scheme of dasavatara (from the web)

[Guest guest]

The dazAvatAra scheme certainly originated much earlier than

kSemendra's date, although of course epico-puranic occurrences may

not be *datable* in strict terms. Apart from literary texts, however,

a Pallava inscription dated in the late VII cent. contains a list

identical to the canonic one except for replacing kRSNa with [bala]

rAma. A lists of ten occurring in the vulgate text of Mbh XII, 339,

103-4 (rejected from the CE) enumerates haMsa, kUrma, matsya, varAha,

narasiMha, vAmana, rAma [bhArgava], rAma dAzarathi, sAtvata and kalki

(i.e., leaving out the buddha as 9th and anteponing haMsa). Harivamza

I, 31 (CE) enumerates (though not in compact form) ten prAdurbhAvas,

somewhat different from the later canonic list: puSkara, varAha,

narasiMha, vAmana, dattAtreya, rAma jAmadagnya, rAma dAzarathi,

kRSNa, vyAsa and kalki. Another list of ten occurring in the vAyu,

brahmANDa and matsya (and ascribed by Kirfel to the "core purANa")

diverges even more: vainya [= pRthu], narasiMha, vAmana, dattAtreya,

mAndhAtR, the two rAmas, vedavyAsa, kRSNa and kalki. The classical

dazavatAra list first occurs in purANas usually regarded as later,

such as the padma (uttarakhaNDa), agni, varAha and narasiMha. One may

conclude from the above that although the general conception of

ten "outstanding" descents (out of myriads: prAdurbhAvasahasrAni

samAtItAni anekazaH / bhUyaz caiva bhaviSyanti yeSAM saMkhyA na

vidyate) appears to be quite ancient, no common agreement concerning

its composition was reached until at least the VII/VIII cent. AD.

[Guest guest]

vsnu avatars r often compared to evolution of life or the growth of

foetus. But it is interesting to note that the following text compares

it with the stages in life, from conception to death:

 

The title is _Vimalaprabhaa.tiikaa of Kalki S'rii Pu.n.dariika_, Vol.

1, edited by Jagannatha Upadhyaya and published by the Central

Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, Varanasi, U.P. in

1986. It is available from Indian Books Centre, Delhi.

 

(courtesy: sri John newman)

 

kishore

[Guest guest]

> vsnu avatars r often compared to evolution of life or the growth of

foetus. <

 

I would be interested to know in which other texts such comparisons

are made. During my student years I once had to write a term paper on

the dazAvatAra in which I advanced a similar theory, i.e. the ten

avatAras of ViSNu linked to different stages of a human life. I was

mainly drawn to this conclusion by an illustration of a tibetan

medicinal thangka showing the different stages of human embryonic and

foetal development. On such thangkas three different stages of the

foetus (those of the 9th, 16th-17th and 31st-35th week) are

highlighted by drawings of a fish, tortoise and boar as the foetus in

some way resembles these animals during these stages, which are named

accordingly. I don't know whether these three stages are already

mentioned in the tibetan medicinal text rGyud-bZhi (i.e.

amRtASTAGgahRdayopadezatantra) or only in some commentary. Does

anybody know of any occurrence of these stages in any extant

ayurvedic text?

 

By the way, Mr. John Newman, could you please give those 4 verses of

the KAlacakratantra, which you mentioned in your posting on 25th May?

 

Many regards,

 

Thomas Kintaert

 

INDOLOGY, "kishore mohan"

<kishore_future> wrote:

> vsnu avatars r often compared to evolution of life or the growth

of

> foetus. But it is interesting to note that the following text

compares

> it with the stages in life, from conception to death:

>

> The title is _Vimalaprabhaa.tiikaa of Kalki S'rii Pu.n.dariika_,

Vol.

> 1, edited by Jagannatha Upadhyaya and published by the Central

> Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, Varanasi, U.P. in

> 1986. It is available from Indian Books Centre, Delhi.

>

> (courtesy: sri John newman)

>

> kishore