Re: Info. on daSAvatArAlu

Prabhakar Vissavajjhala (vissa@cortex.neuro.mssm.edu)
Tue, 7 Jan 1997 12:58:00 -0500 

venkat chalasani (chalasan@bc.edu) writes on 1/7/97

>Hi! and happy new year (belated) to all the telusa-sciters. I needed some info
>on the dasAvatArAlu.

>1. can some one check and confirm the list in terms of order?
> matsya            kUrma     varAha       narasimha        vAmana
>
> paraSurAma      rAma      krishNa      buddha                kalki
>

>2. I am not sure about the exact stories and the anti-heroes of the first 4 and
>the 10th (though the 10th is supposed to kill everyone who is bad).
>Similarly, I
>donot have the info on the names of the father, wife and kids of budda.

>I will be grateful if some can send me the info. I need the exact names as I am
>looking at writing a paper on this.
_______________________________________________________________

Rather than an info.-providing reply, this is more a info. seeking one,
especially regarding 'buddha'.

'buddha' (originally named as 'gaUtama siddhArdha') was supposedly born in
500 years B.C. in lumbini gardens (can't be sure of its geographical
location today. But it was in India). The father was king 'SuddhOdhana' and
mother was 'mAyAvati'. As the legend had it, based on some of the
astrologers' predictions, his father brought him up in an extremely-happy
filled environment, without letting him know what is the misery of/in life.
However, after marriage (wife: yaSOdhara) once, gaUtama realized the
miseries of human life and left the kingdom and went in search of finding
the solutions for the same. He successfully returned as 'buddha'. As the
legend had it, by that time yaSodhara tries to persuade him to get into the
family-routine, which obviously he abandoned, he had a son named 'rAhul'.

Coming to my point, 'buddha' opposed some of the 'vEdic' traditions' of his
time (especially animal sacrifice during 'yAgAs') and preached 'ahimsa' one
of the most imortant principles of 'buddhism'.  Hence, 'buddhism' emerged
in contrary to 'vEdic' religion. So, the info. I seek now is, who was the
pioneer, to place 'buddha' among the ten incarnations (daSAvatArAs) of
'vishNu' a vEdic god, when 'buddha' is anti-vEdic? Certainly, this is not
done by 'buddhists' as they neither believe in god, nor they would have
been interested in projecting 'buddha' that way. If so, it would have been
done by a 'Hindu'. Certainly, one may quote the 'ashTapadi' of jayadEva
(praLaya payOdhijalE) describing the 'daSAvatArAs'. However, I strongly
believe that jayadEva (12th century A.D. of Orissa) was not the pioneer to
do that.  So, who was that great and sensible soul to put 'buddha' among
'dasAvatArAs of vishNu' for the first time?

Also, were the terms 'vEdic' religion and 'Hindu' religion are *primarily*
the same? Or they were different? If so, what is the difference and when
did this change occur?

With regards,
Prabhakar Vissavajjhala