Dashavatara
Part of a series on |
Vaishnavism |
---|
The Dashavatara (
The list of included avatars varies across sects and regions, particularly in respect to the inclusion of
The order of the ancient concept of Dashavataras has also been interpreted to be reflective of modern
Etymology
"Dashavatara" or "daśāvatāra" (दशावतार) means "ten avatars" or "ten incarnations":
List of Avatars
According to Swami Parmeshwaranand, although the avatars of Vishnu are countless in number and include hermits, Manus, sons of Manus, and other Devas (gods), due to the curse of a Rishi called Bhrigu most are only partial (i.e. incomplete) incarnations. The Dashavatara is a list of the ten complete (i.e. full) incarnations.[13]
Lists
Various versions of the list of Vishnu's avatars exist, varying per region and tradition.[7][8][9][14] Some lists mention Krishna as the eighth avatar and the Buddha as the ninth avatar,[14] while others, such as the Paripāṭal[citation needed] (c. 3rd-4th CE), which is the fifth of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature, and the Yatindramatadipika, a 17th-century summary of Sri Vaishnava doctrine,[9] give Balarama as the eighth avatar and Krishna as the ninth.[9] The latter version is followed by some Vaishnavas who do not accept the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu.[15] One list in the Mahabharata gives Rama (Bhargava), Rama (Dasharathi), Satvata (Krishna or Balarama),[2] the Tri-Rama. The Tantric Prapanchasara (attributed to Adi Shankara, but disputed,[16]) also omits the Buddha. Though no list can be uncontroversially presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna, Buddha."[2][3][4][5][6][note 1]
The following table summarises the position of avatars within the Dashavatara in many but not all traditions:[7][8][9][10]
Position | Krishna, Buddha [8][note 1] North Indian Bhagavatism, Sadh Vaishnavism, ISKCON[note 2][note 3] |
Balarama, Krishna [8][9] Smartism, Shaiva Siddhanta, Sri Vaishnavism[note 4] |
Balarama, Buddha [17] Gaudiya Vaishnavism, ISKCON[note 2][note 5] |
Balarama, | Krishna, Vithoba [10] Warkari Sampradaya[note 7] |
Yuga[8] |
1 | Matsya[8][9] (fish) | Satya Yuga[8] | ||||
2 | Kurma[8][9] (turtle, tortoise) | |||||
3 | Varaha[8][9] (boar) | |||||
4 | Narasimha[8][9] (man-lion) | |||||
5 | Vamana[8][9] (dwarf-god) | Treta Yuga[8] | ||||
6 | Parashurama[8][9] (Brahman warrior) | |||||
7 | Rama[8][9][note 8] | |||||
8 | Krishna[8][note 2] | Balarama[8][7][9] | Balarama[17][21][note 2] | Balarama[7][18] | Krishna[10] | Dvapara Yuga,[8] Kali Yuga in case of Buddha[8] |
9 | Buddha[8][note 1] | Krishna[8][7][9] | Buddha[17][21][note 1] | Vithoba[10] | ||
10 | Kalki[8][9] (prophesied 10th avatar who ends the Kali Yuga) | Kali Yuga |
-
Vishnu surrounded by his avatars; artwork by Indra Sharma
-
Hindu god Vishnu's ten major avatars (Balarama-Krishna version) Dasavatara shrine, 18th century ivory (National Museum, New Delhi). From top descending: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Balarama ; Krishna and Kalki.]]
-
Buddha; and Kalki
In the Puranas
The
Description of the avatars
- Matsya: The fish avatar. King Vaivasvata Manu finds a little fish in the palm of his hands when performing the tarpana (water-offering). The fish asks Manu if his riches and power was enough to give the fish a nice home. Manu keeps the fish to give it a home, but the fish keeps expanding, which breaks Manu's pride about his wealth. Eventually, he releases it into the ocean, realizing it is Vishnu himself. Vishnu informs Manu of the coming destruction of the world, by means of fires and floods, and directs Manu to collect "all creatures of the world" and keep them safe on a boat built by the gods. When the deluge (Pralaya) occurs, Vishnu appears as a great fish with a horn, to which Manu ties the boat, which leads them into safety.[34]
- as the churning shaft, which started to sink. Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to bear the weight of the mountain to allow them to complete their task.
- Bhumi, and carried it to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won. Varaha carried the earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in the universe.
