CONCURRENT, CO-EXISTENT, INTRUSIVE AND
VARIED CONSTITUENTS OF DASAAVATAR
(DISCOURSE BY N.R. SRINIVASAN, BRENTWOOD, TN, USA, OCTOBER 2013)
O. INTRODUCTION
Hindu Puraanas abound in stories
of Lord Vishnu’s incarnations, which may be full manifestations (Poornaavataaraas)
like Krishna, Rama etc., partial manifestations (Amsaavataras) like Kapila
or temporary in-filling of the divine
power of Vishnu (Avesaavataras) like Parasuraama. These are contained in the 22
Avatars of Vishnu described in Bhagavata Puraana which says that avatars of
Vishnu are innumerable. This has given
scope for Hindus to add avatars like Swami Narayan, Aandal, Ramanuja, Santoshi
Maa, Saibaba, Bharatmata, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa etc., opening the gate for a never
ending list, not confining to Vishnu alone. Hindu pantheon of gods of 330
million is an ever-increasing phenomenon, baffling other religions of the world
with its innumerable temples all over the country and world over wherever
Hindus are settled.
Vaishnava theology deals with
various kinds of Divine manifestations—the three Gunaavataaras known as Brahma,
Vishnu and Maheswara; the four Vyuhas known as Vaasudeva, Sankarshana,
Pradyumna and Aniruddha; and, the scores of Leelaavataaras or sportive Divine
Descents among men and other species of beings, of which the Incarnations of
Rama and Krishna dominate their narrative.
1. CONCURRENT AVATARS IN DASAAVATAR AND OUR MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
We read of Parasurama going to
Rama after Sita’s wedding and taunting him about his valor in breaking a worn
out Siva Dhanus and winning the hands of Sita, called him for a battle and in
the process completely got deprived of his divine powers in Valmiki Ramayana.
How do we justify these concurrent and challenging avatars? Why
Vedanta Desika a profound saint-scholar glorifies the two Avataras of Parasurama-Rama
and Balarma-Krishna together in his Dasavatara Stotra both being Avatars of
Vishnu and Jayadeva another great scholar-saint and poet, Parasuraama and Rama?
Was Rama or Krishna alone not good enough to protect the Dharma? Why Rama needed Vishnu’s selective tools of
war and bed of comfort as his step brothers to confront Ravana? Why we have Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and
Satrughna descended at the same time? Why two avatars of Koorma and Varaaha seen
as one Avatar Koorma-Varaha? Why do two Buddhas confuse us as worshiped in
Kaliyuga? Why one Buddha is not born
with that name but changes his name after being an ascetic? No other Avatar changed its name after descent
but glorified by many other attributed names! Of course we have the example of
a dacoit who was named Valmiki after becoming a sage of world repute. Nobody knows his name at birth? Why we hear
news about descent and ascent of only few avataras from and to Vaikuntha? Why
some avatars descend as a family group and why main role needed supporting help
from additional descents? Bhagawan says
in Bhagavadgeetaa that Avatar takes place over and over again, eon after eon,
whenever there is a decline in Dharma beyond manageable level to punish the
wicked and protect the innocent and pious. Here he talks as Bhagawan and not as Krishna
Vasudeva? The word Krishna is rarely used in Bhagawadgeeta and that has given
rise to some speculation as to the authorship of Geetaa doubting a battle-field
instant production? One of the Dasaavatara compositions in Puranas includes Satvata
in place of Krshna? Who is this Satvata?
Why Krishna alone out of ten avatars of
Vishnu is not considered as an Avatar by Jayadeva but eulogized as Jagadisa
alone? Is Jayadeva the one who gave
inspiration to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Prabhupada much later on Krishna Consciousness?
If Rama and Krishna are both full avatars why not Rama considered out of avatar
list and elevated to Jagadisa by Ramabhaktas as Jayadeva thought about Krishna,
by way of Dasavatara stotraas or songs or Bhajans? Incarnation of Rama is as
popular as Krishna in Hindu worship. Of
course Rama was no match to Krishna as a diplomat and politician! Rama followed scriptures true to their letters.
Krishna interpreted scriptures to his convenience. Narasimha, Vaamana and Varaaha
avatars follow these two avatars in popular worship though they are not all that popular as Rama or Krishna.
The dominating importance of
Krishna is so great that there are sects of Vaishnavism which hold that the
Bhaagavata depicts Krishna as the deity and Mahaavishnu as an emanation of his.
This idea rather difficult to substantiate is maintained on the strength of the
Bhaagavata verse: “While all other manifestations mentioned before are only
aspects of and parts of the Purusha, Krishna is Bhagavan Himself”. Though one may
not agree with the above sectarian interpretation, it has to be granted that in
Krishna all the Bhagas or divine qualities of the Bhagavan [Aiswarya (Lordliness, Veerya (Prowess), Yasas
(Fame), Sri (Beauty–cum-auspiciousness), Jnaana (Wisdom) and Vairaagya
(Renunciation)] are fully represented
and therefore he is unique among Incarnations. Krishna is mostly referred as
Bhagavaan in Bhagavadgeetaa. Jayadeva
belongs to this school of thought.
We know Puraanas abound in narrations
which confuse us for we do not find ready answers to our questions. For example Ramayana mentions about Paandiya,
Chola Andhra Kingdoms (Athaiva Andhrascha Pundramsacha Cholaan
Paandyaamscha—Kishkindaa Kanda LXI-12) existing in Tretaayuga. Sugriva
mentions about these kingdoms of the South and assures Rama that he will send
his team to these parts of the country to search for Sita. Again while rebuking Jaabaali for his
Nastikavaada, Sri Rama mentions about Buddha of nastikavaada and says such
people are punishable by law as they steal away religion from people. How did this atheist Buddha (an incarnation of Vishnu) got
worshiped by the religious society as avatar of Vishnu and how
Jaabaali occupied prestigious
priest-council position in the court of
Dasaratha? How did Buddha an avatar of Kaliyuga appear in Tretaayuga? It is
hard find answers to many of these questions.
2. NAASTIK (ATHEIST) BUDDHA OF TRETAAYUGA
Sri Rama in Ramayana Ayodhykaanda
CIX has to say the following on Atheism:
Nindaamyaham karma kritam pitustad yastvaamagrihnaad
vishamasthabuddhim|
Buddhyaanayaivam-vidhayaa charantam d sunaastikam dharmapataadapetam ||
33 ||
[I denounce the action mentioned
below, of my father, who picked you (Jaabaali) as his councilor-priest, a
staunch unbeliever, who has not only strayed away from the path of dharma but
whose mind is set on a wrong path opposed to the Vedic path, nay who is moving
about in this world with such an ideology conforming to the doctrine of
Chaarvaaka, who believes only in the world of senses as has been set forth in
your (Jaabaali’s) foregoing speech.]
Yathaa hi choerah sa tathaa hi buddhas-tathaagatam naastikamatra viddhi
|
Tasmaaddhi yah sakyatamah
prajaanaam sa naastike naabhimukhoe
Budhah syaat || 34 ||
[It is well-known fact that
follower of Buddha (condemning Vedas) deserves to be punished in the same way
as a thief (inasmuch as a heretic robs people of their faith); and know an
unbeliever, a follower of the Chaarvaaka or materialistic school of philosophy)
to be on a par with Buddha. Therefore who is most tame-able should undoubtedly
be so punished in the interest of the people; in no other case should a wise
man even stand face to face with an unbeliever but should shun him.}
Bheeshma in his Vishnu
Sahasranaamavali includes the names of the following Avatars: Varaaha, Narasimha, Vaamana, Khanda Parasu (Parasurama),
Rama, Krishna and Haladhara. He should
have known about the Nastika Buddha of Ramayana and should have avoided. But he
had included two other Avatars mentioned in Bhagavata text, Kapila and Hamsa. Vedavyasa and Vishwaksena though not included
in the main body of 108 slokas of VSN are included in the introduction portion
which according to some was introduced later.
Jayadeva glorifies Historic
Buddha (as is understood by majority) as an Avatar of Vishnu and elevating
Krishna to Jagadisa as you could see later from his Dasaavataara Stotra. Jayadeva
belongs to the time when Muslim autocrats like Mohammad Ghori plundered and
looted Hindu temples. It was a very troubled period. Vedanta Desika who came much later, deleted
Buddha all-together and made Balaraama as an incarnation in his Dasavataara in
accordance with various Puraanas. Both
have moved away from the popular verse of eulogy of the ten incarnations which
runs as follows:
“Sree-matsya-koormaakhya-varaahadevaa-nrikasareera-vamana-jaamadagnyau-srirama-krishnaa-vapi
Buddha-kalkee kurvantu sarve mama suprabhaatam”-
Here Krishna and Buddha are both
avatars as described in Amar Chitra Katha which bases its pictorial
representation and narration basing on Bhaagawata Puraana.
3. BUDDHA AVATARS OF KALIYUGA—CONFUSING OR CONCURRENT OR INTRUSIVE?
In the Hindu temples of Vishnu,
Buddha Jayanti is celebrated on the tenth day of bright half of Aswin in the
evening. Buddha Poornima which is a National Holiday in India and celebrated
all over the world falls on Full Moon Day in May. This is the day on which Prince
Siddharta got his enlightenment and acquired a new name as Buddha or the
Enlightened. Buddha Jayanti in Vishnu Temples is for the Buddha avatar celebrated
in Puranas which icon in temples goes with the description given in Hayaseersha
Samhita (23, 24-36) and by coincidence
or by the imagination of artist resembles
historic Buddha. Buddha Poornima is a National
Holiday for Buddhists all over the world including India.
From the above there seems to be
two Buddha avatars one Puraanic and the other historic, being referred as 9th
avatar based on different schools of thought. If Historic Buddha is accepted as an Avataar
he is no more with us. As historic figure of later date his date of
birth and demise (486 B.C.E.) are all well recorded. Buddha
Jayanti of historic Buddha does not also match with Buddha Jayanti of Hindu Panchangas
(almanac). Bhaagavata says we are under the jurisdiction of Buddha till Kalki
arrives and that Buddha was born at the dawn of Kaliyuga. Here again Puraanas
could be interpreted by saying that Rama was thinking of Kaliyuga in the previous
cycle and Bhagavata is referring to this; but this should also be at the dawn
of Kaliyuga. Our religious heads have an explanation for everything to justify
Puraanas which they do not dismiss as myth but consider them as Itihasa (it was
so or it happened so). We are
now in the Kali Year 5115. It is clear
that historic Budddha was not born 3102 years ago. As per the Bhaagavata
citation Buddha should have born immediately after the demise of Lord Krishna
as the Dwaaparayuga closed; Kaliyuga started 5115 years ago. As Kali is not yet born Buddhavatara pervades
still taking care of us or watching all the chaos and confusion to dissolve the
world or handover to Kalki at appropriate time. If historic Buddha of Kapilavastu is Buddhavataara
then Kalki should have been already born. We should be celebrating Kalki
Jayanti. Even Kalki’s birth day is already predicted in
scriptures. If Vishnu Temples in the
South were to observe the Kalki Jayanti it should be on the tenth day of Aswin
in the evening. We do not know whether Buddha
Jayanti is for Nastik Buddha of Ramayana or a later Buddha similar in appearance to historic Buddha. Somebody floated the news in Tamil Nadu some
years back that Kalki is born in the present Kaliyuga and there was a big religious
commotion which soon died as a false alarm. Had this been true there would have
been another Jayanti. Of course such sensations
are created in other religions too time and again. Amar
Chitra Katha bases its Dasavathaara on Bhaagavata and describes Buddhavatara as
Prince Siddharta of Kapilavastu who on enlightenment got the title Buddha who
passed away in 486 B.C.E. Jayadeva’s description of Buddha according to many
also refers to Prince Siddharta.
