Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Seite 656

INCARNATIONS OF VISHNU
G16
warship.
especially
His cult
more general than that
is
Siva,
of
among the Brahmins, whose favourite god appears
to be Vishnu.
He
represented with four arms, and hence is sometimes
the four-armed god. The bird garuda is his vehicle.
He bears the title of redeemer and preserver of all that
The other gods, not excepting Brahma himself,
exists.
have often had need of his help in escaping from perils
which threatened them. In his quality of preserver he
has found himself obliged to take different forms, which
the Hindus designate under the name of Avatars (incarna-
Of these they count ten principal ones, the nomen-
tions).
clature of which is contained in the following verses
is
named
:
Adau matsyas tatah kurma Varahascha param tatah
Narasimha maha sahtir vamanascha param tatah
Ramascha Balaramascha parasustadanantaram
Kalkirupascha baudhascha hyavatara dasa smitah.
1.
2.
3.
4.
and
5.
Matsya-avatar, in the form of a fish
VaraJia-avatar, in the form of a pig
Kurma -avatar, in the form of a tortoise
Narasimha-avatar, in the form of a monster, half
;
;
;
half lion
Vamana- avatar,
named Vamana
6.
7.
man
;
in
the form of a
Brahmin dwarf,
;
Parasurama-avatar, in the form of Parasurama
Rama-avatar, in the form of the famous hero known as
Rama
;
;
In the form of Bala-rama
9. Bo uddha- avatar, in the form of Buddha
10. Kalki-avatar, in the form of a horse.
There is yet another famous incarnation, which is that of
Vishnu in the person of Krishna, without counting many
and all these, if I am not mistaken, originally
others
possessed an allegorical meaning, the object being to prove
the all-pervading presence of the divinity. For instance,
one reads in the Bhagavata
One day, the penitent Arjuna having invoked Vishnu
with fervour and devotion, and having prayed him to
reveal himself to him, this powerful god, who has deigned
to manifest himself to man under all kinds of forms,
answered him thus
These, Arjuna, are the forms in
8.
;
;
;
:
'
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