- Narasimha: The half-man/half-lion avatar. Hiranyakashipu persecuted everyone for their religious beliefs including his son, Prahlada, who was a devotee of Vishnu. The boy was protected by the god and could not be killed, thus being saved by the several attempts of getting harmed.[35] Vishnu descended as an anthropomorphic incarnation, with the body of a man and head and claws of a lion. He disemboweled Hiranyakashipu, and brought an end to the persecution of human beings, including his devotee Prahlada.[35][36]
- Bali, with devotion and penance was able to defeat Indra, the king of heaven. This humbled the other deities and extended his authority over the three worlds. The gods appealed to Vishnu for protection and he descended as a boy Vamana.[37] During a yajna of the king, Vamana approached him and Bali promised him for whatever he asked. Vamana asked for three paces of land. Bali agreed, and the dwarf then changed his size to that of the giant Trivikrama form.[37] With his first stride he covered the earthly realm, with the second he covered the heavenly realm thereby symbolically covering the abode of all living beings.[37] He then took the third stride for the netherworld. Bali realized that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate. In deference, the king offered his head as the third place for Vamana to place his foot. The avatar did so and thus granted Bali immortality and making him ruler of Pathala, the netherworld. Vishnu also granted Bali a boon whereby he could return to earth every year. The harvest festivals of Balipratipada and Onam (which is mostly celebrated by people of all faiths within Kerala) are celebrated to mark his yearly homecoming. This legend appears in hymn 1.154 of the Rigveda and other Vedic as well as Puranic texts.[38][39]
- Badami, Karnataka
- . Rama travelled to Lanka, killed Ravana and saved Sita. Rama and Sita returned home and were crowned. The day of the return of Prince Rama to the kingdom of Ayodhya is celebrated in the festival of Diwali all over India.
- Krishna[14] (sometimes at 9 or "0") or Balarama:[9]
- Krishna was the eighth son of Nanda. A frequently worshipped deity in Hinduism, he is born to slay his tyrannical uncle, Kamsa. He is a major protagonist of the Mahabharata, most notably featured in his role as the charioteer of Arjuna in the Kurukshetra War. He embodies several qualities such as love, duty, compassion, and playfulness. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. Krishna is usually depicted with a flute in his hand. Krishna is also a central character in Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana, and the Bhagavad Gita.
- Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, is regarded generally as an avatar of Sri Vaishnava lists, where Buddha is omitted and Krishna appears as the ninth avatar in this list.[9]He is particularly included in the lists where Krishna is removed.
- Krishna was the eighth son of
- Buddha;[note 1] sometimes Krishna,[14] (sometimes at 8 or "0"), Vithoba,[10] or Jagannath.[18]
- Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, is commonly included as an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. Buddha is sometimes depicted in Hindu scriptures as a preacher who deludes and leads asuras and heretics away from the path of the Vedic scriptures, but another view praises him a compassionate teacher who preached the path of ahimsa (non-violence).[9][14][note 1]
- Krishna;[9] commonly at 8, sometimes at "0"
- In Hindu astrological almanacs.[10]
- In certain Odia literary creations from Odisha, Jagannath has been treated as the Ninth avatar, by substituting Buddha.[18]
- Kalki is described as the final incarnation of Vishnu, who appears at the end of each Kali Yuga. He will be atop a white horse and his sword will be drawn, blazing like a comet. He appears when only chaos, evil and persecution prevails, dharma has vanished, and he ends the Kali Yuga to restart Satya Yuga and another cycle of existence.[41][42]
Historical development
Matsyah Kurmo Varahas-cha Narasimhas-cha Vamana
Buddha Kalki-cha te dasa
The Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-lion, the Dwarf,
Parasurama, Dasarathi Rama, Balarama, Buddha and Kalki – thy ten.[43][44]
—Sanctum entrance, Adivaraha cave (7th century), Mahabalipuram;
earliest avatar-related epigraphy[45][46][note 11]
Buddha
The
The adoption of Buddha as an avatar in Bhagavatism was a catalyzing factor in Buddhism's assimilation into Vaishnavism's mythic hierarchy. By the 8th century CE, the Buddha was included as an avatar of Vishnu in several
Krishna
Jayadeva, in his Pralaya Payodhi Jale from the Gita Govinda, includes Balarama and Buddha where Krishna is equated with Vishnu and the source of all avatars.[58]
In traditions that emphasize the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom everything else emanates.
Thirty-nine avatars are mentioned in the
Jyotisha interpretation
The term "
From the
Buddha, from Jupiter that of Vamana, from Venus that of Parasurama, from Saturn that of Koorma (Tortoise), from Rahu that of Varaha [Boar] and from Ketu that of [Matsya] (fish) occurred. All other incarnations that these are through the Grahas. The beings with more Paramatmamsa [i.e. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha] are called divine beings'.— Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Translated by R. Santhanam (1984), Chapter 2, Verses 5-7[67]
Notably, according to the
The sun is the soul of all. The Moon is the mind. Mars is one's strength. Mercury is speech-giver while Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs semen (potency) while Saturn denotes grief.