Bhaagavata (1, 3) describes Buddha
Avataara as: Buddha as the prince of the Saakyas who became an ascetic
mendicant for clearing the world of evil practices in the name of religion and
for re-establishing Dharma. This
description though suits historic Buddha, based on other facts, it can be
concluded that it is just a coincidence. In Bhaagavata we also read that this Buddha
was born in the Keekata country as the son of Anjanaa. So this can’t be
Siddharta who got enlightened and after whom Buddhism is named. He can’t also
be incarnation of Vishnu mentioned in Bhaagavata. Siddharta
who became Buddha later was born to
Maayadevi and Shuddhodhana, the queen and king of Saankhya Dynasty of Kapilavastu.
The philosophy based on his teachings is popularly known as Soonyavaada by
Hindu philosophers. Gautama Buddha might have been accommodated in Hindu
pantheon of Gods probably confused by Puraanas as an Avatar of Lord Vishnu in
Hinduism since we find the same in some texts. The teachings of Buddha were
oral and were recorded much later. His
philosophy reflected Sankhya philosophy found in Bhagavadgeeta and so it was easy
for Hinduism to include him or like of him of their own creation as an Avatar of
Vishnu to kill the rapid growth of Buddhism which was attracting Hindus in leaps
and bounds to Buddhism in India at one time. Westerners too feel Buddhism,
Taoism and Jainism did not believe in Heavenly God and so atheistic in outlook
but considered highly philosophical.
It is interesting to note Prince
Rishabha was born with that name as an Avatar of Vishnu much later walked out
of sacrificial Hinduism and enunciated his philosophy. He was called Jina, the conqueror after his
new Philosophy of Ahimsa. This was not the case with Gautama Buddha. Followers
of this philosophy were known as followers of Jain Religion. Jains worship him
as Aadinatha on a low key. Hindus do not
worship him in their temples. Jains worship their 24th
Teerthanakra, popularly known as Mahavir Vardhamaana. Jainism is little bit integrated with
Hinduism as many Jains often participate in Hindu worships in India. There
is justification for installing the
icon of Adinatha in Hindu Temples but not Mahaveer.
Amar Chitra Katha, a popular text
with children, which bases its narration on Bhaagavata Purana has the following
narration as to the birth of Prince Siddharta of Kapilavastu: “With Krishna’s
departure from earth, the age of Kali set in. Hinduism lost much of its purity.
The authority of Vedas became questionable. Empty rituals replaced true
devotion to god and power-drunk Brahman priests exploited and oppressed the
other castes. Mayadevi, the queen of the Sakhya King, Shuddhodhana of
Kapilavastu, had a strange dream. A white elephant with six tusks pierced her
womb. A few months later, she was passing through the Lumbini gardens on her
way to her parental home. As she rested beneath a Sal tree, she gave birth to a
child. Later at the palace, sage Asita came to see the infant and prophesied
that this child will either become a great emperor or will renounce the world
and become a great sage. He was named Siddharta”. There was no mention of Vishnu anywhere! This
birth did not take place at the dawn of Kali but several hundred years later.
Also Bhaagavata says we are now under the protection of Buddhavataara till
Kalki arrives. That means his ascension will take place when only Kalki
arrives. But we know historic Buddha is not with us. Puraanas also say Vedvyaasa is an avatar of
Vishnu, he is immortal and he lives in Himalayas whom philosopher Madhva met
and had his enlightenment. It looks as
though some avatars like Vedavyaasa do not ascend as it happened with
Parasurama Avatara. Thus Puraanas confuse us often. He is Chiranjjevi (ever living) like Hanumaan according to
Puraanas.
Siddharta was also not named
Buddha at birth. So this Siddharta can’t be Buddha, a Vishnu’s descent
mentioned in Dasaavataara list of Bhaagavata. It is wrong to associate the name of the Enlightened
Buddha of Buddhism with the Hindu avatar Vishnu which may constitute intrusion.
Amar Chitra Katha details suit Hindu
Philosophy but not Hindu rituals to consider worship of this Buddha of Buddhism
to worship in Hindu Temples as an incarnation of Vishnu. Worship of Saibaba, Swami Narayan and Bharatmata
in Hindu Temples suits well Hindu Philosophy but not Aaagama Sastras. May be
such worships are ideal for Hindu Americans to promote Universal Oneness of
Sanatana Dharma. Then there arises the
question do they need Aagama or Taantric worship in Hindu American
Temples? Do we need Aagama trained priests? I have not come across one Hindu temple in India
where historic Buddha icon is consecrated by Aagma sastras, though similar
looking icons are seen in Hindu temple architecture in Dasvataara panels, which
seems to be just an odd coincidence and artist’s imagination to resemble
historic Buddha.
4. WHAT DO NAMES SIDDHARTA AND VARDHAMANA OF BUDDHISM AND JAINISM FOUND IN VSN MEAN?
Occurrence of the name Siddharta
in VSN naamaavali can be cited in support of those who think Buddhavatara came
from Siddharta. But there is no mention of Buddha or his relation to Siddharta
or Vishnu in this. Vishnu is hailed as Siddharta in Vishnu
Sahasranaama meaning one who has gained all that has to be gained---one who is
in full control of Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. Of course VSN also includes
the name Vardhamana as Vishnu which could be interpolated to Mahavir
Vardhamaana to the exclusion of Rishabha of Jains. In VSN Vishnu’s name of Vardhamaana is
explained as the one who can grow himself to any dimensions in his Vaamana
incarnation to measure under his three steps the whole universe. It is probable the parents of both Siddharta and
Vardhamana had Vaishnava leniency and so named their children with Vishnu’s
name. Both Rishabha and Buddha walked out of Hinduism being dissatisfied to find
their own reality. Rishabha was born as
incarnation of Vishnu and prince with that name alone whereas Siddharta was
just a Hindu Prince who later got the title Buddha on enlightenment. Rishaba as
Vishnu needed no enlightenment. Mere citation of the names of Siddharta and Vardhamana in VSN does not explain the
situation as to their Avatars of Vishnu. We can’t include Vardhamana in Dasaavataara
because his name just appears in VSN instead of Rishabha. Almost everybody in
Hinduism with the exception of few, name their children after some deity; even
they name their business enterprises or brand products in the name of their
chosen deity. Thus we hear of Ganesh Beedi and Ambal Snuff two popular brand
products in South India though loathsome. . That does not bind them to live up
to the name chosen or lead a pious life or make the products sacred! It is unfortunate
that such misuse of Lord’s name is not considered as disrespect to the Lord by
Hindus or punishable by law in civil courts but interpreted as their deep faith
in their chosen deity! In other religions they avoid the name of God like Messiah
or Jesus or Allah to name a child and sometimes even civil courts consider them
as disrespect to the religion if the child can’t live up to the name.
5. BHAGAVATA PRESENTS BUDDHAAVATAR AT THE DAWN OF KALIYUGA WHILE BUDDHA, THE ENLIGHTENED IS OF RECENT ORIGIN
Yet another possibility is Bhaagavata
Puraana might have revealed the description of Buddhaavataara before the birth
of Buddha as it has predicted the exact time and the day of birth of Kalki who
is not yet born. Bhaagavata predates
Buddha as such this could only be another revelation. It is possible that Buddha’s
description there matches that of historic Buddha. Problem again here is we
know the exact demise of Buddha of Buddhism and we do not have Kalki yet. Bhaagavata
also mentions we are under the care of Buddha till Kalki arrives. Hindus who
think of Buddha as 9th Avatar might have taken this description and
confused with historic Buddha of Buddhism. May be he is an Amsa-avatar and had
limited role to play and gone. Even then question remains why should he be
named Siddharta at birth and later needed enlightenment and why he should find
a new religion. Another Faith was named after
Jina, perhaps when he gave up his
Vishnu Aavesa avatar after fulfilling his short or specific mission like
Parasurama. It was all Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism of
present day conception, the Dharma of which the avatars were defending.
Buddhaavatara means birth of Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu and not born as
Siddharta or Gautama and that too in some other country to a different mother. Buddha
was no longer holding prince title on Enlightenment having renounced the world;
only Siddharta was called prince before enlightenment. So the reference to prince in Bhaagavata while
describing Buddha of Keetaka, confirms the existence of another prince Buddha
different from the historic Buddha.
We all know both Ashoka and
Harsha were not against Hindu gods and Harsha even worshiped Siva. At one time
Siva occupied Ratnavedi of Jagannath temple, which icon the Vaishnavites replaced
with icon of Jagannath. Bhaagavata’s reference
connected to iconic projection of saintly Buddhaavatara of Samhitas in place of
Nastik Buddha, Lord Jaganntha worshiped as Buddha for some time, the strong
influence of the Buddhist belt where Jayadeva lived, regional philosopher’s
view of those times should have all made Jayadeva or his followers to interpolate
historic Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu or another Buddha of similar description
to historic Buddha. Jayadeva belonged to
orthodox school of Vaishnavism and I therefore would like to believe the
Keetaka prince Buddha should be the one that Jayadeva describes. I am not sure
whether Jayadeva has anywhere confirmed Buddha of his description is Buddha
born as Prince Siddharta. Probably his followers may have explained it that way confused by the resemblance. May be
we are misinterpreting Jayadeva who should have also seen the reference in Bhaagavata
to Buddha of similar description to historic Buddha! May be we are confused
today, as we are confused today about Hinduism, about puraanic Buddha thinking
him to be the founder of Buddhism.
6. INFLUENCE OF AVATARS OF SEVERAL BUDDHAS OF BUDDHISM
Hindus who were in close
association with Buddhism were influenced in their thinking by the Mahaayana
division of Buddhism which believed in 54 Buddhas (Lalita Vistara)
or a hundred Buddhas (Mahaavastu.) Buddhist prayers mention the numerous Buddhas
who lived in the past like Jains believe in 24 Teerthankaras, Mahaveera Vardhamana
being the 24th. Rishabha an
Avataar of Vishnu was the one after whose philosophy Jain religion was stated
and he was renamed as Adinatha later. Buddhism prayers indicate Buddhas who
lived in the past (ye chas buddhaa
ateetaa cha), the numerous Buddhas that have to yet take shape in the future
(ye cha Buddhaa anaagata) and
numerous Buddhas that live now without our knowing (pratytpannacha ye Buddha). With these thoughts above another similar in
description to historic Buddha should have been absorbed as an avatar of
Tretayuga Buddha in a more orthodox and conventional pantheon as an incarnation
(ninth) of Vishnu born immediately after the ascent of Krishna, moving away
from the Naastik Vishnu described in Ramayana, later when Kaliyuga dawned around
3000 years ago.
