Avatāra

From Theosophy Wiki
Revision as of 14:38, 3 April 2012 by Pablo Sender (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Avatāra (devanāgarī: अवतार) is a Sanskrit word meaning "descent", and in Hindusim refers to a deliberate incarnation of a deity or supreme being on earth.

In H. P. Blavatsky words:

Avatâra (Sk.) Divine incarnation. The descent of a god or some exalted Being, who has progressed beyond the necessity of Rebirths, into the body of a simple mortal. Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu. The Dalai Lama is regarded as an avatar of Avalokiteswara, and the Teschu Lama as one of Tson-kha-pa, or Amitâbha. There are two kinds of avatars: those born from woman, and the parentless, the anupapâdaka.[1]

Notes

  1. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 44.

Further reading