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Thread: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

  1. #1
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    Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Why is it that you never hear about Matsya, Varaha, Vamana etc. The only ones people seem to talk about are Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

  2. #2

    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Quote Originally Posted by BloodyRose3000 View Post
    Why is it that you never hear about Matsya, Varaha, Vamana etc. The only ones people seem to talk about are Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.
    Namaste!
    You will get many valid answers on this. I will summarize what I personally believe, based on reading of the scriptures and personal observation.
    There are a few reasons why some avatars are focused on more than others. One reason is that Nrisimha, Rama, and Krishna (I don't know of any temples dedicated to Buddha or Kalki) are all what are called "purna avatars", or basically, "descents [of Vishnu in which he] manifests most or all of his divine attributes". On the other hand, avatars such as Matsya, Kurma, Parashuram, etc... are "shakti avesha avatars", or basically, "descents of Vishnu in which he manifests only one or a few of his powers".
    Nrisimha, Rama, and Krishna also give substance to the very human need of justification for human emotion. Nrisimha offers protection; Rama offers law and order; Krishna offers divine love. Of course, all avatars of Vishnu offer all of these things to varying degrees, but those avatars are almost the epitome of these feelings.
    Nrisimha, Rama, and Krishna are the forms of Vishnu most associated with forms of Lakshmi as well, and worship of the Divine Mother is very popular in Hinduism. It's kind of like if you were given the option of putting a picture of your father by himself on your mantle, or a picture of your father with your mother. It would make sense that you would choose an image of both of them to give a place of honor, rather than a picture of just one of them.
    You have to remember that the forms of Vishnu are innumerable (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.26; Bhagavad Gita 4.7-8). It's just a lot simpler to choose a specific form to focus on instead of focusing on all of them.
    I hope this has helped somewhat, and I'm sure another devotee would be able to clarify the reasons a lot better, but these are just my observations! Happy searching and good luck!

  3. #3

    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Hare KrshNa

    Another thing is - there is a huge Varaha mUrti in the south of India, and there is also a KUrma temple somewhere, but these are very few.

    KRshNa is a pUrNa-avatAr, but more, He is avatAri. Some siddhanta-s will tell you that He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the original source who expands into His svayam-avatars as well as into others.

    However, to keep in mind that KRshNa, NArAyaNa and all direct VishNu-avatars are indeed VishNu-tattva.

    You will also see a slight difference between Shri RAm-lIlA and Shri KRshNa-lIlA.

    KRshNa is a complete form of Divine Love, and is known as Purushottama - the Supreme Person, but also lIla-purushottam. He is the king of pastimes, lIlA.

    KRshNa's sweetness and approachability devoid of His majestical qualities makes Him the most appealing.

    He has all 6 opulences of wealth fame beauty renunciation knowledge strength in infinite amounts. This is why KRshNa is the Supreme Absolute Truth.

    Shri KrshNa is extolled by the Shrimad BhAgavatam as pUrNa purushottam BhagavAn.



    Buddha is also VishNu avataar, who had descended for delivering those who do not want to bother with Bhagavan, or His existence. Devotees are not interested in the Buddha avataar.


    Kalaki is yet to come in the future - again with a purpose to anhilliate the evil elements at the end of Kali-Yug - when the world is as bad as it can get, and 'inaugurate' Sat-Yuga.


    om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya~
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Quote Originally Posted by BloodyRose3000 View Post
    Why is it that you never hear about Matsya, Varaha, Vamana etc. The only ones people seem to talk about are Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.
    Namaste

    I think Sri Rama and Sri Krushna are the most popular Sri Vishnu avatars because they are in human form.

    Hari Aum
    Last edited by R Gitananda; 14 October 2012 at 02:08 PM.
    With our ears may we hear what is good.
    With our eyes may we behold thy righteousness.
    Tranquil in body, may we who worship thee find rest.

    AUM Peace Peace Peace

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Namaste

    Yes Ram and Krishna resemble humans, but do not forget the very popular but much different forms of Nrisingha and Jagannath.