7. HINDU ICONOGRAPHICAL MANUALS ON BUDDHAAVATARA VIS-A- VIS BUDDHA, THE ENLIGHTENED
Iconographical manuals like Hayaseersha
Samhita (23, 24-36) prescribes Buddha to be represented as seated in the
lotus-posture (padmaasanagatam),
covered in the clothes of an ascetic (cheevaaraalankritam).
His face must be like lotus and his eyes also lotus-like (padmaasyam padmaloechanam). He must be shown as deeply absorbed in
meditation, but with one of his hands lifted up (samaadhishttoettaana paanim). His ears must be long (pralmba karna). This description can easily sway us to historic
Buddha or the Buddha the Supreme Principal of Buddhism. Buddhists do not accept
their Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu who is their Guru like Dattatreya. It is probable that Samhitas should have
copied their iconic Buddha for our worship. Naaradiya Samhita stipulates Buddha
icon to be a great saint (munivaro vasee) and as an emanation of Pradyumana (Pradyumnaamsaat samudbhootoe) of Vyuha
concept of Vishnu. The same text lays down that he must be two-armed, showing
the gestures of boon-bestowal (abhaya
Mudra) and protection and seated in a bound-lotus posture. He must be lustrous
like gold and his eyes must be closed in contemplation. It is interesting to
note that Dasavaataara human incarnations are not shown with four hands typical
of Vishnu in Hindu iconography. Only we hear in Puaranas as a child born
Krishna showed his original forms of Vishnu with four hands to his parents.
Buddha we find in all Dasavataara carvings in
temples and idols we find in shops in India and displayed in Kolu (exhibiton of
dolls) during Navaraatri resembles Buddha, the Enlightened. Even though
we do not find separate sanctums for Buddha in India in Vishnu Temples, all
Vishnu temples have the sculpted images of Buddha of above description on
walls, pillars and frescoes. They also receive Aarati (waving of light) with
dhyana slokas (meditational hymns). But
yet Buddha worship does not come under the purview of Aaagma worship. His birthday
(Jayanti) if observed is celebrated on the tenth day evening of the bright half
of Aswin addressing him as Bauddha in South Indian Vishnu temples. It is
customary in such Vishnu temples to celebrate Jayantis for all the Dasaavataaras
though there may not be an icon. Even
Kalki Jayanti predicted to come on the sixth day of bright half of Sravana is
being celebrated. I have often seen Lakshmi icon being decorated as Aandal and
worshiped on her birthday in South Indian Vishnu temples, if they do not have
Aandal icon. Do such practices are there to celebrate Buddha or Kalki avatar
Jayantis, I do not know? Hindu
iconographers have contributed maximum to our confusion with their artistic
imaginations and projections!
8. HINDU AMERICAN TEMPLES CONSECRATE AND WORSHIP HISTORIC BUDDHA AS AN AVATAR
Hindu temple in Albany, NY, USA
has consecrated historic Buddha icon after a long controversy and the Aaagama
trained priest walked out refusing to extend Aagama worship to Buddha. Of course USA can always attract Aaagama
priests from India to perform worship as per their dictates who are eager to
migrate to become rich and affluent walking away from orthodoxy. There are aagama trained priests who perform Aagama
worship to Saibaba. In Albany Buddha Jayanthi is celebrated on Buddha Poornima
Day, leaving no doubt he is Prince Siddharta who became Buddha, described in
Amar Chitra Katha, which claims its authorship to Bhaagawata. To Americans it
gives an impression of integration of two religions of similar morals and
ethics. They have also Mahavir Vardhaman consecrated there. Had they instead
consecrated Rishaba this would have gone well with within Hindu religious
concept! Albany Temple is Naraayana Temple which name signifies Brahman in
Vaishnava Philosophy. I am not sure whether this temple is thinking of
universal Oneness of Sanatana Dharma—“Eko
viprah bahudaa vadadanti”—the one the Wise call by many names.
Mahalakshmi Hindu Temple in
Irving, TX, USA includes an icon of Buddha. One of the priests their explained to a visitor from an Interfaith institution
thus: “Even though Buddha went on to begin a new religion, he was for a long
time a Hindu, and so he is honored as a Hindu Saint in Hindu Temples”. Here
Buddha is explained as the founder of Buddhism. The criterion for the
installation of Buddha’s icon here seems to be that he was a Hindu for a long
time once and not as an avatar of Vishnu stated in scriptures in spite of his censuring
the Vedic religion, walking out of it, instead of reforming from within as an
avatar. He moved away from the belief in
God but preached eight –fold paths of duty. How about born Christians, who have
become Hindu saints today? Can such saints be considered as avatars within the
scope of Bhaagavata one day?
9. CONCURRENT DESCENTS OF AVATARS OF DASAAVATAR AND CO-EXISTENT AVATARS AS SIBLINGS
Sri Rama the 7th incarnation of
Vishnu met 6th incarnation Parasu-Rama soon after his wedding and
absorbed his power into himself after defeating him in a battle. Hence Parasu-rama
is considered as Aavesa-avataara, an incarnation
by the temporary possession of Vishnu's powers. Instead of conventional ascent he retired to
forest as an ordinary sage deprived of Vishnu’s divinity in him. Parasurama Avatara
is controversial (as a murderer of his own mother and killing indiscriminately
thousands of Kshatriyas not proving beyond doubt that they deserved death at his hands or not) and
he is not a favorite for worship except in one or two temples of Kerala. They believe Parasurama redeemed Kerala from
the sea. He is glorified in Dasaavataara
stotraas of Jaydeva and Vedanta Desika for terminating Kshatriyas in several
rounds. Rama’s step brothers Lakshmana
(an incarnation of Adisesha), Bharata (incarnation of Sudarsana) and Satrughna
(incarnation of Paanchajanya) may be aptly called Parivaara avatars born out of
the sharing of the same Paayas (Amrita)
by their mothers but having the same
father Dasaratha. Hanuman could also join the team coming out of same pudding
(Paayasa). It is customary for Hindus to
invite relatives with their relatives and friends (Saparivara sameta) for Hindu weddings unlike in the Western culture
restricted to couples. Perhaps some
times inflicted devotees pray to the Lord to descend with all his Parivaara to
save them from the evil by force of habit! Such a prayer should have taken place for the descents of Rama
and Krishna!
Even Hanuman is a part of this
group descent, as Anjana got a drop of that nectar from Putrakaameshthi to
conceive Hanumaan. But we do not hear much about these Parivaaras (family
members or associates) as Avatars of Vishnu or the specific role they played as
avatars except Lakshmana. Krishna is considered as full Avatar and more talked
about whereas Balarama is considered as an incarnation of Adisesha and
Amsaavataara, though both are sons of Vasudeva from different wives. Krishna is glorified most because of his authorship
of Bhagavadgeeta which is considered to be a compendium of all Upanishads. Puraanas
are not very clear about Amsaavataaras. For example we do not know whether Balarama
descended as Vishnu or Vishnu’s comfortable mattress Aadisesha. We are often told he and Lakshmana are incarnation
of Adisesha, so also Saint Ramanuja. All
other brother Avataaras of Rama are partial and may be meant to be Amsaavataaras
for a specific purpose. It is more appropriate to call them Parivaara avatars! Krishnaaavataara was not meant for killing
Kamsa and other demons alone but to guide and give the people concept of Dharma
as defined in Geeta absorbing many schools of philosophy including Nastikavaada
(Sankhyaa). Orissa, a powerful Vaishnava center today thinks Krishna is
Jagannatha alone as eulogized by
Jayadeva in his Gitagovinda focused on Krishna as Jagannth and not an Avatar
and so Krishna is out of the list of avatars and considered as Jagannatha. This
necessitated him to elevate Balarama as an Avatar of Krishna or Jagannatha as
the 8th incarnation and Historic Buddha or similar in description of
Puraanic Buddha as the 9th Avatar.
The paintings of Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra in Puri temple remind
us only of Krishna of Dwaaparayuga even though they have different explanation from
Tantric concept. They believe all other avatars are emerging out of Jagannatha in
accordance with the Geeta statement Sambhavaami
yuge yuge. They have thus diverted people’s attention from puraanic
episodes to spiritual aspect of Viswaroopa in Bhagavdgeetaa and Upanishadic
thoughts. I wonder why Tulsidas or
Thyaagaraja or Bhadrachalm Ramadas or Kabir did not project this concept about
Rama! It is rather surprising that all Puraanaas say Krishna is the eighth
incarnation of Vishnu with no exception but for Jayadeva! Strangely Orissa also
celebrates Krishna Jayanti like others in Puri-Jagannath when Krishna Jayanti
is celebrated all over the country celebrating the 8th incarnation
of Vishnu.
According to Naraayaneeyam, a
condensed Bhaagavatam, Rama’s incarnation was to show men how “intense
affection (Kaama) will lead to pangs of separation (as Rama suffered from his
loss of Sita) and how extreme addiction to Dharma, the letter of the law, will
push one to Adharma”. This is an echo of
the Bhaagavata verse 5.19.5—6. Many a devotees of Rama will not agree with
this, although it may be conveying a subtle point that would interest critical
student. Rama and Krishna were two major Incarnations, the former being
glorified in Ramayana and the latter in Bhaagavata. Both have been equally important factors in the devotional
life of India. Rama’s Incarnation depicts a model of manhood and human conduct
which people are asked to follow, whereas Krishna is a Divine manifestation
whose words are to be followed but not deeds. In some Vaishnava sects, Rama is
therefore described as Maryaada-purushoettama (Divinity who has restricted
Himself by laws) and Krishna as Pushti-purushoettama (Divinity that bestows
grace in ways that are not bound by laws and social norms).
10. JAGANNAATHA PHILOSOPHY TAKES AWAY OUR THOUGHTS ON DASAAVATAARA TO DIFFERENT LEVELS
Out of the 22 avatars mentioned
in Bhaagavata, Jayadeva favored Buddha and not Rishabha for the vacuum he
created! Jagannatha temple follows Taantric tradition even today. For a long
time Jagaanatha was worshiped as Bhairava as you learn from Tantric school of thought mentioned in my discourse on
Jagannatha Ratha Yaatra. There seems to be also the tradition of Sakta worship
of Vaamaachara in its complex. Ramanuja was not successful to introduce his
Aagama worship there. As we all know Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Bengal with his
Krishna Consciousness Movement gained very strong grounds
in the region to spread the Vaishnava tradition and now Jagannatha is Vishnu
whom Indradyumna visualized as Jagannatha linking it to the reference in Rigveda. Jayadeva earlier to his period knowingly or by
popular will landed on historic Buddha as people think today in place of the
Vishnu Avatara mentioned in Bhaagavata.
Is Rama’s Buddha as narrated In Puraanas about Avatars the right one or
Jayadeva’s historic Buddhaa as projected is right as the deity glorified in
Dasavatara? Knowing the background of the Buddha censured in Ramayana and the
description in Bhaagavata as Nastik, philosophers in Orissa should have switched
over to historic Buddha of world fame, of noble qualities, high morals and
spiritual approach in life. Westerners as well as Bhagavata consider him
outside the definition of conventional religion but part of atheist religion.
