Question: Would the children of two Avataras (Rama and Sita) be considered Scions, or just mortals? (Lava and Kusha)
Ooh, neat question!
We would consider children of Hindu avatara to function just like the children of Scions who have not yet achieved apotheosis; their parents could never make them Scions since avatara can't get that high in Legend, but their "grandparents" - that is, the god who the avatar belongs to - could. Lava and Kusha could be called to become Scions by either Vishnu or Lakshmi, or left to live out their lives as mortals. As we can see from their city-founding exploits, the two probably were Hero-level Scions.
However, the Avatara boon depends on a goddess not interfering with her avatar, and that includes any children she might have borne. If she wants to involve herself in that child's life by admitting she's his real mother, she will likely lose the benefits of the Avatara boon and have to create a new avatar to spread her legend on earth.
Showing posts with label avatara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avatara. Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Dashavatara
Question: You mention Kalki as Vishnu's tenth and final Avatar in his writeup, but I counted, and there's only eight others mentioned. Did you forget an Avatar? Narasimha perhaps?
Well, damn - you're right. The writeup mentions Matsya the fish, Kurma the turtle, Varaha the boar, Vamana the dwarf, Parasurama the trickster, Rama the warrior, Krishna the teacher and Buddha the deceiver, but lacks a ninth figure.
Hindu theology actually disagrees on the ten most important avatars of Vishnu; he appears in many more than ten figures, and depending on the time period and sect many of them are considered more or less important on a situational basis. Narasimha, the rampaging lion-man who killed the invincible asura Hiranyankashapu is one of the most popular options, but there are several others, including Balarama, the first creation and protector of his brother Krishna, Vithoba, the enabler of poetic devotion, Jagganath, the war-leader of Orissa, Hayagriva, the horse-headed slayer of the identically-named demon Hayagriva, and Mohini, the enchanting dancer who tricked Bhamasura into killing himself.
Personally, I'm more inclined toward Narasimha and Mohini, as they seem to be the most universally noted in Hindu myth and many of the other avatars on the list are specific to a particular sect or area. What do you guys think?
Well, damn - you're right. The writeup mentions Matsya the fish, Kurma the turtle, Varaha the boar, Vamana the dwarf, Parasurama the trickster, Rama the warrior, Krishna the teacher and Buddha the deceiver, but lacks a ninth figure.
Hindu theology actually disagrees on the ten most important avatars of Vishnu; he appears in many more than ten figures, and depending on the time period and sect many of them are considered more or less important on a situational basis. Narasimha, the rampaging lion-man who killed the invincible asura Hiranyankashapu is one of the most popular options, but there are several others, including Balarama, the first creation and protector of his brother Krishna, Vithoba, the enabler of poetic devotion, Jagganath, the war-leader of Orissa, Hayagriva, the horse-headed slayer of the identically-named demon Hayagriva, and Mohini, the enchanting dancer who tricked Bhamasura into killing himself.
Personally, I'm more inclined toward Narasimha and Mohini, as they seem to be the most universally noted in Hindu myth and many of the other avatars on the list are specific to a particular sect or area. What do you guys think?
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