Revisit the significance of <i>Avatāravāda</i>

Abstract

The concept of avatāra or incarnation of the God in different forms is a unique feature of hindu theology. The general purposes of avatārhood are twofold- Protection of the ardent devotees of God and destruction of the evil. The conception of avatāra exists in the Semitic religions also. It is slightly different from that of Hinduism. There the Almighty instead of appearing Himself, as in Hinduism, sends his messengers in the form of Messiah, Son or Prophet. Generally, in Hinduism upholding the dharma is the recognised purpose of the avatārhood. However, our modern Indian thinkers‟ view is far beyond from the classical view. They describe the nature and purpose of avatārhood in spiritual and secular terms and not in religious terms. In this paper, an attempt is taken to revisit the significance of avatārhood. Methodology is simply descriptive and analytic.