Significance of the Dasavataras1 MatsyaavathaaraThe story of Mathsyaavatara is as follows:Hayagreevaasura took the Vedas when Brahma was supposed to be sleeping and hid them under the sea. Lord Vishnu assuming the form of a large fish retrieved them Now, Hyagreevaasura represents the men of wicked or perverted intellect who influence others and cause the extinction of the wisdom of the Vedas. The word hayaa in Sanskrit has ,besides horse , another meaning, a class of men, kaashta thulya vapur dhrshtah mithyaachaarascha nirbhayah, of strong build like wood , corrupt and fearless. Vedas being immersed in the ocean , Wisdom and Dharma submerged in adharma due to the absence of the guidance of the Vedas require Divine Grace in the form of pure intellect sarvajna which is represented by Mahaamathsya the Great Fish, which becomes all pervading, sarvavyaapi, in order to protect Dharma and Vedas.Yathaa mahaamathsyah ubhe koole anusancharathi poorvam cha aparam cha –says Brihadhaaranyaka Upanishad. When the intellect is limited it is full of doubt and confusion, running here and there like a small fish swimming alternately between the two banks of the river. But the same intellect, when it becomes all pervading, being established in Brahman, Absolute Reality, is firm and unaffected by the cross currents of samsaara, transmigratory existence, Mahaan chaasau mathsyascha naadheyena srothasaa ahaaryah and saves the world from destruction.2.Koormaavathaara.When devaas, the celestial beings and the asuraas, their perpetual enemies were fighting the loss of lives on the part of devaas was immense and they wanted to churn the Milky Ocean to get amritha, nectar which will give them immortality. As instructed they carried Mandhara mountain with the help of the Lord Vishnu and started churning the Milky Ocean, using Vaasuki, the serpent as the rope. When they found the mountain sinking they appealed to Vishnu. He assumed the form of a tortoise and entering the ocean supported the mountain on His back. This was describe as the incarnation of the tortoise, koormaavathara.Amrthamathana the churning for nectar signifies the emergence of wisdom jnaana by churning the mind. Mandhara is the firm resolve to do so which requires the help of God to keep it firm. The ocean of milk is the mind full of turbulence inside but complacent on the surface out of tamas ,inertia. Snakes stand for desires and Vaasuki ,the king of snakes is the king of all desires, mumukshutwa, desire for moksha. The lord helps at every step, carrying the mountain, supporting it on His back, churning along with them and entering into them to give them strength and enthusiasm. This implies that we need His guidance in all our ventures, at every stage of spiritual progress. The anaadhi vaasanaas, the impressions gathered through several lives which are the root cause of samsara, have to be expelled first, which is the Halaahala the fierce poison that comes out of the Milky Ocean at first. This is swallowed by Siva, who is the god of destruction. This mathana, churning , is happening all the time, mind being agitated by the good and bad impulses, when both come to surface one by one. The good things that came out of the ocean like Airaavatha the divine elephant,, Uchchaisravas the divine horse, the kalpavriksha, wish- giving tree are all the various siddhis , powers that come during the spiritual discipline. Devaas were warned against aspiring for these as they impede progress.Before the emergence of amritha Goddess Mahaalaksmi, Sri, came out, who is the symbol of Divine Mercy of the Lord , without which the amritha cannot be obtained. That is why, She was chosen by the Lord as His consort. We cannot have Sri, good fortune, by mere wish and even if She comes She does not stay But when we pray to Her as the Purushakaarabhootha the mercy of God , Mahaalakhmi favours through the grace of the Lord and she stays permanently with the one who adores Her as being the dweller in the heart,hrdhayakamalavaasini of Lord Naaraayana.Lastly amritha, nector, comes. Amritha means immortal. It is the knowledge of Brahman which leads to Self-realisation. But at the last minute before it is assimilated it is confiscated by the asuraas, evil impulses which implies that a spiritual aspirant should be alert till the end. As said in Bhagavatgita, Indhriyaani pramaatheeni haranthi prasabham manah , the senses are forceful and carry the mind away in an unguarded moment. We should never feel complacent about our progress because this may give rise to madha,pride or aalasya, indolence which will undo all that has been achieved so far.Bd thoughts can never be defeated by good thoughts unless Lord Naraayana overpowers them and weakens them through His Maya ,signified by His Mohini Avathaara, in which He deluded the asuraas and gave the amritha to the devaas. .Koorma stands for the intellect established in Brahman, sthithaprajna, which fecilitates