Jayadeva has highlighted Buddha as the
personification of compassion and opposed to animal–sacrifice:
“Nindasi yajnavidherahaha
srutijaatam sadayahridaya darsita pasughaatam kaesvadhrita-buddhasareera
jaya jagadeesa hare||” (Oh
Buddha! Pointing your fingers at the killing of animals in sacrifices you
censured the entire Vedic assembly.)—Geetagovinda
of Jayadeva
Buddha he is referring to is
Sidddharta of Modern Hinduism, who walked out of Vedic Hinduism and
got enlightenment as many think. He was hailed as Buddha on enlightenment who
was the founder of a new religion called Buddhism. He is not born as Buddha of
Buddhaavataara and there is no mention of him as Siddharta in our Puranas. Puranas may say the name of Buddha existed
long before Buddhavataara like Rama and Krishna as I have said before. That does
not convince on his birth (descent) he was named Siddharta or Gautma and then
after great penance was called Buddha like Valmiki. Why would Vishnu on descending need a change
of name and enlightenment! His descent is for our enlightenment as we see from
Krishnaavatara. As a child he revealed his Viswaroopa. Bhagavadgeetaa was a
revelation from him. It was not because of his later education or enlightenment.
Jayadeva is a devotee of Lord
Jaganntha and has composed Dasavataara telling us that Jaganntha is none other
than Krishna. In Ayodhya Kaanda of
Valmeeki Ramayana Brahma reveals to Rama for the first time his avatar of
Vishnu and the purpose with which he came to this world as a human being. In
his revelation he addresses Rama as Krishna meaning Sat-Chit-Aananda (Truth,
Consciousness and Bliss). Jayadeva as a devotee of Vishnu would not have missed
this reference to Krishna by none other than Brahman. Located in Jaganntha
Kshetra and this thought in mind he decided to consider Krishna as none other
than Jagadeesa. So he deleted Krishna as an avatar leaving the slot to
Buddha. There are mythological stories
about Jagannatha which say that he was
worshiped as Buddha for some time then Jina, then Siva, then Vishnu etc. They
even think Jesus visited Puri after he left home at his twelfth year. Kalinga
was ruled by Kings who were Buddhists and who strongly promoted Buddhism at
different times in its long history. It is also believed that Muslims worshiped
Jagannath. Probably Muslims did not want
to call Jagannath as Allah or Khuda so paid their obeisance to Jagannath
himself for certain personal favors. We say in Vaishnavajanato, a favorite Bhajan song of Gandhiji that Allah and
Eeswar are the same (Easwar Allah tero naam). I wonder how Muslims can console to idol
worship which is their basic conflict with us, but we sing this song before
icons. Are we not unnecessarily irritating them by our prayers by mentioning the
name of Allah though we can explain this from Sanatana Dharma view point? In
America some Hindus have married Muslims and they both visit Hindu temples as I
know. Of course Tamils also claim that
Muslims still worship Murugan in Palani at the back entrance to the hills. It is not fare on the part of Hindus to say
who Allah is whom they don’t worship!
It is interesting to note that
the author of the publication on Vishnu, Devadutt Pattanaik, Born and brought
up in the region of Jgannatah Philosophy coming from Orissa mentions Buddha,
the Enlightened One, as Buddhavatara, giving the historic background of Prince
Siddharta. It is obvious he is referring to Buddha glorified in Geetaa Govinda
of Jayadeva. He dramatically explains the descent of Buddha connecting Nastik
Buddha of Bhaagavata to historic Buddha of Buddhism and also as the Avatar of
Vishnu for Hindu worship. “Vishnu went to the kingdom of demons taking the form
of a wily sage called Mayamoha, the deluder, with Garuda accompanying him as a
monk. Clean shaven, dressed in clothes of bark, with a begging bowl in hand,
Mayamoha sat amongst the Asuras denouncing the Vedas. With clever arguments Mayamoha convinced the
demons to abandon the Vedic way. They threw the holy texts out of their land
and became heretics. The rishis recovered the Vedas and began restoring them to
their former glory. Meanwhile, on earth, the distortion of the Vedas by the
demons had caused confusion; Mankind had lost touch with the divine. Life
lacked direction. There was suffering everywhere. To fight this ignorance with
knowledge, Vishnu descended upon the earth as the enlightened teacher.
Incarnating as Nara Narayana, Kapila, Naarada, Vyaasa, Dattaatreya, Rishabha,
and Buddha, the Lord taught man the true nature of the course. He showed the
mysteries of life and showed many ways to attain salvation.” Out of the Gurus his
pick for Dasaavataara was Gautama Buddha as he emphatically mentions that he
was the one who propagated a disciplined way of life based on compassion known
as Buddhism—the path of the enlightened, incorporating Jayadeva philosophy who is his mentor both being from Orissa.
Here he makes Buddhism look not like a separate religion but another philosophy
like Advaita, Vishishtaadvaita and Dvaita within Hinduism to make historic
Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu--a nice compromising theory. Is this acceptable
to Buddhism of today or Aagamas is anybody’s wild guess; may be Buddhism of
Dalai Lama of Tibet!
Jayadeva’s Dasavastara stotra
became famous because of its focus on Jaganntha which also became famous
Vaishnava pilgrimage center. Invariably
this hymn is sung by all his devotees in Jagannatha worship. Historic Buddha as
projected in it also became famous and got integrated with Hindu worship as
historic Buddha. They say in Tamil that
a thread used to tie a flower also acquire all the smell of the flower! Along
with Jagannatha fame Historic Buddha is boosted up religiously and politically.
Modern religious literature on Dasaavataara is more in favor of historic Buddha
and also in favor of Krishna being the most popular avatar in India except for
few well known religious Institutions of the North.
Hinduism before the birth of
Sankaracharya was in great array and confusion. In the field of philosophy the Sankhya propounded a
plurality of souls and denied Parmaatman. The Meemaamsa followers swore by the
superiority of observing Vedic rituals to the exclusion of other means like
Jnaana. The Buddhists and the Jains were content with ethics. It seems there were as many as 72 schools of
philosophy, fighting with each other during Sankara’s time. In the field of religion and worship the
situation was even worse. Sankara
propounded the profound Advaita and cleared the mess. Buddhism was growing in leaps and bounds due
to great Kings like Harshavardhana who made further progress after the foundation and elaborate initial
work started by Ashoka to spread Buddhism all over the globe. Hinduism not only got back to its past glory
due to Sankara lineage and missionary work from the four Sankar Maths
he established and also due to the later Vaishanva movement from Bengal. But
during the process historic Buddha got absorbed rightly or wrongly as the eighth
avatar of Puraanic Dasaavatara by some schools of thought. This interpolation
of historic Buddha should have come from Hindus in the Buddhist belt which
included Kalinga with its Jagannatha Kshetra. Sankara had established one of
his monasteries in Puri during his life time.
In due course Vaishnavites gained grounds influenced by Krishna
Consciousness Movement of Chaitnya Mahaprabhu.
Buddha icon was even worshipped regularly for a while in Puri by the
tribals some say. Some even thought at
that time Brahmapadartha in the idol was a tooth of Buddha. In Hindu cremations only ash is collected not
human parts. So Brahma Padartha can’t be his tooth. Tooth is not acceptable to
Vaishnavites. Somewhere around this
period the iconography cleverly presented as orthodox Buddha resembling
historic Buddha caught the imagination of Hindus. The impact of Advaita philosophy and the
awakening Krishna Consciousness was a blow to Buddhism which was silent on God.
It wisely moved off the shores of India at the
right time. Buddhists were equally
intimidated by the Muslim invaders due to their later taking to idol worship or
mistaken identity. Their great center of Naalanda was also plundered, looted
and burnt for weeks by Muslim invaders.
11. VISHNU AVATARS ARE INNUMERABLE AND COMPOSITION OF DASAAVATAR VARIED IN DIFFERENT PURAANAS AND RELIGIOUS TEXTS
Avataaras are associated with
Vishnu as per Puranas. Later Avatar concept has been used by philosophers and
religious thinkers to bring in avatars of their own imagination but they are
not in conformity to Bhaagavata and Bhagavadgeeta. Krishna says in Bhagavad Geeta "tasmat Saastram pramaanam te"-
Scripture are your ultimate authority. The concept of Avataara got projected in
Bhagavata puraana and Bhagavadgeeta.
Bhagavataa asserts that Vishnu avatars are innumerable but important
among them are 22-- Brahma, Varaaha, Naarada, Nara and Naraayan, Kapila,
Dattatreya, Yajna, Rishabha, Prithu, Matsya, Koorma, Dhanvantari, Mohini,
Nrisimha, Vaamana, Parasu-Rama, Vedavyaasa, Rama, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and
Kalki.
The earlier and more traditional
list of the incarnations of Vishnu includes Buddha as the ninth, unlike the
later sectarian list which has Balarama instead of Buddha. This
Buddha is referred in Ramayana as Nastik or atheist. In Bhagavata we read that this Buddha was
born in the Keetaka country, as Buddha and as the son of Anjanaa and that the
purpose of his appearance was to delude and confound the enemies of gods like
Mohini avataara. He is said to be born
at the dawn of Kali age and we are under his jurisdiction till Kalki
arrives. Epic Mahabharata at one place
mentions of Dasavatara as: Hamsa, Koorma,
Matsya, Varaaha, Nrisimha, Vaamana, Parasu Rama, Rama, Saatvata (probably
referring to Krishna) and Kalki. In this epic as
well as Vayupuraana list Buddha is omitted. His place is taken by Hamsa in the
former list and Dattatreya in the latter. There is a temple for the avatar of
Vishnu Dattaatreya in Baton Rouge in Louisiana in USA where he is worshipped as
one of the avatars of Vishnu. Vedanta Desika of orthodox view as a strict
follower of our saastras includes Balaraama as Jayadeva did, but excludes Buddha
of controversial Buddhaavatara condemned in Ramayana. Vedanta Desika, coming sometime after Jayadeva
realized that Jayadeva had moved away from conventional list of Vishnu Avatars
of Dasavatara interfering with our scriptural version and made a choice of the
alternate group of Dasaavatara that includes both Krishna and Balarama mentioned
in Saastra as deities of Dasaavataara. Somehow even today Vedanta Desika’s projection
of Dasaavataara is viewed as sectarian and is confined
to South India and Aagama worship.
Ramakrishna Math and Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan publications delete Buddhaavatara also and instead make Balarama
the eighth incarnation and Krishna the ninth incarnation of Vishnu like Vedanta
Desika.
12. CONCLUSION
Dasaavatara complications would
not have been there if Rishaba , also an avatar of Vishnu who was in operation
in the role of Aavesaaavatar of Vishnu for a considerable period had been
picked up by Jayadeva in place of controversial Buddha to complete the list of
Dasaavataras after moving Krishna away and adding Haladhara! Rishabha was equally pious if not more, also
sacrificed his princely life and was the one who gave the Jain Philosophy,
stressing emphasis on Ahimsa. He took to
forest life for meditation after firmly establishing his principles. Jain Gurus still practice what they preach.
