altogether and have only five states of existence.
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/glossary.htm
In Mahayana Buddhism, anti-gods or demi-gods, who populate the lower heavens, the second highest realm of existence. They enjoy a similar existence to the gods of the highest realm, but are plagued by jealousy of the latter and wage fruitless wars against them.
http://www.yogichen.org/chenian/bk086.html
. Above the human realm is the asura dharmadhatu; these beings
have done numerous good deeds when they were in the human
realm but did them with excessive envy and anger toward God.
This extra envy prevents them from entering the territory of
the gods. They usually fight with God.
Non-Death Yoga Yogi C. M. Chen
Buddhism considers Asuras as beings among the list of beings the order being- Heavenly Beings, Humans, Asuras and Hungry ghosts. Asuras are beings who have many good things in life, but still like to fight. They appear in the heavens or on earth as people or animals. Hungry ghosts are beings who suffer from constant hunger and Hell-beings.
Asura
It is a peculiar path in the Six paths. In terms of material
enjoyment and psychic power, it is similar to Deva. However,
in some aspects, it is even worse than Human Path. The male
Asura is extremely ugly, while the female is as beautiful as
an angel. The male Asura always fights with each other as they
are cruel and furious. They are proud of themselves, and
reluctant to learn and practise the Buddhist teachings.
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/OldWeb/bdoor/archive/nutshell/teach4.htm#t14
Thus Asuras were also anti-Buddhists.
Theosophical dictionary gives the following explanation for the etymology of Asuras:
Two important points are involved herein:
(a) Primarily in the
Rig-Veda, the "Asuras" are shown as
spiritual
divine
beings;
their etymology is derived from
asu
(breath), the "Breath of God," and they mean the same as the
Supreme Spirit or the Zoroastrian Ahura. It is later on, for
purposes of theology and dogma, that they are shown issuing
from Brahma's thigh, and that their name began to be derived
from a, privative, and
sura, god (solar deities), or
not-a-god,
and that they became the enemies of the gods. . . .
– H.P.Blavinsky The
Secret Doctrine,
II, 59
A Sura is a Kumara -- a god. Because of their great purity, virginality in every sense of the word, Hindu mythology called them gods. Actually they are monads in so pure, as yet unevolved, a state, so undeveloped a state, that they are swept along, as it were, in the evolutionary Rivers of Life.
When this Sura or Kumara has become an Agnishwatta, it is then an Asura. And Hindu mythology, or rather Brahmanical theology, with the same spirit behind it that you will find in Christian theology, says -- and I will now use Christian language -- "It has eaten of the Tree of Life, of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and it is no longer virginal and pure." That is the Christian theological way of explaining it. But leaving these dogmatic theologies of the religions aside, what actually are the facts?
That from an unself-conscious god-spark, a Kumara -- the Sura, the monad, the same thing -- through suffering and experience in the lower realms of matter, in the different planes, has become an Agnishwatta. It has tasted of the fire and has become a self-conscious god, an Asura.
Asura really comes from Asu, the essential meaning of which in Sanskrit is 'to, breathe.' You will find it in other languages. The verbal root as, in Sanskrit meaning 'to be,' is the same essential idea. So the Asuras are not merely unself-conscious god-sparks swept along through the ages unself-consciously on the Rivers of Life. They are those who have gained self-consciousness; or, to use a Buddhist term meaning the same thing, they have become celestial Dhyanis, celestial Bodhisattvas, celestial Buddhas.
Evidently we need to look into other possible religious groups ouside of these three – Vaishanavite, Buddhist and Jain to find the Asuras. They were evidently powerful enough to withstand and even overcome all these three religions. The only choice we are left with is the religion which was brought into India early in the Christian Era by St.Thomas who were known as Issa followers or Christians. This fits in very well within the time line. If these myths have any historical basis this is the only choice we are left with.
If this is true then the Vishnu incarnations tells us the story of the war between Vaishnavites and Christians. Whenever Christians became powerful, Vaishanavite leadership found a method of defeating them which evidenly included subtle deceit, treachery, force and war. This is seen throughout the incarnation stories.
