Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses
Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses
 | Dashavatar |
| Brahma |
| Vishnu |
| Shiva |
| Marriage, Execution and revival of the principal gods |
DASHAVATAR: The following are the names of Lord Vishnu’s ten incarnation on the earth. They are tabulated accordingly. Please note that Srikrishna is the eigth child of Vasudeva and Devaki and is the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
|
DASHAVATAR |
MEANING |
|
Matsya (Fish) |
The first incarnation of Vishnu in the shape of a fish |
|
Kurma (Tortoise) |
The second incarnation of Vishnu in the shape of a tortoise, turtle |
|
Varaha (Swine) |
The third incarnation of Vishnu when he slew Varaha, the demon |
|
Nrishimha (Half –Man and Half Lion) |
The fourth incarnation of Vishnu in the form of a being whose upper half of the body was shaped like a lion whilst the lower half was shaped like a man |
|
Vaaman (Dwarf) |
The fifth incarnation of Vishnu in the shape of a dwarf |
|
Parashuram (name) |
The sixth incarnation of Vishnu who carried a battle-axe with which he exterminated the kshatriyas from the face of the earth twenty-one times |
|
Ram (name) |
Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. He is known as an ideal man and the hero of the epic Ramayana. He is one of the highly controversial figures in Hinduism. A lot of Hindus (?) dislike him and adore his enemy Raavana. |
|
Balram/ |
He is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu and the elder brother of Krishna. He was a very good fighter and a teacher (Guru) |
|
Srikrishna (name) |
God of romance. He is considered to be the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. Sri Krishna delivered Bhagawad Gita on battlefield to Arjun. Famous for his romance with 16,000 young girls known as Gopikas. |
|
Kalki (name) |
The tenth and the last incarnation of Vishnu expected to take place in Kali Yuga, the fourth or the last age of creation according to Hindu scriptures. |
The matter about these avatars is that, they have a very interesting contradiction within the concept.
Premise 1: Vishnu takes human form or the form of any other thing living on earth called as Avatar (incarnations) in order to kill the evil (according to a few scholars, to kill the Dravidians/south Indians) and to save the righteous (rather, the Aryans).
Premise 2: There are four long ages (epochs of time) known as Yugas. A) Sat Yug, B) Treta Yug C) Dwapar Yug and D) Kali Yug.
Premise 3: The world had 100% righteousness in the first yug (Sat Yug), 75% in the second (Treta Yug), 50% in the third (Dwapar Yug) and only 25% in the fourth (Kali Yug).
But, strangely enough, the Avatars have been in a ridiculous order. 4 Avatars have visited the earth in the first age where 100% righteousness was prevailing 3 Avatars have visited the earth in the second age where 75% righteousness was prevailing 2 Avatars have visited the earth in the third age where ONLY 50% righteousness was prevailing. But, surprisingly ONLY ONE AVATAR IS SCHEDULED FOR THE FOURTH AGE WHERE ONLY 25% RIGHTEOUSNESS WAS PREVAILING. AND THAT IS YET TO COME!
Brahma is the first person of the Hindu trinity. He is supposed to be the creator god. He has four heads and sits in a lotus flower. He is depicted as an old man in beard of about 100 years age. He is supposed to be the author of the Vedas. He married his own daughter, Saraswati.
Vishnu is the
second person of the Hindu trinity. He is shown like a man lying on a Snake
couch with his wife Laxmi (goddess of wealth) pressing his feet. It is he
whom the Hindus believe to take so many incarnations. Also, he is the same
one who became a woman temporarily, mated with Shiva and begat a son called
as Kumaraswamy.
Shiva is the third person of Hindu trinity,
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He has two wives. One is called as Parvati and the
second is called as RIVER GANGES!!!. Tandava reflects his violent nature for
the destruction of evil and danger. He is shown as being blacking color. He
carries a weapon, Trident called ‘Trishul’ in his hand. The word Trishul
comes by joining two Sanskrit words. Tri meaning three and shool meaning
spear. So, Trishul can be translated as he rides a bull known as Nandi.
Marriage, Execution and revival of the principal gods:
There is a strange story about the three principal gods. It goes like this. In the beginning was none of these so-called principal gods but one goddess by the name Adi Shakti, meaning, the first power. This Adi Shakti was a female. At first created Brahma, the creator god of Hinduism. She ordered him to marry her. He refused to do so. In turn, she kills him. Then she creates Vishnu, the sustainer god. Again, she kills him on being refusal to the marriage proposal. Then, she created Shiva, the destroyer god and proposed to him. Somehow, he knows the fate of the two previous gods. Hence, wise enough, he agrees to marry her subject to condition that; the two previous gods should be brought back to life. She agrees to the condition and brings them back to life. He marries her. Thus, the three principal gods have made a survival.
Venkateshwara is another god. He also has two wives. (According to the majority of the people, he is Vishnu himself). He falls in love with a woman by the name Padmavati. Her father refuses to give her in marriage until he pays him (mind you, not the bride) a certain amount. Poor as he was, had to borrow heavily from Kubera (lender to the gods!). He has to pay back the loan which he can’t. So, the Hindus go to his temple in TIRUPATI (south India) and give contributions in order to facilitate payment of interest. I
Ganesha – The son of Shiva’s wife Parvati. It so happened once that Shiva was out of home for a long period. His wife wanted to take bath. As there was none to guard the door (!), she made a small image of a boy with her Body Dirt! She appoints him to guard. Then, Shiva, her husband comes back to home and wants to enter the home. Poor Ganesha (supposed to be the god of knowledge) doesn’t know his father and stops him only to get head severed. The mother comes out and finds her son dead! Father (Shiva) cannot give life to the child. Finally, the head of an elephant is fitted to the body of the child. Hence, the strange shape! Man from feet to shoulders, elephant for the rest.