Buddhists have taken to beef and pork eating after preaching Ahimsa and Dharma
outside India. But projection of historic Buddha was well suited for Hindus in
the North as an Avatar to win over converts back into Vaishnavism in the region
and put a stop to their missionary work. Orthodox Hinduism targeting Buddhism was
a wrong move. Buddhists were wiser to leave the shores of India at the right
time and spread their missionary outside India. Had caste-less Buddhism
dominated India Christian and Muslim conversions would not have come in such a
big way. This forced India to put on the
garb of secular state after Independence
and not to declare the religion of India
as Hinduism (Hindus are around 90% of India’s population) like Democratic
Federal Republic of Germany which declares Germany to be Christian country
while giving opportunity for people of other religions to practice their
religion freely working there or
naturalized. Many Hindus have married Germans there. But enterprising Buddhists migrated and
became popular outside India and established a formidable religion of their own
attracting people from Arabic and local faiths instead of being influenced by
them and get converted. But in India
many were converted to Arabic faiths because of the resigned philosophy of fate
and timidity of Hindus as well as its out-mode Caste and Out-caste systems. Buddhists did not
start their worship of Buddha icon as an Avatar of Vishnu.
Buddha is their Supreme Principal or Guru. Worshiping the idol of Buddha in
Buddhism came much later copying rightly or wrongly the tradition of Hindus. They
could not move away from that natural instinct being once Hindus themselves. Secular Indian Government also favored
Buddhism for its pick of a minority religion for its projection of its spirit
of tolerance knowing their popularity in the world in the Far East countries
like Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China Thailand etc., as also the
consideration of Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu by significant number of Hindus.
Why Balarama is strongly
believed as the eighth incarnation and Krishna ninth by many as in the publications
of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ramakrishna Math etc., who are not influenced by the
Srivaishnava Tradition of the South India or the Buddhism of Eastern India. Balaraama’s many adventures include the
slaying of ape Dvivida and the demons Dhenuka and Pralamba, shaking the
ramparts of Hastinaapura (the capital city
of Kauravas) and dragging the river Yamuna out of its course. The name
Haladhara, as popularly known in the North suggests he was an agricultural hero
raised to the status of an avatar in course of time. Krishna was also cowherd belonging to the
family of Nanda. Being associated with Krishna from his infancy, with enhanced
perfections, he became more delectable to the world, like milk admixed with
Sugar. He was inseparable from his
brother Krishna like Lakshmana from Rama. It is also not clear why Lakshmana
who played such a powerful role in Ramayana is not given the same status as
Balarama? May be because Balarama was elder and Hindu ethics warrants respect
to the elders!
Summing up, the dual appearances of Vishnu
avatars can be found even earlier in the 22 avatars and controversies and confusion begins there
and not in Dasavataara alone
whose list varies from region to region and from Gurus to Gurus. Additional Avataaras as Amsavataras are
associated with Krishna and Rama who are both considered as Poorna Avataras to
justify the co-existence of minor avatars. While Rama was Poorna Avatar,
Lakshmana (Adisesha), Bharata (Discus) and Satrughna (Conch) were Amsaavataras. So also is Balarama (Aadisesha) of
Krishaavataara is Amsaavataara. Probably
these poorna avatars needed some vacation, rest or support as the sin-load
(paapa) was too much; so they have a stand-by support since such avatars are
always associated with the main avatar?
There are also presumably Koorma-Varaha dual avatars coexisting at the
same period. There is a famous temple in
Andhra for the combined deity. We also hear of Varaaha-Narasimha,
combination Avataa. I wonder why nobody
has come out with the possibility of
Rama- Lakshmana or Rama-Krishna avatars as these brothers were close to
each other. The names Ramakrishna and
Ramanuja (brother of Rama for Lakshmana) are very popular among Hindus all over
India! Hinduism is full of contradictions and confusions spread
over its long history and struggle. The
long history of Jagannatha temple in Puri which came to fame springing from
tribal worship to Vaishanva tradition of today is an example. But this temple though projects its noble caste-creed-race
free system, still observes some Vaamaachara traditions within temple complex
and certain restrictions prevail for its entry and worship. Ratha Yatra is open to all and keeps its fame
of Universal Jagannatha Kshetra.
Are we not contributing further
to our confusion everyday instead of reducing, introducing more deities and
incarnations and not thinking of switching back to Sanatana Dharma and wisdom
of Vedas? Our focus is too much on Avatar
concept for colorful worship in temples and story-telling that confuses more
our American born children who may ask why Jesus is not there in Dasavatara if
Buddha of Budhism is worshiped by Hindus? We should therefore be cautious in
explaining our Puraanas to children. Hindus do believe Jesus is an Avatar but
do not specifically say he is Vishnu Avatar. Our concept of Dasaavatara and
other avatars should confine to Vishnu, the Omni-present aspect of Brahman, as
they are based on our scriptures. Otherwise there will soon be a population
explosion of gods. From the detailed
information furnished above it is
better to avoid Buddha avatar, include Balaraama as Amsaavatara in Dasaavataara
and continue with popularly believed and celebrated Krishna Avataara mentioned
in our scriptures as full avataara (as 8th and 9th
incarnations of Vishnu) accepting at the
same-time Amsaavataaras and Aavesa
avataras of Vishnu as possible, not
questioning the reason or logic behind it or the authority of our scriptures, clearing
the confusions created by us, till we
get a better explanation from someone enlightened. Till then we may defend ourselves as followers
of our scriptures!
It is strange Siva Puranas
promote the concept of secondary deities born as children of Siva who are even
powerful than Siva, instead of Avatar? There is the compromising powerful deity
Aiyappan born out of the wedlock of Siva and Mohini (a female avatar of
Vishnu). In Vishnusahasranama the names of Vishnu appear both as male and
female. Puranas are also silent on sons of Rama, Lava and Kusa and sons of
Krishna. The lone Parthasarathy temple of Chennai has installed Pradyumana and
Aniruddha as deities with a low key on dynasty approach of Saivism but explained
it away as Vyuhas of Vishnu. Why Lava and Kusa sons of Rama or the sons of
Rama’s cousins Bharata and Satrghna are not considered by Puranas as deities
like Siva’s sons Ganesha and Kartikeya, we do not know? May be Lava and Kusa
were not raised by Rama? Lakshamana is often seen with Rama, Sita and Hanuman
and worshiped.
Some Indian Authors in trying to
interpret Puraanas as factual in the sense of events in space- time have done
as much an injustice to them as the attitude of some Moderns who equate them
with stories and fables. Puraanas belong to supra-historical order, and their
worth is existential as enduring psychic verities in human consciousness. Their
purpose is not to teach, history or geography or science, but to stimulate in
man a keen sense of Omniscient, Omnipotent, and all loving Spiritual Reality
who can be communed with, prayed to and visualized in various forms of
spiritual glory. It is therefore wise to
go by the Saastras and if that is not easy in the absence of a proper Guru with
proper interpretation, go by the proper interpretation of Saastras by
authoritative religious or spiritual institutions.
Many American Hindu Temples
conduct Hindu Religious heritage classes. Their teachings should endeavor to avoid
confusion arising out of our understanding of Puraanas while promoting cultural
activities like dance, drama etc., focusing on subjects like Dasaavataara. More
often than not further confusion is created on subjects they teach on young
minds. Dasaavataara is one such subject. The discourse above should clear the
confusion on the subject of Dasaavataara and pick the right composition from
Puraanas which leaves no doubt behind and conforms to our Saastric injunctions.
Hinduism as is practiced to-day
is a conglomeration of heterogeneous traditions and plurality of beliefs and
worship with a long history of development from the Vedic sacrificial religion through
the worship of epic and Puraanic heroes and personal deities, cults and sects,
as well as philosophical systems rather than a monolithic tradition or a
structure based on a single system of beliefs and worship or a single text as
scripture. Dasaavatara worship is a part and parcel of this long tradition.
Here is a Dhyaana sloka on Buddhaa of the puraanic version of Vishnu’s Incarnation:
Athaatah sampravakshyaami buddhamantram mahaaphalam |
Satyatvaanna
dvijaadeenam-adhikaaroe hi karhichit || 1 ||
Vaama-maargarataa vipraah
kundakaa jaativichyutaah |
Heenaa Vaidika-samskaaraih
pramaadaat svechchataam gatah || 2 ||
Golakaascha tathaa Jaatyaa
kaayasthaadaya evacha |
Bauddham Vishnum samaaraadhya
bhuktim muktim prayaanti te || 3 ||
Namoe bhagavate Buddha
samsaaraarnava-taaraka |
Kalikaalaadaham bheetah saranyam
saranam gatah || 4 ||
|| Namoe bhagavate Buddhaaya ||
Dhyana Sloka: Buddha eulogized here is the Buddha who resembles Buddha, the Enlightened from Buddhism:
Padme padmaasanastham
tamoorvor-nyarstakaradvayam |
Gauram munditasarvaangam
dhyaanastimita-loechanam ||1 ||
Pustakaasanahastaischa
naanaasishyaischa soebhitam |
Indraadi loekapaalaischa nutam
Svetaabaraavritam || 2 ||
--Dhyaana sloka
Vedaanuddharate (Meena) jagannivahate (Kacchapa) bhoogolam-udbibhrate (Sookara) |
Daityandaarayate (Narahari) balim
chchalayate (Vaamana) kshatra-kshayam kurvate (Bhrigupati) |
Paulastyam jayate (Rama) halam
kalayate (Haldhar) Kaarunyamaatanvate (Buddha) |
Mlechchaan-moorchayate (Kalki)
dasaakriti krite Krishnaaya tubhyam namah |
[Oh Krishna! Obeisance to you the Lord of Ten Incarnations -you restored the Vedas; you lifted the earth the sustainer of the universe; you tore the sons of Diti; You hoodwinked Bali; You destroyed the warrior-race, Kshatriyas, You conquered Ravana; You are the carrier of the plough; you the merciful; you make the nonbelievers swoon]
[Oh Krishna! Obeisance to you the Lord of Ten Incarnations -you restored the Vedas; you lifted the earth the sustainer of the universe; you tore the sons of Diti; You hoodwinked Bali; You destroyed the warrior-race, Kshatriyas, You conquered Ravana; You are the carrier of the plough; you the merciful; you make the nonbelievers swoon]
--Geetagovinda of Jayadeva
APPENDICES
Avatar – the Science of the Lord’s Descent
Posted by The Editor,
IndiaDivine.org | Feb 19,
In the Srimad Bhagavatam it is stated:
anye cha samskrtatmano vidhina
abhihitena te | yajanti tvan
mayas tvamvai
bahu murty ekamurtikam ||
bahu murty ekamurtikam ||
“Lord
Krishna says: There are others, who are purified and cultured souls, who by
understanding my different forms as myself, as one personality in various forms
and features, worship me according to their spiritual understanding and
convictions following the rules of worship as given in the Vedas.”
Each
process of worship given in the Veda scriptures involves understanding the
different forms of the Lord, but the ultimate purpose is to worship the same
one Supreme Lord Himself.
The
various forms of the Lord which are unlimited but one and the same are
described in the Veda literatures as follows:
Sri
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself in three features
in His transcendental form:
svayam rupa – His personal form
tad ekatma rupa – different form but Himself,
avesa rupa – form into which He has entered.
The
svayam rupa is the form in which Sri Krishna is directly understood, His
personal form.
The
tad ekatma rupa is that form which most resembles the svayam rupa, but there
are some differences in the bodily features.
The
avesa rupa is when Krishna enters either his own expansions or some suitable
qualified living entity to represent Himself in any one or more of His opulence
or powers. This is also known as shakti-avesha incarnation.