Generations of the Asuras
The puranas themselves give us the story of the generation of Suras and the Asuras. Sage Kashyap, had four wives, Diti, Aditi, Vinita and Kudroo. Diti gave birth to Asuras (demons) and from Aditi were born Suras (Devas, gods) , while from Vinita was born Garuda, the carrier of Vishnu. The two sons Diti were Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyapu . Both of them performed so many religious practices and austerities that in course of time they gained limitless powers.
There is a story behind the birth of these two where they are the two gatekeepers of Vishnu's heaven, Jaya and Vijaya,who were cursed to fall from grace and find salvation only in opposition to Vishnu -probably added later.
According to a story from Bhagavata Purana, The Four Kumaras, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanat Kumara who are the sons of Brahma (born from the mind or though power of Brahma), visit Vaikuntha - the abode of Vishnu, to see Him. Due to the strength of their tapas, the four Kumaras appear to be mere children, though they are of great age. Jaya and Vijaya, the gate keepers of the Vaikuntha arrogantly stop the Kumaras at the gate, thinking them to be children. They also tell the Kumaras that Sri Vishnu is resting and that they cannot see Him now. The Kumaras grow angry at the gate keepers. They tell Jaya and Vijaya that Vishnu is available for his devotees any time.
They lay a curse to Jaya and Vijaya that they would have to give up their divinity, be born on Earth, and live like normal human beings. Vishnu appears before them and His gatekeepers ask Him to lift the curse of the Kumaras. Vishnu says that the curse of Kumaras cannot be taken back. Instead, he gives Jaya and Vijaya two options. The first option is to take seven births on Earth as a devotee of Vishnu, while the second is to take three births as His enemy. After serving either of these sentences, they can re-attain their stature at Vaikuntha and be with Him permanently. Jaya and Vijaya cannot bear the thought of staying away from Vishnu for seven lives. As a result, they choose to be born three times on Earth even though it would have to be as enemies of Vishnu.
In the first life they were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Vishnu takes the avatar of Varaha to kill Hiranyaksha, and the Narasimha avatar to kill Hiranyakasipu. In the second life, they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, being defeated by Rama avatar as depicted in the great Hindu epic Ramayana. Finally, in their third life, they were born as Sishupala and Dantavakra during the time of Krishna.
Evidently as a class both the Suras and the Asuras are the same. But there is an ethnic difference indicated. Daityas are identified with the Dravidians. If Diti was Dravidian and Aditi was Aryan then this is the struggle between Dravidians and the Aryans with Vishnu as the Aryan leader who uses trickery and deceit to defeat the Dravidians. Apparently Dravidian faith was not the same as the Aryan faith. Asuras had more direct relationship with Syria on a constant on going basis. Daityas got tremendous strength through their austerities and religious practices. The story of St.Thomas plays around the Dravidan centers mostly except for Kerala where Vedics joined them as a group which was a minority in that area.
Who are the Dravidians?
We usually take Dravidians as people who are native to India and it is considered that they were the original inhabitants of the Mohen Jodero Harappa Civilization. According to the present Dravidian Scholarship they are the descendants of Abrahm of the Old Testament originaly from the Ur of Chaldea. The word Ur indicating village still forms part of the Dravidian languages. In the Old Testament Abraham had another wife other than Sara (which forms the root for Saraswathi) called Keturah. At the the time of partition of properties, Keturah’s children were send to the East after given them gifts. These people are said to have settled in the Saraswathi and Sind Area. Their father Abrahm was a sojourner of great power and he was the Father figure for the nation.
http://tulu-research.blogspot.com/search/label/Brahma
“Abraham, a popular leader of masses (legendary prophet for Jews, Christians and Muslims,) lived approximately 2000 BC in the NW Indian subcontinent-Asia Minor-Central Asia region. After his death in the tradition of spirit worship he became the “Bermer(u)” for Tulu tribes. Vedic Aryans converted the Abraham legend into the Brahman, the supreme cosmic creative power. Gradually with time Brahman evolved into the God Brahma with ten or four heads in different Purana epics, by the time of composition of the Ramayana ca. 800-500 BC. The dominance of Lord Brahma in Ramayana has been analysed in detail by SSN Murthy.”
