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HINDU ICONOGRAPHY
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incarnation (Vämana), and to great heroes, endowed with many superhuman qualities.
The doctrine of Vishnu's incarnations satisfied the great need of a people for a religion of faith in a personal God, 'for a God sympathising with humanity and meeting it in its need. It expresses the desire for a divine deliverer, amid the evils and miseries of life.'
Seven Divine Rishis (the Mānas-putrās or mindborn sons of Brahmä) along with their wives were also saved and these repopulated the world afterwards.
In plastic representations of the incarnation, Vishnu appears as half-fish and half-man, the lower half being fish. In his four hands he carries the conch and wheel and two hands are in the hoongiving and protection mudrās. He wears a kirtla crown and the other usual ornaments.
H. THE TORTOISE INCARNATION (THE KURMA
AVATARA)
ICONOGRAPHY (Pls. 5-10) Vishņu should be seated on Garuda (Eagle). He has one face and four or more arms. He carries in his right hands an arrow, a rosary, a club; and in his left hands a hide, a cloth and rainbow. He also holds a chakra (wheel) and gadā (mace).
The chakra represents rotation of the world, as also the Wheel of Dharma, the Wheel of Time and the Wheel of the Planets.
Garuda is the mind pervading the bodies of all the creatures. There is nothing quicker and stronger than the mind.
Vishnu's eight hands symbolise the four quarters and the intermediate directions.
Sankha (conch) represents the sky, chakra the air, gadi the light and padma (lotus) the waters.
VISHNU'S INCARNATIONS
The gods of the Hindus were constantly engaged in wars with the demons. The demons practised severe austerities, obtained all kinds of boons from the gods, and then fought with them. On one such occasion when the demons were triumphant, the gods implored Vishnu to help them regain their lost power. Vishnu advised the gods to make peace with the demons and unite with them in churning the ocean to produce the nectar (Amritā) that would make them immortal. Thereupon, the gods made peace with the demons (Asuras), collected all kinds of plants and herbs and threw these into the ocean. Then they lifted the great Mandāra mountain and used it like a churning rod, using the serpent Vasuki as the rope. But the earth began to sink under its weight. So Vishņu assumed the form of a giant tortoise and got underneath the Mandāra mountain. His huge back served as base on which the mountain could pivot. Out of the churning of the ocean came the nectar that brought immortality and power to the Gods.
In representations of this incarnation, Vishnu is shown as half-tortoise and half-man, the lower half being tortoise. He carries in two hands the conch and the wheel, while the other two hands are in the boon-giving and protection attitudes.
Vishnu's incarnations are normally ten, but sometimes are said to be upto twenty-two or more (see Tables). Different texts mention different names. The ten most generally accepted are as follows: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varāha (boar), Narasimha (Man-lion), Vāmana (dwarf), Paraśurāma, Dasaratharama, Krishna, the Buddha, and Kalki which is yet to come.
. THE FISH INCARNATION (MATSYA
AVATARA)
III. THE BOAR INCARNATION (THE VARAHA
AVATARA)
The sacred books of the Hindus frequently refer to the story of the Great Flood that devastated the world. The account greatly resembles the flood described in the Book of Genesis. Vishnu, the Preserver, appeared in the form of a great fish and rescued Manu, the progenitor of the new human race. Like Noah, Manu was chosen on account of his great piety in an age of universal depravity.
Various accounts of the flood are given. The Puranic accounts tell us that besides Manu, the
Vishnu took the form of a boar to save the Earth-goddess Prithvi from the clutches of the demon Hiranyaksha. During the Great Flood, the earth was submerged under the water. This posed an imminent threat to all life on earth. At such a crucial moment, Vishnu took the form of a huge boar and diving into the deep water, slew