Vasudeva,
the identity by which Lord Sri Krishna is known as the original Personality of
Godhead, thus expands Himself by innumerable forms, which are all
transcendental to matter, known as sat (eternally existent), chit (fully
conscious) and ananda (fully blissful).
The personal form of Krishna can be
divided into two: svayam rupa and svayam prakasa.
As far as His svayam rupa or pastime
form is concerned, it is in this form that He remains always in His personal
abode, Vrindavana, with the inhabitants of Vrindavana (vraja vasis).
This svayam rupa form can be further divided
into prabhava and vaibhava forms:
(a)
When Krishna expanded Himself into multiple forms during the rasa dance in
order to dance with each and every Gopi who took part in the dance. (prabhava
expansions)
(b)
At Dwaraka Krishna expanded Himself into 16,108 forms in order to accommodate
His 16,108 wives. Each such expansion was a separate individual, unlike when
some yogis expand themselves into eight forms where all of them act as one
individual (if one walks the others have to, if one sits the others also sit
etc.).
When
Narada (who is himself a yogi, who can do such tricks like expanding bodily
features into eight forms) visited Dwaraka, he was so astonished to see that in
each of the 16,108 palaces, Sri Krishna was acting in different ways with His
queens. In one palace He was engaged in playing with His children, and in yet
another form He was performing some household work. (vaibhava expansions)
Each
of these categories can also be further divided into prabhava prakasha (pastime
manifestation forms), prabhava vilasa (pastime extension forms), vaibhava
prakasha (emotional manifestation forms) and vaibhava vilasa (emotional
extension forms):
a)
When Akrura was accompanying both Krishna and Balarama to Mathura from Gokula,
he entered into the waters of the Yamuna River and saw within the waters of
Yamuna all the planets of the spiritual realm. He saw the Vishnu form as well
as Narada and the four Kumaras who were worshiping him. This is a prabhava
prakasha category of expansion.
b)
When Krishna appeared before His mother Devaki in His four handed form of
Narayana just before His divine birth in Mathura, He appeared in His prabhava prakasha form.
c)
When he changed Himself to a two handed form at the request of His parents, He
appeared in His vaibhava prakasha form.
d)
In His personal form, Krishna is just like a cowherd boy and He thinks of
Himself in that way. This is a vaibhava prakasha.
e)
When He is in Mathura as a kshatriya prince He thinks and acts as a princely
administrator. This is a vaibhava vilasa form. (In this Vasudeva form,
sometimes He gets attracted to His own cowherd boy form, as described in some
vaishnava literatures).
The
Lord performs many wonderful pastimes in His incarnations in the material
realm. The different aspects of these pastimes are each a manifestation of
certain qualities of the different categories of his expansions in the
spiritual realm. Thus many categories of expansions of the Lord may manifest
themselves within a particular incarnation in order to perform certain
pastimes. These pastimes exhibit the distinct qualities of that category of
expansion.
There
are also forms of Krishna which are a little different from the svayam rupa
category. These are known as tad eka atma rupa forms (same person with
different features).
These are further classified into
vilasa (expansion form) and svamsha (own portion) forms.
Due
to the distinct features both these classifications can be further divided into
prabhava and vaibhava forms.
When
Krishna expands Himself into Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Sankarshana He
appears as prabhava vilasa, under tad eka atma rupa category.
From
these original principal four handed forms there are twenty four principal
forms manifest, which are vaibhava vilasa under tad ekatma rupa category.
In
the Siddhartha samhita the twenty four forms are named according to the
position of symbols (viz, conch, disc, mace and lotus) in their four hands.
These
twenty-four forms are known as prabhava vilasa forms identified by the symbols
held in their four hands.
The
four principal manifestations of Krishna are found in each planet in the
spiritual realm, and these planets are called Narayanaloka or Vaikunthaloka.
In
the Vaikuntha loka He is manifested in the four-handed form of Narayana. From
each Narayana the forms of Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are
manifested.
The
Narayana is the center and the four forms of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna
and Aniruddha surround the Narayana form.
Each one of these four forms again
expand into three:
Vasudeva – Kesava, Narayana, Madhava
Sankarshana – Govinda*, Vishnu, Madhusudana
Pradyumna – Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara
Aniruddha – Hrishikesha, Padmanabha, Damodhara
[*This
Govinda is a four handed form different from the vaibhava prakasha Govinda, son
of Nanda Maharaja, in Vrindavana.]
The four principal manifestations also
have their vilasa (expansion) forms:
Vasudeva – Adhoksaja, Purusottama
Sankarshana – Upendra, Achyuta
Pradyumna – Nrisimha, Janardhana
Aniruddha – Hari, Krishna*
[*This
Krishna is four handed vilasa form, different from the original svayam rupa
form of Krishna.]
In
the Hayasirsha Pancharatra it is mentioned that there are nine other forms
protecting the Mathura and Dvaraka portions: Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna
and Aniruddha protect Mathura; Narayana, Nrsmha, Hayagriva, Varaha and Brahma
(this is a four handed form of Krishna different from the creator Brahma who is
a jiva) protect Dvaraka. These nine forms are different manifestations of
prakasa and vilasa forms of Lord Krishna, distinct from the expansions with
same names mentioned before in the tables above.
In
the spiritual realm all the planets dominated by the Narayana features are
eternal. The topmost planet is called Krishnaloka (Goloka) and is divided into
three portions: Gokula, Mathura and Dvaraka.
The
conclusion is that the Supreme Original Personality of Godhead is Krishna. He
is called lila-purushottama (playful perfect person) and He resides principally
as the son of Nanda. He has innumerable forms and categorically they are
described in various scriptures especially the Pancharatra scriptures.
[About
Vedic, Pancharatric and Tantric scriptures refer to the course on Vedic
literature.]
All
of these forms have their Vaikunta planets in the spiritual realm and are
situated in eight different directions. Although all of them are ever situated
in the spiritual realm, some of them are nonetheless manifest in the material
world also.
The
different categories of expansions in the Spiritual world are simply to
facilitate the relationships with his separated expansions (the living beings
in the spiritual realm) through various mellows.
To cite a few examples:
The
svayam rupa form (the simple cowherd boy form) of the Lord is to enhance the
parental affection of Nanda and Yasoda who are His eternal parents in the
Vrindavana portion of Goloka.
The
prabhava expansions of the Lord in the rasa lila are to enhance the conjugal
satisfaction of the Gopis with whom He dances.
The
vaibhava expansion of the Lord in Mathura as a prince is to enhance the
parental affection of Devaki and Vasudeva.
Some
of the Lord’s forms expand throughout the material realm as deity incarnations
(archa-avatar) to protect various areas. These deity incarnations are
manifested to give facility to the devotees of the Lord so that they can
worship Him in that particular deity form to whom they have developed
attraction.
For
example, Hayasirsa in Bhadrasva-varsa,
Matsya in Ramyaka-varsa, Kesava in
Mathura and Padmanabha in Anandaranya (Trivandrum).
In
the Mathura portion of the Goloka (the topmost abode of Krishna in the
spiritual realm) a form known as Kesava is situated. This form is also
represented in earthly Mathura. Similarly there is a Purusottama form in the
spiritual realm at the outskirts of Goloka which is represented in Jagannatha
Puri on our earth. Some other examples of this kind of representation are the
Padmanabha in Anandaranya (Trivandrum of Kerala in India), and Hari in Mayapur
(near Calcutta in West Bengal in India) which is the birth place of Lord Sri
Chaitanya.
Many
other forms are also situated in various places on earth. Not only in this
Universe but in all other universes as well, the forms of Krishna are
distributed everywhere.
It
is indicated that this earth is divided into seven islands, which are the seven
continents, and it is understood that on each and every island there are
similar forms, but in the recent past these seem to be present only in India.
From the Veda literatures we can
understand that there are forms in other parts of the world also.
Through
the activities of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement, many of these places are
very recently retraced and the worship of various forms of Lord Sri Krishna are
re-established on almost all the continents of the earth.
The
different forms of Krishna which are distributed thus throughout the universe
are there to give pleasure to the devotees. It is not that devotees are only in
the eastern world or in India. There are devotees in all parts of the world, but
at times they simply forget their identity. These forms manifest not only to
give pleasure to the devotees but to reestablish the constitutional devotional
service and perform other activities which vitally concern the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati
bharata | abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srijamy aham
tadatmanam srijamy aham
“Whenever
and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata,
and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.”
paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya ca
duskritam | dharma-samstapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
sambhavami yuge yuge
“To
deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish
the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti
tattvah | tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti s’orjuna
naiti mam eti s’orjuna
“One
who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not,
upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains
My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” – Bhagavad-gita 4.7-9
The
Brahma samhita (5.46) says:
diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya |dipayate vivrta-hetu-samana-dharma ||
yas tadrg eva hi ca visnutaya vibhati | govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
yas tadrg eva hi ca visnutaya vibhati | govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
“The
light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns
separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord
Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various
manifestations.”
Such
expansion of forms are made possible by His various energies. His energies are
also multifarious, and His internal energies are superior and external energies
are inferior in quality.
As
explained in Bhagavad Gita (7.4-6):
bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva cha | ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakritir astadha ||
bhinna prakritir astadha ||
“Earth,
water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego – all together these
eight constitute My separated material energies.”
apareyam itas tva anyam prakritim |
viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat
jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat
“Besides
these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which
comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this
material, inferior nature.”
etad-yonini bhutani sarvanity
upadharaya aham | krtsnasya
jagatah
prabhavah pralayas tatha
prabhavah pralayas tatha
“All
created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material
and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the
origin and the dissolution.”
Thus
His expansions of various forms which take place via His internal energies are
superior forms whereas the expansions which take place via the external
energies are inferior forms.
The
living entities are also His expansions. The living entities who are expanded
by His internal potency are eternally liberated persons, whereas those who are
expanded in terms of the material energies are eternally conditioned souls.
In
a prison house, there are the prisoners who are undergoing punishment and the
managers who staff the prison house. Even though both these categories are
bound by the laws of prison house ordained by the king, the prisoners have no
freedom and are there for punishment (the conditioned souls in the material
world, expanded in terms of external energy).
The
managers have freedom, they are there simply to make sure that the law and
order is maintained (the invisible controllers of the material world, known as
demigods. Also, expanded in terms of
external energy).
Sometimes
a missionary comes to preach to the prisoners, he also has to follow a certain
code of behavior under the laws of the prison, but he is free and he tries to
correct the prisoners so that they can become free or at least behave better so
that they won’t suffer too much in the prison (the eternally liberated souls,
expanded in terms of internal energy, who come to deliver the conditioned souls
from the material creation are like these missionaries).
But
the king himself sometimes visits the prison house. He is never bound by the
laws of the prison neither he needs to follow any code of conduct while
visiting the prison. He is totally above all the laws of prison, and simply he
visits so that everything goes on properly as ordained by his law. (The Lord is
like the king, always transcendental to the laws of the material world).
The
Lord is all spiritual and has nothing to do with the qualities of the material
world, which are qualitatively distinct from the all spiritual qualities of the
Lord. Because the causal and effectual energies required for the creation of
the material world are also His energies, fully under His control, He is never
affected by the material modes of nature. His position is always transcendental
even within the material manifestation.
