Avatar

Avatar is from the Sanskrit avatāra (Devanagari: अवतार), formed from ava (down) and the verbal root tṛ (to cross over)[1]. The literal sense is descent or crossing down, naming the descent of the divine into embodied form[1]. The term appears in classical Hindu literature, especially Vaishnava texts, to describe forms in which Vishnu enters the world to restore dharma[2]. The English word avatar, now widely used for digital personas and online identities, comes directly from this Sanskrit term through 19th-century translations of Hindu texts[3].

the concept is often associated especially with Vishnu, but its theological meaning differs from Christian ideas such as incarnation.

In Vaishnava tradition, Vishnu has ten principal avatars (the dashavatara), including Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, and (depending on the list) Buddha and the future Kalki[2]. Rama and Krishna are the most religiously and culturally significant, with the Ramayana and Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita) telling their stories at length[4]. Each avatar appears at a specific moment of cosmic need to restore right order[5].

The doctrine of avatara is not uniform across Hindu traditions[2]. Some Vaishnava theologies treat the avatars as full and complete manifestations of Vishnu; others distinguish between partial and complete avatars, or between avatars and amshas (portions)[2]. Shaiva and Shakta traditions develop their own theologies of divine manifestation, often using different terms[2].

Outside Vaishnavism, the term avatar is sometimes applied loosely to spiritual teachers or to historical figures revered by their communities as divine descents[4]. Some 19th and 20th century movements (Swaminarayan, certain forms of guru devotion) treat their founders as avatars in a more or less classical sense[4].

Comparative theology has long compared the Hindu doctrine of avatara with Christian incarnation, often noting both the similarities (divine entry into the world) and the differences (multiple descents in classical Vaishnavism versus a single unique incarnation in classical Christianity)[2]. Religious studies scholarship by Diana Eck and others has explored avatara doctrine within its Vaishnava context[6]. Modern Hindu thinkers including Aurobindo and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan have offered philosophical interpretations of avatara that engage with contemporary thought[7].

• Banaras: City of Lightby Diana L. Eck
  book
• The Bhagavad Gitaby Eknath Easwaran (translator)
  primary source