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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
"The Vasudeva represents the ideal Jaina King, who protects the Jaina society but unlike the Cakracartin, is not so perfect as to be able to attain liberation in this life. The Baladeva, on the other hand, represents the detached layman who does not participate in the violence inherent in the broader society. Perhaps these two represent ideal types for the two elements that made up early and medieval Jaina society, the Kshtriyas and the Vaisyas. While the Ksatriyas sacrificed their own chances of liberation in this life time in order to maintain and further Jaina society, the Vaisyas stayed aloof from politics and warfare and sought to further both their own spiritual well-being and that of the Jaina society in general through strict adherence to ahimsa."
Encyclopaedia of Hinduism Nagendra Kumar Singh
BUDDHA
We have seen how Buddhism practically destroyed Brahminism. However with the resurgence of Hinduism which rose from the ashes of Vedism through gnostic-christian theology, the presence of Buddha remained a thorn to the Hinduism especially to Vaishanavism. Like expert syncretists Vaishnavites were able to abosorb Buddha as one of the incarnations of Vishnu.
They declared the Buddha as an avatara of Vishnu, some times around eighth century, as a verse to this effect from Matsya Purana is engraved in a monument at Mahabalipuram. The process seems to
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