Great Indian Religion

Author(s): G T Bettany
Publisher: Ward Lock Bowden and Co

Page 88

76
Lakshmi
MODERN HINDUIS.II. Not content with incarnations that have taken place, the Vishnuites look for a future descent which they call the Kalki avatar. He is to appear at the end of the Kali age (which began with his descent as Krishna), when the world has become utterly wicked, and will be seen in the sky, seated on a white horse, wielding a drawn sword, for the destruction of the wicked and the restoration of the world to purity.
We have not included Jagannath among the incarnations of Vishnu, both because it is believed that he is an
t appearance of Vishnu himself, and also because Jagannath.
agamall, it is probable that he was originally the god of a non-Aryan tribe adopted into Hinduism. It is a sight of this god that is so vehemently desired, whether as he is bathed or dressed, or being drawn on his car. Chaitanya, the reformer, is another incarnation of Vishnu, according to the popular notion, although he lived in
www. almost modern times. Lakshmi, the wife of
San Vishnu, is very considerably worshipped as the goddess of Love, Beauty, and Prosperity. She is represented as of a bright golden colour, seated on a lotus, and having only the ordinary number of arms.
Siva, the destroyer, is naturally represented as of a stern and vindictive disposition; but yet this is com
Siva, the patible with his being regarded as a beneficent destroyer. deity. Death being the transition to a new form of life, the Destroyer is truly the Re-creator, and this accounts for the meaning of his name—the Bright or Happy one. Siva is exclusively a post-Vedic god, though he has been identified by the Hindus with the Rudra of the Vedas, and numerous features of Siva's character and history are developed from those of Rudra. In the Ramayana, Rudra (Siva) is represented as marrying Uma, the daughter of Daksha; it is this same Uma who is much more widely known under the names of Parvati, Durga, and Kali. It is stated that a great quarrel arose between Siva and Daksha, his father-inlaw. In this quarrel Uma gave herself voluntarily to the flames, and became a sati (suttee), and was reborn as Parvati. Siva then became an ascetic, living with