“The spirit of Brahma, derived from the mass hero Abraham was one of the earliest spirit worships in the early civilizations around 2000-500 BC. Migrating Tulu tribes and their associates carried Bermer (Brahma) cult around 500 BC from the NW Indian subcontinent to the Karavali (coastal Karnataka) which became their subsequent homeland, the Tulunadu. The Tulu Bermer was imaged originally as a horse riding hero, probably a bearded one like Abraham.
Similar horse riding hero image was retained for Bommayya (Brahma) by Halakki and other tribes of Uttara Kannada district. The Uttara Kannada area is in the migration route of the early Tulu tribes.
The character of Abraham has been described in the Bible (Genesis) and later retold in the Anacalypsis. Abraham (or the Brahma) was actually a mass hero, an uncommon leader of early tribes, born ca. 1900 BC, more or less during the chaotic time of earth movements, migration of major rivers and mass exodus of tribes from the Indus Valley civilization.
Abraham is said to have been lived for a period of 175 years. (The cited lifespan appears to be an exaggerated figure, characteristic of hero worship societies, nevertheless may imply that Abraham was a strong, dynamic character and had considerably long healthy lifespan.) Different tribes called him slightly differently depending upon the style of pronunciation native to them.
He was called Abraham by Jews and subsequently by Christians. Arabs called him ‘Ibrahim’ whereas IndoAryans referred to him as Brahma. His father, ‘Terah’ originally came from a place known as Ur of Chaldees or Culdees, a part of Asia Minor.
Terah had a beautiful daughter called ‘Sara’ (or ‘Saraswati’ for Indo- Aryans and cohabitants of Pirak and northwest India) born to another wife who was not Abraham’s mother. Abraham or the Brahma fell in love with Sara and married her. For this or other reasons the Abraham and Sara left Ur and settled in Mesopotamia. There he organized Jews and became a venerated hero figure. Abraham has been considered as the founder of Jews. Similarly, Muslims believe ‘Ibrahim’ to be one of their early leader or founder. The original Kaba temple (later a mosque) at Mecca is said to have been built in honour of Abraham or the Ibrahim.
At that time, the present day Asia minor-Indian subcontinent region consisting of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (though had different individual provincial names at that time) were all contiguous states where communications and concepts freely exchanged among diverse townships. The Abraham (or the Brahma) was a dynamic leader of the masses and the ordinary people believed that he was the creator of the tribes. The legend of Abraham continued after his death and continued to inspire or haunt memories of the tribes living in the Asia minor-Indian subcontinent region. The legend of Abraham inspired Vedic tribes and others alike. This is the initiation the concept of Lord Brahma the creator of universe in Hindu mythology. Abraham became the Brahma the supreme God after couple of centuries following his demise. In the primitive cultures accustomed to spirit worship, the legendary Brahma, who organized tribes, represented a supreme hero capable of creation of tribes and later the universe itself. Legends turned into myths and Brahma was deified and considered supreme God.” Ravi Mundkur
After the coming of St. Thomas, Brahminic domination took over the new concepts of religion brought in by Thomas and transformed it into Vaishnavism in the North and Saivism in the South. However Brahminism through trickery took over Vaishnavism and transformed it totally. Saivism remained as part of the Christian faith for a longer time before they were also influenced by Brahminism. But even today their influence is very small. We can now trace the genealogy of Daitya kings which will come in handy in the discussion
This genealogy explains the on going mythical history of
The Vaishnavite Struggle with Historic Christianity
over a period of six centuries
If this conjecture is correct, then the stories of the Boar
incarnation and Lion-man incarnation of Vishnu tells the story
of how the generations of the Christians before Mahabali were
driven out from Northern India. This is exactly what
we find in terms of geography and order of Vishnu’s incarnation.
We can actually see the sequence of Vaishanavite conquest in the figure.
Avatar Dravida Asura King killed
1. Boar (Varaha) Hiranyaksha
2. Man-Lion (Narasimha) HiranyaKasipu (Brother of Hiranyaksha)
3 Dwarf (Vamana) Maha Bali (King of Dravida) great grandson of HiranyaKasipu
4.