the mathana, churning of the mind.3.Varaahaavathaara.The asura Hiranyaaksha took the earth and hid it under the ocean and Lord Vishnu assuming the form of a boar retrieved it and placed it back. The word hiranya means gold and aksha eyes. The one who has his eyes on the gold is a hiranyaaksha The hiranyabuddhi in contrast with bhagavatbuddhi denotes a materialistic outlook which envelopes the whole world eclipsing bhagavatbuddhi, the spiritual outlook. The whole world becomes immersed in materialism. The mahaavaraaha, the Big Boar is also vrishaakapi, dharma incarnate. Bhaagaavthapuraana describes the Varaaha as Yajnavaraaha, the embodiment of yajna. This idea is also presented in Bhagavatgita in chapter 3, where the Absolute Reality Brahman is said to be established in yajna. Thus Mahaavaraaha alone could save the world from hiranyabuddhi.The earth was described as looking like a small ball on the tusk of the Varaaha implying that for those with bhagavatbuddhi the material world is thuchcha, of no value. The oceans were only knee deep for the Varaaha, the wild boar, who was fierce looking for the wicked but gentle to the devotees.Hiranyaaksha and his brother Hiranyakasipu, kasipu meaning food and clothing, stand for materialism.It is said that both of them were the guards at the gate of Vaikunta the abode of Lord Vishnu and were cursed to be born as asuraas. They take birth as brothers for three times. Even though the Lord killed them both in one incarnation when they were born as Raavana, Kumbhakarna and as Sisupaala ,Dhanthavakra, He needed two incarnations, namely that of Varaaha and Nrsimha to kill them as Hiranyaaksha and Hiranyakasipu, who personify madha, arrogance, and krodha, anger respectively. Of the six internal enemies of man, Ravana stands for kaama, desire, Kumbhakarna for moha, delusion and Sisupaala and Dhanthavakra represent maathsarya envy and lobha, avarice. This shows that it is more difficult to conquer anger and arrogance than the others.4.NrsimhaavathaaraHiranyakasipu, the brother of Hiranyaaksha, wanted to avenge his brother’s death and went in search of Lord Hari but could not find Him, not knowing that the Lord cannot be found except through bhakthi. Thinking that Hari, Lord Vishnu was hiding from him out of fear he went away to do penance and obtained a boon that he will not meet his death by animal or humans, night or day, in the house or outside and by any weapon. He forgot the Mastermind of all and thought that he had conquered death. Through the grace of the sage Naaradha his son Prahlaadha became a great vishnubhaktha which provoked his anger. Hiranyakasipu tried to change his son but could not do so and tried to kill him by various means.. But the Lord protected His devotee and finally killed Hiranyakasipu satisfying all the conditions of his boon.Prahlaadha denotes bhagavatbhakthi which is hindered by hiranyabuddhi. When the true devotee is persecuted by the materialistic world the Lord manifests as a man-lion for the protection of His bhaktha. Hiranyakasipu’s boons signify the dhvandhva, the pair of opposites, the presence of which can never destroy the enemy within and without. The desire for gold, represented by Hirnyakasipu can only be quelled a dhvandhvaatheetha, the intellect that has transcended the pairs of opposites, sukha-duhka, joy and sorrow, laabha- alaabha, gain and loss, jaya –ajaya , success and failure. Nrsimha is described as na mrgam na maanusham , which does not mean that He is half man and half lion but that He is indescribable, being the Supreme Reality.5.VaamanaavathaaraMahabali the asura king was arrogant with power and vanquishing the devas confiscated devaloka. On the request of Adhithi, the mother of the devas Lord Vishnu was born as her son Vamana the name given on account of his small stature as a Brahmin boy. He went to Mahabali, where the asura king was performing yajna and asked him to give land that can be measured by three footsteps. Mahabali amused at the request of this dwarflike Brahmin boy, tried to coax him to ask for more but seeing that he was determined started to give him what he asked for despite the warning of the asura guru, Sukraachaarya , who realized the true identity of Vamana. The next moment Vamana became Trivikrama assuming His cosmic form. The Lord as Trivikrama measured the earth with one foot and the sky with another and demanded space for His third foot. Mahabali, humbled, showed his head and The Lord placed His foot on Mahabali’s head and sent him to Paathaala, the world under, and made him the ruler of Paathaala. Since Mahabali was a devotee and also the grandson of Prahlaadha, he was not killed but blessed by the foot of the Lord on his head and also received the honour of the Lord Himself becoming his guard in his abode in Paathaala.Vamana is the jnanaswarupa , thw embodiment of wisdom. Before the emergence of jnana, all virtues like dharma and dhana