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Varaha is a very popular avatar - one cannot forget his temple in Tirupathi and how all devotees worship him before visiting Balaji. Sri Nammazhwar is said to be an ardent devotee of the lord who took the entire earth between his tusks.

    Vamana may not be popular but the avatara where he has grown to his full-blown size - Thrivikrama - is popular and there is a temple dedicated to him in TamilNadu - a divyadesam. (I believe there are actually quite a few temples and all are famous).

    I also read somewhere there is a temple in North India dedicated to Kurma avatara. (Incidentally I saw a beautiful picture of the sculpture in Bangkok airport of Samudra Manthana and Kurmavatara...).

    Although there maynot be any known temples for Matsyavatara and so forth, they are planetary devataas and hence many remedial measures for planetary problems are directed towards reciting the slokas for all the 9 avataras of Vishnu.

    Hope this is of some help.

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Namast,

    BR, this is a very good question, and some excellent responses have been given so far. No, there are not as many devotees of Viṣṇu's earlier incarnations, and you're right, we don't hear about them much. Besides the reasons given in other posts above, I think this has also to do with the ability of people to relate to them.

    It seems, when we read about them, that avatāras like Matsya incarnated for a single great purpose; they appear, and then their story ends with the achievement of that great goal. And to my knowledge, we do not have direct words from them. We have, rather, the example of their actions - the three strides of Vāmana, for example, and the story of Mahābalī's impetuousness and Viṣṇu's grace - and meditation upon these actions may teach us much.

    With the later forms like Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, though, we have incarnations with a full lifetime upon the earth, who had families and friends and the entire range of human experiences, and who left us their teachings and conversations as well as their examples. And stories, too, stories people remember, for stories speak to us and embed lessons deep within our mind; even the tales we hear as young children, we remember long after most of our school lessons are forgotten. When we endure hardship, we may look to the many facets of these avatāras for guidance: finding hope in their words, or a feeling of sympathy and understanding in their stories, or a valuable lesson in their instructions. They speak to us both in our daily lives, and in the profound depths of meditation.

    Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. I will conclude by offering something useful: for the benefit of those who would, or do, worship any of the incarnations in earnest, a list of temples is given here.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    I have become very attached to Lord Narasimhadeva in His fierce and calm moods. I believe He helps destroy my own inner demons; He strengthens my faith. I believe He is there when I need Him most. His gayatri

    Om Ugra Narasimhaya vidmahe
    Vajra nakaya dimahe
    Tanno Nrsimha prachodayat

    invokes His fierce form, compared to His 'regular' gayatri

    Om Narasimhaya vidmahe
    Vajra nakaya dimahe
    Tanno Nrsimha prachodayat

    I am drawn to Him and Sri Krishna most, less so to Sri Rama. I do not feel I know Him that well. This is ironic because I am very much a believer in the rule of law, justice and law and order, and duty, unpleasant as it may be. Hmm... maybe it is He I should meditate on. Wow, that was like a thunderbolt that just hit me.
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Vanakkam;

    Jainarayanji, I have a question please,

    Isn't "dangerous" or not advised to meditate on or to worship on Sri Narasimha ? This is really a question from an ignorant, not an order or anything else. It's because I've seen many people saying, regarding to deity looking fierce "Don't worship/meditate/say mantra of this deity without Guru saying so !"

    So, I am a little confused, as Sri Narasimha is a deity looking fierce !

    Aum Namah Shivaya
    ~Aum Namah Shivaya~

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    Re: Do people worship the early incarnations of Vishnu the way they worship Krishna?

    Namaste McKitty.

    I think one can unleash very strong energies when one doesn't know how to control them. I don't use His gayatri, in fact, I don't chant a mantra to Him, I just pray for deliverance from evil forces and ignorance, and guidance.

    A prayer I use is:

    "I offer my respectful obeisance unto Lord Narasimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon-like desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world."
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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