Avatar
see below for other meanings
An Avatar is a descended form of god.
The two main avatars of Vishnu that appear in the epics are Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and Krishna, the friend of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Unlike the superhuman devas (demigods) of the Vedic Samhitas and the abstract Upanishadic concept of the all-pervading and formless Brahman, the avatars in these epics are the original forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who is in control of demigods and Whose transcendental body produces the impersonal Brahman effulgence.
Even Lord Buddha, Who is the source of Buddhism is actually an avatar of Vishnu.
Although the avataras of God are unlimited in number, ten prominent avatars are:
- Matsya, the fish
- Kurma, the tortoise
- Varaha, the boar
- Narasimha, the Man-Lion (Nara = man, simha = lion)
- Vamana, the Dwarf
- Parashurama
- Rama
- Krishna (the All-attractive Supreme Lord, the original form of God, and the fountainhead of all other forms, including Vishnu).
- Lord Buddha
- Kalki
External Links
- http://www.avatara.org/
- http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Religions/Avatars/Vishnu.html
- http://www.hindunet.org/avatars/index.htm
- http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wsanford/darshan/hindu_deities/ten_avatars.html