serve only to swell the pride of the doer But when the heart is filled with devotion, there arises jnana in a diminutive form as a vamana. Even a devotee could become inflated with pride over his services and offerings to the Lord, forgetting that what he offers has been given to him by the Lord Himself. This is the initial stage of bhakthi which, when ripened into self surrender ,attains the attitude vasudevassarvam , seeing everything in Him and Him in everything. Then the jnana becomes all encompassing like Trivikrama. To such a devotee the Lord is ready to do his bidding.6.ParasuramavathaaraParasurama was a partial avathaara as the divinity manifested only at the time of his destruction of kshatiryas .Parasurama ,so called because his weapon was parasu, axe, rooted out the kshatriyas under the pretext of avenging the murder of his father by Karthaviryarjuna because they were following the path of adharma. After uprooting them Parasurama gave the earth he has conquered to sage Kasyapa and retired beyond the ocean.Parasurama signifies the yogi who has rooted out the inner enemies like kaama and krodha which are portrayed by the kshatriyas. When sattwa rises to the surface there is peace ,denoted by the gift of the earth to Kasyapa. The axe of Parasurama is viveka and vairagya, discrimination and detachment, armed with which one can conquer the inner foes. The incarnation comes to an end on the occasion of the meeting between Parasurama and Rama when the Lord assumes back His powers.7. RamaavathaaraRama was the incarnation of the Lord in human form as the son of Dasaratha, king of Ayodhya, in order to kill Ravana and Kumbakarna , who were born for a second time as asuras according to the curse of sanakaadhi rshis, while they were guarding Vaikunta as Jaya and Vijaya. He had to be born as a human being since Ravana was given the boon that he could not meet his death from any other being. When Dasaratha was compelled by Kaikeyi to send Rama to forest and Seetha and Lakhsmana accompanied him, Ravana abducted Sita and got killed by Rama for his misdeed.Dasaratha, meaning one with ten chariots represents man carried away by the ten indriyas, sense organs, and his wivesKausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra stand for bhakthi, karma, and jnana respectively. Rama as Valmiki says, was vigrahavan dharmah , dharma incarnate. Dharma has its root in Vedas and the purport of the Vedas is Paramatma, the Supreme Self. So, Rama is thus shown to be none other than the Lord. Lakshmana denotes Artha, the second purushartha which should always follow dharma ,the first. Bharatha implies Moksha, and satrugna indicates the third purushartha, Kama which must be always about Moksha, the fourth purusharthaWhen the man , Dasaratha gets attached to karma, without jnana, he becomes bound by it Desire motivated karma, Kaikeyi is instrumental in banishing dharma, Rama from the kingdom. The reluctance of Dasaratha to do so denotes the conscience of man which makes him guilty in doing something he should not do but bound by his attachment and desire he becomes week and succumbs to the temptation as a result of which he faces destruction.Sita and Rama are the jivatma and Paramatma as depicted in Upanishad as two birds which are one in reality.Dvaa suparnaa sayujaa sakhaayaa , of which one wanders away from the other eating fruits sour and sweet while the other simply looks on from above Thayorekah pippalam svaadhu atthi anasnan anyah abhichaakasithi.. When the former, jiva, climbs up and up while eating the fruits and nearing the other realizes that it is just the shadow of the one above, the Paramatma and .merging with it becomes free from sukha and duhkha and enjoys infinite bliss.Sita relinquishing the comforts of the royal palace accompanied Rama to the forest which shows that the real happiness of the jiva is to be with the Paramatma and not in enjoying the sensual pleasures which are mixed with sorrow, As long as the jiva remains with the Lord it is enjoying infinite bliss. But the moment the jiva is tempted by the pleasures of the world, like the desire of Sita for the golden deer it gets separated from the Lord when the ten indriyas represented by the ten headed Ravana carries the jiva away and the jiva is imprisoned in Lanka which is the sarira and becomes surrounded by the sorrows of the samsara, the rakshasis of Asokavana. The jiva never realizes that the world is asokavana , a garden without sorrow in reality and only due to the ignorance of the jiva it appears as a sokavana, a forest of sorrow until the acharya helps to unite the jiva with the Lord.The golden deer stands for the desires of the world, the most dangerous being that of gold, wealth Once it enters the heart one is carried far away into the land of demons, surrounded by the sea of samsara. Hanuman coming to the rescue of the grieving Sita signifies the acharya who is instrumental in uniting