Құдайдың жердегі түрі: Аватар тұжырымы

Material appearance or incarnation of a god on Earth in Hinduism

the concept in Hinduism

Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being. however, it appears in developed forms in post Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE. Despite that, the concept of an avatar is compatible with the content of the Vedic literature like the Upanishads as it is symbolic imagery of the Saguna Brahman concept in the philosophy of Hinduism. The Rigveda describes Indra as endowed with a mysterious power of assuming any form at will. The Bhagavad Gita expounds the doctrine of Avatara but with terms other than avatar. Theologically, the term is most often associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, though the idea has been applied to other deities. Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten Dashavatara of the Garuda Purana and the twenty two avatars in the Bhagavata Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable. The avatars of Vishnu are important in Vaishnavism theology. In the goddess based Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, avatars of the Devi in different appearances such as Tripura Sundari, Durga, Chandi, Chamunda, Mahakali, and Kali are commonly found. While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional. The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism.

Following 19th Century Western interest in Indian culture and Hinduism, the word "Avatar" was taken as loanword into English and other Western languages, where it is used in various contexts and meanings, often considerably different from its original meaning in Hinduism see Avatar (disambiguation).

The concept of avatar within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trinity or Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu's avatars descend to empower the good and fight evil, thereby restoring Dharma. Traditional Hindus see themselves not as "Hindu", but as Vaishnava (Worshippers of Vishnu), Shaiva (Worshippers of Shiva), or Shakta (Worshipper of the Shakti). Each of the deities has its own iconography and mythology, but common to all is the fact that the divine reality has an explicit form, a form that the worshipper can behold. An oft quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu:

The Bhagavata Purana describes Vishnu's avatars as innumerable, though ten of his incarnations, the Dashavatara, are celebrated therein as his major appearances. The ten best known avatars of Vishnu are collectively known as the Dashavatara (a Sanskrit compound meaning "ten avatars"). Five different lists are included in the Bhagavata Purana, where the difference is in the sequence of the names. Freda Matchett states that this re sequencing by the composers may be intentional, so as to avoid implying priority or placing something definitive and limited to the abstract. + The Avatars of Vishnu Name Description Matsya The fish avatar. He saves Manu and the seven sages from the cosmic flood, and in some traditions, saves the Vedas from an asura called Hayagriva. Kurma The tortoise/turtle avatar. He supports the mountain named Mandara while the devas and the asuras churn the ocean of milk to produce the nectar of immortality. Varaha The boar avatar. He rescues Bhumi, the goddess of the earth, when the asura Hiranyaksha abducts her, restoring her rightful place in the universe. Narasimha The lion avatar. He saves his devotee Prahlada and frees the three worlds from the tyranny of an asura named Hiranyakashipu. Vamana The dwarf avatar. He vanquishes the asura king Mahabali to the netherworld after taking three strides upon the universe, restoring the rule of Indra. Parashurama The warrior sage avatar. He destroys the oppressive kings of the military class and creates a new social order. Rama The prince avatar. He rescues his wife Sita when she is abducted by the rakshasa king Ravana, restoring just rule to the world. Balarama (debated)The elder brother of Krishna and the god of agriculture. He is variously described as an avatar of Shesha, the serpent mount of Vishnu, and an avatar of Vishnu. Krishna The eighth avatar of Vishnu who incarnates to re establish righteousness in the world. He slays Kamsa, the tyrant of Mathura and his uncle, and participates in the Kurukshetra War as the charioteer of Arjuna. Buddha (debated)The historical Buddha, who incarnates to delude the asuras from the path of the Vedas, ensuring the victory of the devas. In some traditions, he is referred to as an avatar of Vishnu. Kalki The prophesied tenth avatar of Vishnu. He incarnates to bring an end to the present age of corruption called the Kali Yuga, re establishing the four classes and law to the world.

The avatar concept was further developed and refined in later Hindu texts. One approach was to identify full avatars and partial avatars. Krishna, Rama, and Narasimha were full avatars (purna avatars), while others were partial avatars (ansha avatars). Some declared, states Noel Sheth, that every living creature is an avatar of Vishnu. The Pancharatra text of Vaishnavism declares that Vishnu's avatars include those that are direct and complete (sakshad), indirect and endowed (avesha), cosmic and salvific (vyuha), inner and inspirational (antaryamin), consecrated and in the form of image (archa). Yet another classification, developed in Krishna schools, centers around Guna avatars, Purusha avatars and Lila avatars, with their subtypes. The Guna avatar classification of avatars is based on the Guṇas concept of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, that is Rajas (Brahma), Sattva (Vishnu), and Tamas (Shiva). The Lilavataras are partial or full manifestations of Vishnu, where either some powers (Shakti) or material parts of him exist. The Matsya, Kurma, and Vamana avatars of Vishnu are Lilavataras.

The Gupti Ismailis, who observe pious circumspection as Hindus, uphold that the first Shi‘i Imam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, as well as his descendants through the line of Isma‘il, are collectively Kalki, the tenth and final avatāra of Vishnu. According to this interpretation, these figures represent the continuity of divine guidance to humankind. In the view of some Guptis, this is corroborated by the Quranic verse 14:4 which mentions the idea that God had sent a messenger to every land. They understand the avatāras to be these messengers sent by God to their people in the Indian subcontinent.

Although Puranic scriptures contain occasional references to avatars of Shiva, the avatar doctrine is neither universally accepted nor commonly adopted in Shaivism. The views on the doctrine of incarnation has been one of the significant doctrinal differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism, in addition to their differences on the role of householder life versus monastic life for spiritual release. Shaivism is a transcendental theology, where man, with the help of his Guru, is his own savior. In the Shiva Purana there is a distinctly Saivite version of a traditional avatar myth: Shiva brings forth Virabhadra, one of his terrifying forms, in order to calm Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu. When that fails, Shiva manifests as the human lion bird Sharabha which calms down lion man Narasimha avatar of Vishnu, and Shiva then gives Vishnu a chakra (not to be confused with Sudarshan Chakra) as gift. A similar story is told in the late medieval era Sharabha Upanishad. However, Vaishnava Dvaita school refutes this Shaivite view of Narasimha. According to the Shiva Purana, Shiva has 19 avatars. According to the Kurma Purana, he has 28. The vanara god Hanuman who helped Rama (the Vishnu avatar) is considered by some to be the eleventh avatar of Rudra (Shiva). Some regional deities like Khandoba are also believed by some to be avatars of Shiva. Ashwatthama, the son of Drona is also considered to be an avatar of Shiva. Shesha and his avatars (Balarama and Lakshmana) are occasionally linked to Shiva. Adi Shankara, the formulator of Advaita Vedanta, is also occasionally regarded as an avatar of Shiva. In Dasam Granth, Guru Gobind Singh mentioned two avatars of Rudra: Dattatreya Avatar and Parasnath Avatar.

Avatars are also observed in Shaktism, the sect dedicated to the worship of the Goddess (Devi), but they do not have universal acceptance in the sect. The Devi Bhagavata Purana describes the descent of Devi avatars to punish the wicked and defend the righteous as – much as the Bhagavata Purana does with the avatars of Vishnu. Nilakantha, an 18th century commentator on the Devi Bhagavata Purana – which includes the Devi Gita – says that various avatars of the Goddess includes Shakambhari and even the masculine Krishna and Rama – generally thought to be Vishnu's avatars. Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati are main goddesses worshipped as Devi avatars.

Jhulelal, the Iṣṭa devatā (most revered deity) of Sindhi Hindus, is considered the incarnation of Varuna.

Short introduction and bibliography of sources about Avatāra.