Rama and the Early Avatars of Vishnu

2019-08-03 Religion

Author : Swami Achuthananda
Release : 2019-08-03
Genre : Religion
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 345/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Rama and the Early Avatars of Vishnu by : Swami Achuthananda

Download or read book Rama and the Early Avatars of Vishnu written by Swami Achuthananda. This book was released on 2019-08-03. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full-blown trade wars, nuclear threats, attacks on nation's sovereignty...are we dangerously at the crossroads of a world war that may even threaten entire humanity? Maybe we are, but fear not. Hindus believe that whenever cosmic balance is threatened, Vishnu descends into the world as an avatar of change. "I am born age after age," says Krishna (Vishnu) in the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu has many avatars, but his top ten avatars are special and known as the Dashavataras. In this volume, we enter the most exciting part of Hindu mythology--the Dashavataras--and discuss the early avatars of Vishnu. The avatar saga begins with a wicked demon stealing the Vedas while Brahma is sleeping. Vishnu takes the form of a giant fish and not only saves the Vedas but rescues mankind from a great deluge. As we progress through the avatars, you will come across Prahlada, whose story offers a shining example of the extent to which Vishnu would go to protect his devotees. In another incarnation of Vishnu, a generous king called Bali is dispatched to the netherworld for being too ambitious. While ambition is a virtue, not vice, this may seem unfair to the people of Kerala who hold Bali in high esteem. But Vishnu makes amends by bestowing the gift of longevity on Bali. Next, the axe-wielding Parashurama, a Brahmin by birth, embarks on a mission to exterminate the warrior caste from the face of Earth--and largely succeeds until he bumps into another avatar of Vishnu. The highlight of this volume undoubtedly is Rama, the hero of the Ramayana and a name that is synonymous with dharma (religious duty). About half the book is dedicated to Rama as we dissect Ramayana in detail, particularly the controversies. Although Rama is famous for defeating the ten-headed demon king of Lanka, it seems he waged a bigger battle with the dictates of dharma--and lost. We meet the monkey-faced Hanuman for the first time in this book. He is closely associated with Rama and highly revered among Hindus. Also in the Ramayana, we encounter one of the ultimate villains of Hindu mythology--the mighty Ravana. Even though Ravana abducted Rama's beloved wife, Sita, you will be surprised to know that not everyone regards Ravana as an antihero. In fact, at the end of the Ramayana, we are left with many bitter, thought-provoking questions that are debated even today.

Vishnu

2011 Hindu gods in art

Author : Joan Cummins
Release : 2011
Genre : Hindu gods in art
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 086/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Vishnu by : Joan Cummins

Download or read book Vishnu written by Joan Cummins. This book was released on 2011. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vishnu -- Hinduism's most important and powerful deity -- is the great Preserver, vanquishing those who seek to destroy the balance of the universe. For his followers he is also the Creator and the Destroyer, the cause of all existence. His many traits are embodied in his impressive physical form, the weapons he carries, the goddesses who are his consorts, and the eagle Garuda, on whom he flies down from heaven. In Hindu legend, Vishnu descends to earth in many manifestations, known as avatars, to fight powerful demons and to save his devotees. The avatars range in form from Varaha the boar to Parashurama the Brahmin warrior, and in character from Narasimha the ferocious half-man half-lion, to Krishna the charismatic prince-cowherd. The legends of Vishnu have inspired some of the greatest art, literature, and ritual traditions in India. This catalogue examines the many faces of Vishnu and the ways that the god has been represented, from antiquity to the present. Essays by noted historians of South Asian art delve deeply into the regional and sectarian traditions of Vishnu worship in India. Illustrations and discussions of almost 200 works of art, in a wide range of media and borrowed from collections around the world, reveal the rich diversity of India's art and religious culture.

First Five Incarnations of Vishnu

2022-12-10 Juvenile Fiction

Author : Samarth Pange
Release : 2022-12-10
Genre : Juvenile Fiction
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 076/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis First Five Incarnations of Vishnu by : Samarth Pange

Download or read book First Five Incarnations of Vishnu written by Samarth Pange. This book was released on 2022-12-10. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ten most elegant incarnations of Lord Vishnu. He appeared on earth to bring certain revolutionary changes in the habitat of the living and harmony amongst the people. "Puranas‟ mention the stories of Lord Vishnu and all his Ten Avatars‟. The ten appearances of Vishnu are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki (the incarnation yet to come). In this book we are going to read about the first 5 incarnations in short stories and their valuable lessons.

The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma

2018-08-27 Religion

Author : Swami Achuthananda
Release : 2018-08-27
Genre : Religion
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 337/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma by : Swami Achuthananda

Download or read book The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma written by Swami Achuthananda. This book was released on 2018-08-27. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Hindu mythology, Brahma has a lifespan of 100 years. That may appear way short for a god of Brahma’s standing . (He is the creator of our solar system.) But Brahma and Hindu gods do not follow our traditional 24-hour clock. They represent time in cosmic units of yugas and kalpas. If you don’t understand any of these terms, that’s ok. A kalpa, for instance, is defined as a day of Brahma and translates to 4.32 billion human years. In fact Brahma has a lifespan of 311 trillion years! We explain these colossal timescales, as we introduce Brahma in this book. You will learn that Brahma initially was the supreme deity of Hinduism, but he could not hang on to his position for long. A judgmental lapse is said to have caused his downfall. With Brahma’s descent, Vishnu rose to power. Today, in the Hindu pantheon, Vishnu is a prominent god, and has a following of more than 700 million devotees, who are occasionally identified by the U-shared marks on their foreheads. With a focus on Vishnu and Brahma, we continue our journey beyond the Vedic era. We begin by examining a popular creation myth in which Brahma emerges from the navel of a sleeping Vishnu and starts crafting the world. Further on, we explore the churning of the milky ocean, a crucial event in Hindu mythology and one of the rare occasions when gods and demons collaborated (instead of fighting) to search for the nectar of immortality. Many precious things—and surprises—came out this quest, including Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and consort of Vishnu. We also get to know a critical insight into our ancestry. According to Hinduism, we are all related and descendants of Manu, the father of human race. While this book focuses on Brahma and Vishnu, there will be occasional detours when we pause to look at art and architecture. In particular, we’ll look at Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world. Guess what? The fact that Angkor Wat is located outside India has dented Hindu pride from time immemorial. We’ll also peek at ancient paintings from a mythological perspective, especially the unique genre of miniature paintings called ragamala that combines art, music, and poetry. A remarkable shift in worship took place during this period. Bhakti became a major form of worship and pervaded Hindu society forever. If you are unfamiliar with bhakti, then nothing exemplifies bhakti (devotion) more than the dancing-and-chanting Hare Krishnas.

Dashavatar

Fiction

Author : Piyusha Vir
Release :
Genre : Fiction
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Dashavatar by : Piyusha Vir

Download or read book Dashavatar written by Piyusha Vir. This book was released on . Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know that each avatar of Vishnu arrived with a specific purpose? Time and again, Vishnu has manifested in different forms to fulfil his role as a ‘protector’ of the world. Among the long list of 24 avatars, ten avatars have captured our imagination for centuries together—matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshuram, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki. But how exactly did these avatars impact the society? And how do they link to the Charles Darwin theory of evolution? While each avatar has its own set of legends that extoll their characteristics and deeds, the stories behind them are just as interesting and informative. Presented in a contemporary and unbiased perspective, these stories of the ten avatars of Vishnu are an attempt to make mythology more believable and relevant to the world that we live in today.

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