He
is also superior and transcendental to the eternally liberated souls who are
expanded by His internal energy because He is the Purusa uttama (Perfect
Original Person, source of both internal and external energies):
dvav imau purushau loke ksaras caksara
eva cha | ksarah sarvani bhutani
kuta-stho ‘ksara ucyate
kuta-stho ‘ksara ucyate
“There
are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material
world every living being is fallible, and in the spiritual world every living
entity is called infallible.” – Bhagavad-gita 15.16
yasmat ksaram atito ‘ham aksarad api chottamah
| ato ‘smi loke vede cha
prathitah purusottamah
prathitah purusottamah
“Because
I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I
am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as the
Supreme Person.” – Bhagavad-Gita 15.18
The
living entities are separated parts and parcels of the Lord , and the
conditioned living entities, who are unfit for the spiritual realm, are strewn
within the material world to fulfill their desire to enjoy matter to the
fullest extent.
As
the eternal friend of the living entities, the Lord expands as Paramatama the
Super-soul (one of His plenary portions). Accompanying the living entities to
guide them in their pursuit of material enjoyment and to become witness to all
their activities so that they can reap
suitable reactions for their material activities in their multiple lives in
matter.
The
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1 describes the soul and Super-soul as two birds in a
tree. One eating the fruit of the tree while the other is just witnessing the
actions.
cva suparna sayuja sakhaya samanam vriksham parisasvajate
tayor anyan pippalam svadv atty anasnann anyo ‘ abhichakasita
tayor anyan pippalam svadv atty anasnann anyo ‘ abhichakasita
Thus
the conditioned soul is controlled by the laws of material nature, but the
Supersoul is the controller of both the spiritual and material energies.
Thus
Vasudeva, the original Personality of Godhead by one of His plenary parts
expands Himself all over the material world not only by accompanying the
conditioned soul in all lives in different material bodies (numbering in
8,400,000 species), but also within the atoms, which combine to form the
material bodies and the whole material universe. Matter, antimatter, proton,
neutron etc. are all simply different effects of this Super-soul, or Paramatma
feature of the Lord.
The
gross material bodies of the living entities are combination (in different
proportions) of five gross elements (the atoms which are pervaded by His
presence within them) and the subtle bodes consist of mind , intelligence and
false identity (which are directed by His presence as Super-soul , Paramatma).
Bhagavad
gita confirms that the Lord is the father of all living entities who are
conceived within the womb of the material nature:
sarva-yonisu kaunteya murtayah
sambhavanti yah | tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija pradhah pita
aham bija pradhah pita
“It
should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made
possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving
father.” – Bhagavad-gita 14.4
Since
the living beings are His sons, the sufferings and enjoyments of the sons are
also indirectly the sufferings and enjoyments of the father, even though the
Father is not anyway directly affected. Being so kind He accompanies the living
being as Super-soul always trying to divert the attention of them towards their
constitutional nature, which is one of real happiness, ananda (bliss).
There
are innumerable material universes, and in each and every universe there are
innumerable planets inhabited by different grades of living entities in
different modes of nature, in 8,400,000 species of bodies. The Lord incarnates
Himself in each and every one of them and in each and every type of living
species. He manifests His transcendental pastimes amongst them just to create a
desire in them to go back to the spiritual realm, back home, back to Godhead.
This
science of incarnations, their appearance and disappearance is nicely described
in the Gopala Tapani Upanishad as follows:
The Lord does not change His
original transcendental position, but He appears to be differently avirbhava tirobhava
svapadetisthati tamasi rajasi satviki |
manusi vijnanadhana anandadhana saccidanandaikarase bhaktiyoge tisthati ||
manusi vijnanadhana anandadhana saccidanandaikarase bhaktiyoge tisthati ||
Manifested according to the particular
time, circumstance and society. He is understood by the linking process of
Bhakti, pure devotional service.
Whatever
conditions the living beings undergo in the material realm due to their
imprisoned situations, the Lord also manifests His incarnations pertaining to
those situations. Starting from the one cell entity known as indra-gopa up to
the most elevated Brahma (the demigod in charge of creation), different sages
have observed different types and numbers of incarnations, which are revealed
in the vedic literatures.
They
are seen as eight, ten, eighteen and twenty four types by different scriptures.
In
the Chaturveda Sikha it is stated:
vasudeva
sankarsana pradyumno’ niruddhoham matsya kurma varaho nrsmho vamano
rama ramo buddha kalkir aham iti
“The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna said: I am Vasudeva, Pradyumna,
Aniruddha and Sankarsana. I am also the ten incarnations, viz., Matsya, Kurma ,
Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama , Ramachandra , Buddha,and Kalki.”
Ten different definite conditions of
living beings are construed generally, from the beginning of their bondage up
to the end.
Invertebrate – Matsya
Testaceous, shelly – Kurma
Vertebrate – Varaha
erectly vertebrate, Half man half beast – Narasimha
Manikin – Vamana
erectly vertebrate, Half man half beast – Narasimha
Manikin – Vamana
Barbaric – Parasurama
Civilized – Ramachandra
Wise – Krishna
Ultra-wise – Buddha
Destrucive – Kalki
Sometimes
He incarnates Himself or empowers some suitable living being to act for Him
(sakti- avesa avatar – empowered incarnation). In either case the purpose is
one and the same. The suffering living being should go back home, back to Godhead.
The happiness that the living beings are hankering for is not to be found within any corner of the innumerable
universes in any material planet. The eternal happiness which the living being
wants is only obtainable in the kingdom of God, but the forgetful living beings
under the influence of the material modes have no information of the kingdom of
God.
The
Lord therefore, comes to propagate the message of the kingdom of God, either
personally as an incarnation or through His bona fide representative as the
good son of God. Such incarnations or sons of God are not making propaganda for
going back to Godhead not only within the human society, but also amongst the
higher human beings called demigods as well as amongst lower species such as
animal, plant , bird , insect and aquatic . This is how the vedic literatures
describe the descents of the Lord, the Incarnations.
There
are also svamsa (His own, unseparated) forms of Krishna, different from the
forms in the spiritual realm, and these have two divisions, the Sankarshana
division and the lila (pastime) avatar (incarnations) division.
From
the Sankarshana division come the three purusa-avatars (Personalities who are
the source and control for material creation) and from the lila avatar division
come the incarnations like matsya-fish, kurma-tortoise etc.
The
Satvata tantra describes that Krishna’s energies are divided into three
aspects: thinking, feeling and acting. He is known differently in these three
aspects:
Thinking – Krishna
Feeling – Vasudeva
Acting – Sankarshana Balarama
The
material creation is due to the thinking, feeling and acting of Sankarshana
Balarama.
Even
though there is no creation in the spiritual realm where everything is eternal,
the whole spiritual realm also depends on the acting energy of Balarama.
Everything there is manifested by the Balarama or Sankarshana form.
As
far as the material creation is concerned, the forms by which the energy of
material nature works to bring about creation is called the Sankarshana form,
and it is understood that this cosmic manifestation is created under the
superintendence of the Supreme Lord.
This
is further explained in the Srimad Bhagavata Purana (10.46.31):
etam hi visvasya cha bija-yoni ramo mukundah
purusah pradhanam
anviya bhuteshu vilakshanasya jnaanasya chesata imau puranau ||
anviya bhuteshu vilakshanasya jnaanasya chesata imau puranau ||
“These
two Lords, Mukunda and Balarama, are each the seed and womb of the universe,
the creator and His creative potency. They enter the hearts of every livingbeings
and control their conditioned awareness. They are the primeval Supreme.”
[The above concept is based on the Philosophy of Krishna Consciousness linking it to Paancharaatra Theology]
REFERENCES:
APPENDIX
(From various Google seaerch suitably edited)
THE GLOBE SHAPED EARTH
ADDED TO VARAHA AVATAR—FACT OR FICTION
Is the Globe Shaped Earth added to the
Varaha Avatar, an imagination of the modern Artist or the fact found in Ancient Hindu
Scriptures?
Generally in temple iconography,
Varahas is seen holding the Goddess Earth on His Left Thigh, like
Narasimha. Prajapati in his incarnation
as Varaha later married Bhudevi according to Puranas and hence seen seated on
the thigh. Contrary to the belief, even
to-day for some religious Christians earth is flat according to the Holy Bible in spite of scientific evidence. Hindus have
known that the Planet Earth was a globe even before Christianity. Cosmic bodies are identified in 3 forms in
Hindu scriptures: Anda - spheroid of egg shaped; Pinda--like ball of rice or
cluster of pieces (in simple its cluster system); Brahmanada, Golden Egg- all
that within universe. So this
further substantiates Varaha uplifted globe. Puranas also say Parasurama went round the globe 21 times
(Bhoogola Pradkhishina)
Vishnu Purana describes how Narayana in
the form of Brahmā sees the empty universe at the beginning of the new cycle of
creation, and the earth submerged under the turbulent primeval dark ocean. So
he takes the form of a boar to bring the earth up. In this earliest version there is no mention
of Hiranyaksha demon being killed.
एवं संस्तूयमानस्तु पृथिव्या धरणीधरः ।
सामस्वरध्वनिः श्रीमान् जगर्ज परिघर्घरम् ॥
25 ||
Evam
samstooyamaanastu prithivyaa dharaneedharah | saamasvaradhvanih sreemaan
jagarja parighargharam || 25 ||
Having been praised in this manner by Goddess
Earth, the Lord who would be called earth-holder, whose voice was the Samaveda
chant, let out a loud grunt.
The following verses are one of the
most beautiful, majestic and melodious verses set in the jagati
meter outside the Vedas. This meter has 4 legs of 12 syllables each, totaling
48 syllables which meter is very popular
in the Vedas.
ततः समुत्क्षिप्य धरां
स्वदंष्ट्रया महावराहः स्फुटपद्मलोचनः ।
रसातलादुत्पलपत्रसंनिभः समुत्थितो नील इवाचलो महान्
॥ 26 ||
Tatah samutkshipya
dharaam svadamshtryaa mahaavaraahah sphuta-paadma-lochanah | rasaatalaad-utpala-patra-sannibhah
samutthito neela ivaachalo mahaan || 26 ||
“Then
the lotus-eyed Great Boar scooped up Earth from the ocean with his tusks, and stood
up like a gigantic mountain.”
उत्तिष्ठता तेन
मुखानिलाहतं तत्संभवाम्भो जनलोकसंश्रयान् ।
प्रक्षालयामास हि
तान्महाद्युतीन् सनन्दनादीनपकल्मषान्मुनीन् ॥ 27 ||
Uttishthataa tena
mukhaanilaahutam tatsambhavaambho janloka-sam-srayaan | prakshaalyaamaasa hi
tanmahaadyuteena sanandanaa-deen-apakalmashaan-muneen || 27 ||
“As he was rising up, the wind from his
snorts sprayed the ocean water over the residents of janaloka. The great
and pure sages like Sanandana were completely drenched from the shower.”
प्रयान्ति तोयानि
खुराग्रविक्षतरसातलेऽधः कृतशब्दसन्तति । श्वासानिलास्ताः परितः प्रयान्ति सिद्धा जने ये
नियता वसन्ति ॥
28 ||
Prayanti toyaani khuraagravikshatarasaatale-adhah
kutasbdasantati | svaasa-anilastaah paritah prayaanti siddha jane ye niyataa
vasanti ||28||
“His
hooves caused a great disturbance in the waters, which loudly splashed around.
