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Home > Temples of Kerala > Minor Incarnations of Lord Vishnu Minor Incarnations of Lord VishnuMinor Incarnations of Lord VishnuHindu mythology abounds in stories of Lord Vishnus Avataras, which may be purnavataras (full manifestations) like Sri Krishna, Amsavataras (partial manifestations) like Kapila or Avesavataras (temporary infilling of the divine power) like Parasurama. A few of these may now be dealt with. DattatreyaHe was the son of the great sage Atri and his wife Anasuya, one of the paragons of chastity in Hindu mythology. He was the originator of certain magical rites and the creator of the soma plant. He was a teacher of non Aryan people. Association with people of low birth and objects of pleasure, has made him ritually impure. But learning and enlightenment have made him so pure that nothing can ever stain him. Being the incarnation of the Trinity, he is shown as having three heads, four hands and accompanied by four dogs of different colours which represent the Vedas. The Dattatreya concept may be an attempt at harmonizing the three cults of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. It may also have been the medium through which non vedic cults were brought into Hindu fold. DhanvantariDhanvantari rose from the ocean, at the time of churning, holding the Amrta kalsa (pot of ambrosia) in his hand. He is the originator of medical sciences. Reborn as the king of Kasi he brought medical science to the earth. Vedas also mention a Dhanvantari, a god associated with herbs and medicines. He is described as a handsome person holding the pot of ambrosia and seated in front of Vishnus insignias. Hayagriva or HayasirsaYajnavalkya, the great sage, lost the Yajurveda as a result of his Gurus curse and performed sever penace. Sun god, pleased by his penace, appeared before him as a deity with the horse’s head and taught him the same veda in another form. This section has come to be known as the Vajasaneyi Samhita (Vaji = horse). The origins of the Hayagriva Avatara (the deity with the horses head) are perhaps found here.
Two demons Madhu and Kaitabha had stolen the Vedas and hidden them under water. Lord Vishnu took the form of Hayagriva, dived into the bottom of the ocean and rescued them after killing the demons. Hayagriva is the god of learning, akin to the goddess Sarasvati. He is shown in the human form, with the horses head, possessing four or eight arms, carrying the various weapons and emblems of Vishnu. KapilaKapila, son of Kardama and Devahuti was a great sage who reduced to ashes the sixty thousand sons of the king Sagara, just by a glance. Probably this story is at the back of his being identified sometimes with Agni. He taught Sankhya philosophy to his mother. Kapila icons usually have the hair dressed up as a crown (jata mukuta), a beard, four arms, two of which are in Yoga holding a pitcher and the other two holding Sankha and Chakra. MohiniAt the behest of the gods who had been deprived of the ambrosia by the demons during the churning of the ocean, Lord Vishnu appeared as Mohini, the enchantress, who successfully duped the demons and distributed the nectar among the gods. Even Siva is said to have been bewitched by her beauty. The story teaches us that immortality (Amrtatva) can be gained only by the conquest of delusion (Moha). Mohini is shown as a beautiful young woman wearing colourful garments, decorated with ornaments and carrying a vase of nectar in hand. Nara NarayanaAfter the purpose of Narasimha avatara was accomplished, Narasimha split himself into two, the lion part becoming the sage Narayana and the human part the sage Nara. Nara and Narayana then retired to Badarikasrama for performing austerities. When Indra tried to seduce them through celestial nymphs, Narayana produced the nymph Urvasi from his thigh (uru = thigh) who was more beautiful than all of them put together. According to another version, these sages were sons of Dharma and Ahimsa. They performed severe austerities and successfully vanquished the demon Sahasrakavaca (one who has a thousand armours). These sages were reborn later as Sri Krishna and Arjuna. This story has an important lesson for us. Every one of us is a mixture of the human and the divine elements. The anti human and the anti divine demon is ever attempting to seduce us with his thousand wiles. To successfully vanquish him, we need to perform Tapas or austerity.
Nara Narayana is represented either as a single person or as two persons. In the former case the icon may have two or four arms carrying the Japamala (rosary) or the usual emblems of Lord Vishnu. In the latter case, Nara may be shown as having two heads and two arms and wearing the deer skin. Narayana is depicted with the usual four arms carrying the emblems Sankha, Chakra, Padma and Japamala. VyasaVyasa is a cosmic entity born in every age to propagate the scriptures. The sage Krishna Dvaipayana, the son of Parasara is the well known Vyasa of this age. He got that name since he collected all the extant Vedic hymns and divided them (Vyas = to divide) into the four Vedas. He is the author of the great epic Mahabharata as also all the Puranas (mythologies) and the Brahmasutras. In images, he is shown as of slender build, dark in complexion and with the hair dressed up as a crown. His four disciples Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu are also shown by his side. YajnaVishnu has been identified with Yajna or sacrifice in early Vedic literature. The Bhagavata calls Varahavatara as Yajna varaha and identifies his limbs with the various parts of sacrifice. In other mythological lore, he as Yajnesa, is described as the son of Ruci and Akuti. The entire universe which is in a constant state of flux is like a sacrifice and the Lord responsible for this creation is looked upon as the personification of that sacrifice. Hence he is Yajna or Yajnesvara. His image has two heads, seven hands, three legs and four horns. The hands carry the sacrificial implements like Ajyapatra (vessel holding the ghee) Sruk, Sruva and Juhu (various kinds of spoons and ladles), apart from Sankha and Chakra. Obviously this is a symbolical representation, the various limbs representing the various items of the sacrifice. Article courtsey : Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Chennai. Related Reading
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