Parasu Rama
(Rama with the axe)
Lifting Kerala out of the sea and giving to Brahmins
5. Rama Ravana – The King of Sri Lanka Ravana was a great-grandson of
Mahabali.
First of all we notice that all the incarnations were Vishnu incarnations. Hence they are a history connected with the Vaishnavite traditions and, it is the history which tells how Vaishnavism defeated their opponents.
The opponents were all Daityas – who are usually considered as Dravidian Kings and Kingdoms
Second all the victims were of one family coming from one lineage.
The placement of the events are also interesting.
NAME OF DAITYA |
AVATAR |
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION |
Hiranyksha |
Boar
|
no indication given in any Puranas |
Hiranya
Kasipu |
Narasimha |
Indus Valley |
Maha Bali (Great grand son of Hiranya Kasipu) |
Vamana
|
All of South India – Narmada River to Cape Comorin including Chola, Chera and Pandya |
Keralaputras |
Parasu Rama (Rama with the Axe) |
Kerala (Chera)
|
Ravana (Grand Son of Maha Bali) |
Rama |
Sri Lanka |
Under the Gnostic influence, the basic avatar concepts were however extended to include a larger number almost including all mankind in one form or other. There are elaborate classifications and explanations, which are summarized, in the following table
|
Kinds of avataras |
Avataras |
1 |
Purusha-avatara Personal Emanation Incarnations of Visnu |
Karanodakasayi Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu "For material creation, Lord Krsna's plenary expansion assumes three Visnus. The first one, Maha Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma. He is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Visnus can be liberated from material entanglement." (Satvata-tantra) |
2 |
Lila-avatara |
Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, Bala-Rama, Kalki. |
3 |
Guna-avatara |
Brahma (Rajas), Vishnu (Satvic) and Siva (Tamas). |
4 |
Manvantara-avatara |
Innumerable manu avataras (504,000 Manus manifest in the life time of one Brahma): Main 14 also called as vaibhava-avatars: Yajna, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuntha, Ajita, Vamana, Sarvabhauma, Rsabha, Visvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhama, Yogesvara and Brhadbhanu. |
5 |
Kalpa-avatara |
Kumaras, Narada, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-narayana, Kardami Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa, Hamsa, Dhruvapriya, Rsabha, Prthu, Narasimha, Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini,Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. (All these 25 avatars happen every one day of Brahma) |
6 |
Saktyavesa-avatara |
Kapila, Rsabha, Ananta, Brahma, Catuhsana, Narada, Prthu,
Parasurama, Buddha, ... |
It appears that the number of incarnations increased, till finally an infinite number of incarnations was accepted. It may be an attempt to express the fact that the whole cosmos is permeated with God. After all God is the only reality.
Text Reference |
Incarnations |
Agni
Purana II-XVI 8c AD |
10 Avatars including Buddha & Kalki |
Satapath Brahmana 1.2.5 |
Fish,
Tortoise |
Narayaneeya of Mahabharata MBh XII 349.37 |
Boar, Vamana, Narasimha, and Krishna |
Mahabharatha XII 338 77-99 |
Deified heroes Rama-Bhargava, Rama Dasharathi |
MBh XII 339 104 |
Hamsa, Kurma, matsya Kalki |
Bhagavatha Purana I.3 |
Brahma, Varaha, Nanda, Nara and Narayana, the philosopher Kapila, Dattareya, Yajna, the Jaina Tirthankara Rsabha, the ancient king Prthu, Matsya, Kurma, the physicin Dhanvantari, Mohini, Narasimha, Vamana, Rama- Jamadagnya ( Parsurama ), Veda-Vyasa, Rama-Dasaratha, Rama Haladhara, Krishna, Buddha and Kalkin |
The
Garuda P. I.202 |
