Mythology of Vishnu and his Incarnations

About the Book Vishnu, the all pervader, is the most significant deity of cosmological trinity, other two being Brahma and Shiva.

In the Rig Veda, hymns are sung in his honour and he is described as one who traverses the earth and terrestrial spaces by taking three steps. He is identified with Sun and Yajna.

Vishnu grew in stature with the passage of time. He took several incarnations as a saviour of mankind. Bhagavata Purana Says: 'Just as from an inexhaustible lake thousands of streams flow on all sides, so also from Hari (Vishnu) come forth countless incarnations."

In the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna told Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra the purpose behind his incarnations. He said: 'O Bharata, whenever Dharma suffers and Adharma gets on ascendancy, I take incarnation to protect the virtuous, destroy evil and establish again the rule of Dharma'.

Among his many incarnations, ten are prominent and popularly known as Dashavatar. In this book, the myths related to these incarnations are narrated in lucid style. These myths from the core of Indian Culture, around which epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as several Puranas are woven.

Here this Well-developed book gives the readers an insight into the Indian art, Literature, culture and religion through mythology of Vishnu.

About the Author M.L. Varadpande, having insightful knowledge and profound appreciation of art, culture, literature and religious heritage of India spread over the span of many thousand years, is internationally known for his erudition and scholarship.

Introduction Vishnu is a major god of Indian pantheon whose roots are found in most ancient of Indian scriptures, the Rig Veda. He is at the centre of vast mythology through his manifold incarnations. Two major epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are woven around his two most significant incarnations, Dasharathi Rama and Vasudeva Krishna. His ten incarnations are considered most prominent but there are number of Indian divinities who are connected with him such as Lord Jagannatha of Puri, Vithoba of Pandharpur, Balaji of Giri are considered as his incarnations. The stories related to them are many. They shed light on Avatara pantheon of Vishnu.

Indian tradition considers the works known as Akhyana, Itihasa, Purana, etc. as a part of her mythology. Akhyana means communication of previous events, tale, story, legend. The word Itihasa can be explained as iti-ha-asa which means 'so indeed it was.' Pura means before, hense, Purana means material belonging to ancient, old, traditional heritage.

Vishnu finds place in all the itihasas, puranas and akhyanas of India. It forms the base of art, culture and literature of the country. Incarnations of Vishnu form the nucleus of Bhagvata Bhakti movement of India. Here is a brief survey of these traditions which sprang around Vishnu and his incarnations.

**Contents and Sample Pages**