the jiva with Isvara, the Lord. The ordeal of entering the fire for Sita is the anthahkaranasuddhi, purification of the mind and intellect through bhakthi when the ignorance is destroyed and the jiva gains back its original state. Vibheeshana, the good brother of Ravana stands for sattva, while Ravana depicts rajas and Kumbhakarna, tamas. With the help of sattva , rajas and thamas, metaphorically potrayed as rakshasaas, are conquered.Lakshmana, was supposed to be the incarnation of Adhisesha, the thousand hooded serpent who served as the bed of Lord Narayana. He never leaves the Lord. Sesha means one who is the property of and dependent on the seshi for whose purpose he exists. The lord is the seshi and all beings are His seshas. Of them Adhisesha as his name indicates is the oldest because he existed with The Lord forever. The thousand hooded serpent is only our mind with thousand thoughts and when they are all with the Lord it becomes AdhiseshaThus the epic Ramayana was a drama enacted by the divine in order to teach man how to live .Rama lived like a man, expressed His feelings like a man but His divinity could be discernible to those who had insight like Vasishta and Visvamitra. Even when Rama was depicted as being engrossed with the grief of separation from Sita it only indicates that the Lord is as sorrowful, if not more, when a jiva goes astray and takes the necessary steps at the right time to bring it back into the fold. Thus even His retribution is for redemption.8.BalaramaavathaaraIt is difficult to distinguish Balaramaavathaara from that of Krisna as Balarama was the elder brother of Krishna and they were together in all their exploits.Balarama being the incarnation of Adhisesha has been elevated to the status of being the eidhtth avathaara because of his super human powers and hence considered to be Samkarshana, one of the four vyuha forms of Lord Narayana. The plough and the mace, the weapons of Balarama are viveka and vairagya respectively, by which he ploughs the mind and breaks the shackles of desire.9.KrishnaavathaaraIt is a voluminous task to point out the allegorical significance of the Krishnaavathaara because from His birth Krishna proved to be the Jagatguru each and every episode of His life is pregnant with meaning as already made out in the explanation of the Radha Krishna concept at the beginning of this page. So it deserves a separate page altogether. As Krishna Himself says in the Gita, janma karma cha me dhivyam evam yo vetthi tatthvathah, “It is very rare to find someone who has perfectly understood My birth and deeds,” It requires an insight to understand the greatness of the Krishnaavathaara. He says in Gita, avajaananthi maam moodaah maanusheem thnumaasritham, “they are fools who consider Me as a mortal and superimpose on Me the common failings of men.” It requires a full account of Krishnaavathaara to understand His message.Krishna never lived, felt and acted like an ordinary human being. The Divinity was manifest through out and hence it is not proper to judge His doings from our standards. The popular saying that one dhould live as Rama did but act like Krishna said is a misconception. He manifested Himself in Devaki and was not born to Devaki and His childhood exploits of killing the asuras depict only the destruction of evil impulses in man. Later His punishing the Kauravas and helping the Pandavas only means that the Lord will always be on the side of dharma and being the karmaphaladhatha, He sees to it that the miscreants suffer the result of their actions. This is the meaning of Krishna’s wprds in Mahabharatha, aham Pandava pakshapaathi , “I am partial to Pandavas.” Thus to comprehend the significance of Krishnaavathaara one has to go deep into the Dasamaskandha of Bhagavatha, which is a Herculian task This will be examined in a link page later.The word Krishna itself has deep significance krishirbhoorvaachakah nasthu nirvrthivaachakah nithaantham nirvthah krishnah ithi vishnoh krishnanama, krsh means the earth and nakaara stands for infinite happiness and hence Lord Vishnu is known as Krishna. Brahman is defined as sat,chit,ananda and among the incarnations Rama represents the sat aspect, Vamana the cit and Krishna the ananda. Everything about Krishna is nothing but pure unalloyed joy.10.Kalki avathaara.Nothing much is known about this incarnation as it is yet to take place. As He is supposed to destroy evil forces by wielding a sword, it could possibly mean jnana asi, sword of wisdom, which kills the ajnana, ignorance , root cause of all evil.The Vedas teach by injunction, the Ithihasa like Ramayana and Purana like Bhagavatha advise in a friendly manner.A wise man will learn a lesson from every incident that happens in his life and all the stories in the epics are to be considered as great treasures left to us so that we can learn valuable lessons from them
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