The strong winds caused from his snorts blew away all the sages and residents
in different directions.”
उत्तिष्ठतस्तस्य जलार्द्रकुक्षेर्महावराहस्य महीं विगृह्य । विधुन्वतो वेदमयं
शरीरं रोमान्तरस्था मुनयः
स्तुवन्ति ॥
29 ||
Uttishtha-tas-tasya
jalaardrakuksher-mahaavaraahasya maheem vigrihya |
Vidhunvato
vedamyam sareeram romaantarasthaa munayah stuvnti || 29 ||
“After he rose up carrying Earth,
he shook off the water from his wet body. The sages who had taken shelter under
his body hair (by grabbing on to the hair) were violently shaken, and they
started chanting hymns in his praise.”
तं तुष्टुवुस्तोषपरीतचेतसो लोके जने
ये निवसन्ति योगिनः
।
सनन्दनाद्या ह्यतिनम्रकन्धरा धराधरं धीरतरोद्धतेक्षणम् ॥ 30 ||
Tam tushtuvustosha-pareeta-chetaso
loke jane ye nivsanti yoginah |
sanandanaadyaa hyati-namra-kandharaa dharaadharam dheeratarod-dhatekshanam ||
30 ||
“The sages who experienced this divine
vision started praising him. Sanandana and others bowed down with bent body to
the Carrier of Earth, whose eyes were now wide open showing
his tremendous energy and exertion.”
जयेश्वराणां परमेश
केशव गदाशङ्खधरासिचक्रधृक् ।
प्रसूतिनाशस्थितिहेतुरीश्वरस्त्वमेव नान्यत्परमं च यत्पदम् ॥
31 ||
Jayesvaraanaam pareamesa kesava
gada-sankhadharaasi-chakradhrik | prasooti-naasasthiti-hetur-eesvrastavameva
naanyatparam cha yatpadam ||
“Victory to you, O Lord of lords! O
Keshava! O Bearer of the weapons mace (club), conch shell, sword and discus!
You are the source of creation, destruction and maintenance! You are the
highest state, none other.”
पादेषु वेदास्तव यूपदंष्ट्र दन्तेषु यज्ञाश्चितयश्च वक्त्रे ।
हुताशजिह्वोऽसि तनूरुहाणि दर्भाः प्रभो यज्ञपुमांस्त्वमेव ॥ 32
Paadeshu vedaastava
yoopadamshtramdanteshu yajnaaschitayascha vaktre | hutaasajihvo-asi
tanooruhaani darbhaah prabho yajanapumaamstvameva ||
“Your feet are the 4 Vedas, your tusks
are the sacrificial post, your teeth are the yajnas, your lips are the
altars. Your tongue is the sacred fire, your hair is the sacred darbha
grass. O Lord, you are the personification of yajna!”
विलोचने रात्र्यहनी महात्मन् सर्वाश्रयं ब्रह्मपरं शिरस्ते । क्तान्यशेषाणि सटाकलापो घ्राणं समस्तानि हवींषि
देव ॥ 33 ||
Vilochane
raatryahaani mahaatman sarvaasrayam brahmaaparam siraste | ktataanyaseshaani sataakalaapo
ghraanam samastaani haveeshi deva ||33||
“Your eyes are the days and nights,
your head the refuge of all, is the highest state of moksha. Your mane
comprises all the Vedic mantras, your breath consists of all the offerings into
the sacred fire.”
स्रुक्तुण्डसामस्वरधीरनादप्राग्वंशकायाखिलसत्रसन्धे ।
पूर्तेष्टधर्मश्रवणोऽसि देव
सनातनात्मन्भगवन्प्रसीद ॥
34 ||
Sruktundasaamasvara-dheeranaada-praagvamsakaayaakhila-satrasandhe
| poorteshta-dharmasravano-asi deva sanaatanaatman-bhagavan-praseeda ||
“Your
snout is the sacred ladle used to pour ghee into the fire. Your voice is the
deep mysterious song of Sama Veda. Your body is the hall of yajna and
your joints are the various sattras (i.e. long-duration yajnas).
Your ears represent the Vedic dharma consisting of worship and charity. O Lord!
You are ancient, you are blessed. Please be kind to us.”
पदक्रमाक्रान्तभुवं भवन्तमादिस्थितं चाक्षरविश्वमूर्ते ।
विश्वस्य विद्मः
परमेश्वरोऽसि प्रसीद
नाथोऽसि परावरस्य ॥ 35 ||
Padakramaakraantabhuvam bhavantamaadisthitam
chaaksharavisvamoorti | visvasya vidmah
paramesvaro asi praseeda naatho asi paraavarasya || 35 ||
“You have previously covered the entire
Earth with one step, you are the primeval being, invincible and universal. We
know you as the supreme lord of higher and lower beings.”
दंष्ट्राग्रविन्यस्तमशेषमेतद् भूमण्डलं नाथ विभाव्यते ते
। विगाहतः पद्मवनं विलग्नं सरोजिनीपत्रमिवोढपङ्कम् ॥ 36 ||
Damshtaagra-vinyastama
seshametad Bhoomandalam naatha
vibhaavyate te | vigaahatah
padmavanam vilagnam sarojinee-patra-vimodha-pankam ||36 ||
“The
globe of the Earth (bhU-maNDala) stuck between your tusks
looks like a lotus stuck on you as if from when you emerged out of a pond full
of lotuses.”
So you see, even in the earliest
description of Varaha, the earth is considered a globe, very explicitly,
without any doubt.
T
emple sculptures as seen in
Mahabalipuram, Badami Karnataka, Udayagiri caves Videha, and others being a
form of artistic expression, the Earth is actually shown as a personified
goddess bhU-devI. The Lord lovingly and carefully supports the
goddess, who falls in love with him. Durga
temple, Aihole, Karnataka - 5th century clearly shows the globe as well as the
goddess. It clearly means that the temple architect knew the technically correct
fact that the earth is a globe, but also wanted to artistically show the earth
as a goddess. An ancient Varaha statue is also
found in Russia.
Aryabhata-
discovered the position of nine planets and stated that these planets revolve
around the sun. long before the
discovery by European He correctly stated that the earth rotates about its axis
daily.
Instead of the
regular argument of the word भूगोल: being in use in India
since centuries, we shall see what is told about Varaha Avatar before getting into
the explanation of Earth being a globe.
ददर्श तत्राभिजितं धराधरं प्रोन्नीयमानावनिमग्रदंष्ट्रया ।मुष्णन्तमक्ष्णा स्वरुचोऽरुणश्रिया | जहास चाहो वनगोचरो मृगः
Dadarsa tatraabhijitam dharaadharam
pronneeyamaanaa vanimagra-damshtrayaa | mushnantamakshnaa svarucho-arunasriyaa
| jahaasa chaaho vanagocharo mrigah ||
He saw there the all-powerful Personality of
Godhead in His boar incarnation, bearing the earth upward on the ends of His
tusks and robbing him of his splendor with His reddish eyes. The demon laughed:
Oh, an amphibious beast--Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 18 Shloka 2
The following sloka from Bhagavta
Cantro3 Chapter 18 describes the
Varaha Avatar of Lord Vishnu rescuing the Earth.
तत्रत्यानां दिवसमध्यङ्गत एव सदाऽऽदित्य-| स्तपति सव्येनाचलं दक्षिणेन करोतियत्रोदेति | तस्य ह समानसूत्रनिपाते निम्लोचति | यत्र क्वचन स्यन्देनाभितपति
तस्य हैष | समानसूत्रनिपाते प्रस्वापयति
तत्र गतं न पश्यन्ति ये तं समनुपश्येरन् ||
Tatratyaanaam
divasamadhyamgata eva sadaa aaditya | stapati
savyena- achalam dakshinena karotiyatrodeti
| tasya ha samaana-sootranipaate nimlochati | yatra kvachana syandenaabhitapati
tasya haisha | samaana- sootranipaate prasvaapayati tatra gatam na pasyati ye
tam samanu-pasyeran||
People
living in countries at points diametrically opposite to where the sun is first
seen rising will see the sun setting, and if a straight line were drawn from a
point where the sun is at mid-day, the people in countries at the opposite end
of the line would be experiencing midnight. Similarly, if people residing where
the sun is setting were to go to countries diametrically opposite, they would
not see the sun in the same condition--Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 21
Shlokas 8–9. These verses clearly explain the Earth
as a sphere.
The most recent established planetary
studies by Dr. Narahari of Memphis, USA and
others demonstrate that the Bhagavatham was compiled in a period that
goes from the end of Mahabharata age, at the beginning of Kali-yuga (3102
BC) and at the latest around 2600 BC.
So
it was well known to Hindus in India that the Earth is a sphere and that it
revolves around the sun centuries or even millennia before the Westerners
agreed to the fact.
So
there is no question of adding a figure of a globe shaped Earth to the image of
Varaha Avatar.
Kartik Nemani, says, Varaaha can be traced to the Shatapata
Brahmana and the Taiitiriya aranyaka of the Yajur Veda. Now according to
historians, the Yajurveda can be dated to 1200–1000 BCE. (Debatable).
The
fact that the earth was an ellipsoid, can be confirmed from the Rigveda. (1.33.8)
चक्राणासः परीणहं पर्थिव्या हिरण्येन मणिना शुम्भमानाः |न
हिन्वानासस्तितिरुस्त इन्द्रं परि सपशो अदधात
सूर्येण ||
ChakraaNaasah
pareeNaham prithirvyaa hiraNyena maNinaa sumbha-maanaah | na hinvaasastirusta
indram pari sapaso adadhaata sooryeNa ||
Adorned with jewels, they encircled the
earth, but Indra overcame them with the rising sun.
It is obvious the object is a sphere,
otherwise how can one encircle it? Rig
Veda (1600 BCE) predates Yajurveda Varaha carrying a globe in
the Yajurveda in Indian Iconography is therefore not an artist’s imagination
and so later addition.
REFERENCES:
1. Ramachandra Rao S.K, Vishnu Kosha, Kalpataru
Reasearch Academy, Shankar Math, Sarada Peetham, Bengaluru, India.
2. Kamala Chandrakant, Amar Chitra Katha Dasha
Avatar, India Book House, Mumbai, India.
3. Balakrishnan S., Sankara on Bhakti, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Munmbai,
India.
4. Mukundan T.K., A concept of Hinduism,
Bharatiya Vidya b Bhavan, Mumbai, India
5. Swami Bhaskarananda, Essentials of Hinduism, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai,
India
6. Prof Seshiengar A, India through the Ages, Sri
Ramachandra Book Depot, Mysore, India.
7. Swami Harshananda, Hindu Gods and Goddesses,
Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai, India.
8. Raghavan S.S., Sri Vedanta Desika’s Stotras
(Sri Dasaavatara Stotram), Sripad Trust, Chennai, India.
9. Kulavarma Balakrishna, Gita Govinda, Samaja
Pustakalaya, Dharvad, Karnataka, India
10. Devdutt Pattanaik, Vishnu—An Introduction,
Vakils, Feffer and Simons Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India.
11. Swami Tapasyananda, Narayaneeyam, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore,
Chennai
No comments:
Post a Comment