They come down to the earth in the form of man or any other creature, and live there till the purpose for which they have descended in the world is fulfilled, writes Dr Asha Goswami
The concept of avataras or God in flesh has marked a wonderful imprint in the development of a religious thought all over the world while it forms a prominent feature of Indian theism. The truth behind this belief proclaims that God descends from heaven in the form of any creature or man for serving the world.
Before we proceed deciphering the mystery behind the purushavataras, which however form one of the varied categories of avataras, it behoves proper to trace the general implication of the term avatara. Formed from the Sanskrit root ‘tri’, this term implies ‘the’ act of divine assuming the form of man or animal and living on earth in that form. Its equivalent English term ‘incarnation’ derived from the root ‘carnis’ meaning flesh too suggests repeated entry of the Almighty into the physical or fleshy covering.
Thus, lord’s repeated manifestations into the world as purushavataras or otherwise to cure it of its evil be treated as the avataras specifying God’s act of coming down to the earth in the form of man or any creature and living there in that form till the purpose for which he had descended in the world was fulfilled.
Indian theism from olden times centres round the notion of avataras. Its origin be traced back to the Vedic thought of henotheism implying that one God Agni is the same as Gods Varuna, Mitra, Indra and Aryaman — “Ekam sudviprah bahudha vadanti”.
The same notion further developed in the Upanishads in the form of theistic dogma that the supreme being manifests in various forms. Afterwards in Bhagavad Gita, it developed in the form of belief in the avataras of Krishna for the purpose of protection of the good ones and destruction of the evil doers and establishment of the righteousness.
According to some thinkers, Krishna is the first avatara of Vishnu and thereafter there was constant increase in the number of Vishnu’s avataras. Next they are stated to be innumerable ‘asamkheyayaah’ when there developed a notion about the purushavataras representing the renowned prophets, teachers , preachers, writers, musicians, and artists of the age. The survey of the past Indian theism reveals that such a notion came into origin after the Gupta age when Krishna was not only reckoned as the avatara of God Vishnu but was treated as God himself who through his sublime manifestations as vibhutis could assume simultaneously many aavesharupas titled as purushavataras which however represent the personified powers of God Krishna. These include all the descents of the Almighty wherein he takes possession of persons and turns them into poets, writers, prophets, and kings of the highest order for the betterment of mankind, as is also proclaimed in the Vedic mantra “Yam kaamaye tam tamugram Krinomi tam brahmanam tamrishim tam sumedhaam”.
Such purushavataras or super men of posterity include Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Sanatkumara, Narada, Valmiki, Vyasa, Buddha, and Mahavira. It is thus evident that the doctrine of avataras with its background in the Vedas gradually developed and at an advanced stage when the symbolic and allegorical tinge was added to it, all the great men termed as purushavataras of various kinds and various grades were thus conceptualised.
The Indian tradition has a belief that the manifestations of such avataras takes place when the conditions of the universe demand, and that God’s avataras are part of great world plan and the time or Mahakaala acting as great mover and main force brings forth these avataras. Hence, the Puranas relate the manifestation of the avataras with the time divided into four Yugas. Another crucial point associated with the avataras is that they must proceed from Vishnu, one of the trio Gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva),’ which be explained by deciphering the concept of God Vishnu. Basically, Vishnu represents the personification of the life force sun, which tends to be more close to the worldly beings and being useful to them in manifold ways thus impersonates as avataras of various grades on earth. Hence, the Puranas hail that Vishnu being their saviour for their benefit occasionally visits them in human or other forms as successive avataras. Besides, the Sahajiya cult of Krishnabhakti has inculcated another avatara theory in this regard according to which every enlightened man on earth has within him the essence of Krishna; that Krishna does not only signify a religious concept but an embodiment of exhilaration and supreme joy, who resides in every awakened human heart which longs for him and thus serves as the earthly abode of Krishna as bliss incarnate.
Hence, in the Sahajiya terminology too, all men of excellence in any field may be deemed as purushavataras of God as he shows his grace on those he loves. This makes explicitly clear that the Indian tradition sees no gap between the human and divine as it hails “that the Godhead is not only fundamental in religion but also exists in man, nature, cosmos, and the social strata, and the devas correspond to the organs of the body and are present in the individual as well as (in the form of forces of nature) in the universe; “Yatha pinde tatha brahmande”.
In the same context, Upanishads also add another ideology that the individual souls are one with the Almighty and the supreme soul “Ayam aatma brahma ; aham brahmaasmi.” Atharvaveda even goes to the extent of maintaining that ‘the absolute abides in man’s body which is Pura hence the latter is called purusha or the man’. Thus, the inherence of supreme in man proves him as purushavatara of the God since supreme being exists hidden in him; he has to only awaken this divinity by developing spiritual qualities, expressing larger insights regarding social cause and emerge as a perfect example of purushavatara and prove the presumption that the exaltation of the human to the level of Godhead and his union and fellowship with the divine is possible.
Finally let us in one voice with Vivekananda state that the purushavataras come into being “where the self is burnt where Nataraja dances, where Jehova speaks out of whirlwinds, where the Quran proclaims, “la ilaha ill-Allah”.
The writer is a noted Indologist and authority on Krishnaite studies