19 avatars Matsya, Trivikrama, Vamana, Narasimha, Rama, Varaha, Narayana, Kaplia, Datta, Hayagriva, Mahradhvaja, Narada, Kurmi, Dhanvantari, Sesha, Yajna, Vyasa, Buddha and Kalkin |
Visnu
Purana Bk I Ch 8 |
that of gods, animals and men, Hari is all that is male; Laksmi is all that is female; there is nothing else than they.' |
Visnu Purana Bk I Ch 21 |
“This Hari, who is the most immediate of all the energies of Brahma, is his embodied shape” |
Visnu Purana Bk I Ch 22 |
‘The Vedas, and their divisions; the institutes of Manu and other lawgivers; traditional scriptures, and religious manuals; poems and all that is said and sung; are the body of the mighty Vishnu, assuming the shape of sound.' |
Visnu Purana Bk III Ch 18 |
`The delusion of the false teacher paused not with the conversion of the Daityas to the Jaina and Bauddha heresies, but with various erroneous tenets he prevailed upon them to apostatize, until the whole were led astray, and deserted the doctrines and observances inculculated bythe 3 Vedas. [The teacher was an illusory form of Vishnu, while the Daityas could not be destroyed whilst they performed the sacred rites and were slain by the gods]' |
Since the number of avatars have been growing and since in most cases, it would be foolish to say that Vishnu incarnated into forms that are defective, and very often unsuitable in character and nature, various types of avatars are formed to classify them. Here is a table that gives some examples. There is no limit to the incarnations of the Supreme Lord and depending on the roles they play, some avatars can be overlapping to more than one kind...
|
Kinds of avatars |
Examples of actual avataras |
1 |
Purusha-avatara |
Karanodakasayi Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu |
2 |
Lila-avatara |
Matsya, Varaha, Kurma, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, Bala-Rama, Kalki. |
3 |
Guna-avatara |
Brahma (Rajas), Vishnu (Satvic) and Siva (Tamas). |
4 |
Manvantara-avatara |
Innumerable manu avataras (504,000 Manus manifest in the life time of one Brahma): Main 14 also called as vaibhava-avatars: Yajna, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Ajita, Vamana, Sarvabhauma, Rsabha, Visvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhama, Yogesvara and Brhadbhanu. |
5 |
Kalpa-avatara |
Kumaras, Narada, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-narayana, Kardami Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa, Hamsa, Dhruvapriya, Rsabha, Prthu, Narasimha, Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini,Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. (All these 25 avatars happen every one day of Brahma!) |
6 |
Saktyavesa-avatara |
Kapila, Rsabha, Ananta, Brahma, Catuhsana, Narada, Prthu, Parasurama, Buddha, ... |
AVATARS OF VISHNU
Serial No According to Hari Vamsa |
According to Narayani Akhyan |
According to Varaha Purana |
According to Vayu Purana |
According to Bhagwat Purana |
1. Varaha |
Hansa |
Kurma |
Narasinha |
Sanatkumar |
2. Narasinha |
Kurma |
Matsya |
Vaman |
Boar |
3. Vaman |
Matsya |
Varaha |
Varaha |
|
4. Parshuram |
Varaha |
Narasinha |
Kurma |
Nara-Narayan |
5. Rama |
Narasinha |
Vaman |
Sangram |
Kapila |
6. Krishna |
Vaman |
Parshuram |
Adivaka |
Datlatraya |
7. |
Parshuram |
Rama |
Tripurari |
Jadna |
8. |
Rama |
Krishna |
Andhakarh |
Rashabha |
9. |
Krishna |
Buddha |
Dhvaja |
Prithi |
10. |
Kalkin |
Kalkin |
Varta |
Matsya |
11. |
|
|
Halahal |
Kurma |
12. |
|
|
Kolhahal |
Dhanwantari |
13. |
|
|
|
Mohini |
14. |
|
|
|
Narasinha |
15. |
|
|
|
Vaman |
16. |
|
|
|
Parshuram |
17. |
|
|
|
Ved Vyas |
IS. |
|
|
|
Naradeo |
19. |
|
|
|
Rama |
20. |
|
|
|
Krishna |
21 |
|
|
|
Buddha |
22. |
|
|
|
Kalkin |
It is enough to say in a word, that of gods, animals and men, there is nothing else than they.' -- [Visnu Purana Bk I Ch 8 (p.53)]