Of royal status are the Sun and the Moon while Mars is the army chief. Prince-apparent in Mercury. The ministerial planets are Jupiter and Venus. Saturn is servant. Rahu and Ketu form the planetary army.— Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Translated by R. Santhanam (1984), Chapter 3, Verses 12-15[68]
Evolutionary interpretation
Some modern interpreters interpret Vishnu's ten main avatars as an ascending order from simple life-forms to more complex life-forms, and see the Dashavataras as a reflection, or a foreshadowing, of the modern
Bhaktivinoda Thakura proposed the following ordering of the Dashavataras:- Matsya - fish (Paleozoic era)
- Kurma - amphibious tortoise (Mesozoic era)[69][70]
- Varaha - boar (Cenozoic era)[69][70]
- Narasimha - man-lion, the last animal and semi-human avatar (Cenozoic era)[69][70]
- Vamana - growing dwarf and first step towards the human form
- Parasurama - an early man who started using primitive weapons like Axe
- Rama - an ideal hero, physically perfect, befriends a speaking vanara deity Hanuman
- Krishna - Vishnu incarnating as a God[69][70]
- Buddha - the founder of Buddhism, an enlightened man
- Kalki - the next step in evolution; yet to happen and the savior, and is like Christian Advent, which Madame Blavatsky believed Christians "undoubtedly copied from the Hindus"[69][70]
Blavatsky believed that the avatara-related Hindu texts were an allegorical presentation of
The Puranas speak of the different manifestations or incarnations of the Deity in different epochs of the world history. Lo! The Hindu Avatar rises from the lowest scale of life through the fish, the tortoise, and the hog up to the perfection of humanity. Indian Avatarism is, indeed, a crude representation of the ascending scale of Divine creation. Such precisely is the modern theory of evolution.[69]
Similarly Aurobindo regarded "Avataric Evolutionism" as a "parable of evolution", one which does not endorse evolutionism, but hints at "transformative phases of spiritual progress".[74] According to Nanda, the Dashavatara concept has led to some Hindus asserting that their religion is more open to scientific theories, and has not opposed or persecuted scientists midst them like the way Christianity and Islam has.[69] But, adds Nanda, Hinduism has many cosmological theories and even the Vaishnava one with Dashavatara concept does not explicitly teach evolution of species, rather it states an endless cycles of creationism.[69]
The Dashavatara concept appealed to other scholars. Monier Monier-Williams wrote "Indeed, the Hindus were ... Darwinians centuries before the birth of Darwin, and evolutionists centuries before the doctrine of evolution had been accepted by the Huxleys of our time, and before any word like evolution existed in any language of the world."[75] J. B. S. Haldane(British-Indian scientist) suggested that Dashavatara gave a "rough idea" of vertebrate evolution: a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a man-lion, a dwarf and then four men (Kalki is not yet born).[76] Nabinchandra Sen explains the Dashavatara with Darwin's evolution in his Raivatak.[77] C. D. Deshmukh also remarked on the "striking" similarity between Darwin's theory and the Dashavatara.[78]
Some Vaishnava Hindus reject this "Avataric Evolutionism" concept. For example, Prakashanand states that this apologeticism degrades the divine status of Rama and Krishna, unduly sequences Rama as inferior to Krishna, both to the Buddha. Rama and Krishna are supremely divine, each right and perfect for the circumstances they appeared in, states Prakashanand.[79]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu:
- Krishna, Buddha
- Bansal, Sunita Pant, Hindu Gods and Goddesses, p.27, "Vishnu Dashavatara";
- Dalal 2010, p. 112 "Dashavatara" Dalal: "The standard and most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is: [...] Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Kalki";
- Doniger O'Flaherty 1994, p. 175 Doniger: "Visnu is generally said to have had ten incarnations [...] Krsna [...] the Buddha."
- Flood 1996, p. 116 Flood: "...by the eight century the standard number of descent-forms in the Vaisnava Puranas is ten. These are [...] Krsna, Buddha."
- Klostermaier 2007, "Visnu Avataras" Klostermaier: "The most common tradition speaks of ten such avataras [...] Krsna [...] Buddha."
- Krishna 2010, pp. 28–29 Krishna: "Krishna [...] Buddha [...] There is a difference of opinion as to whether Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu [...] The alternative then is Balarama, Rama of the plough and elder brother of Krishna, who is listed after Rama, thereby removing Buddha and making Krishna the ninth incarnation."
- Leeming, David Adams, A Dictionary of Asian Mythology, p. 19, "Avatar"
- Lochtefeld 2001, p. 73 "Avatar" Lochtefeld: "Although there is some variation in the list of Vishnu's Avatars, the generally accepted list is as follows [...] Krishna, Buddha."
- Vaswani 2017, pp. 12–14;
- Wuaku 2013, p. 148
- Balarama, Buddha
- Nagaswamy 2010, p. 27
- Encyclopedia Britannica, Avatar
- Unspecified
- Holt, John Clifford (2008), The Buddhist Viṣṇu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture, p.14-15; p.372 note 9 refers to four Puranas which mention the Buddha in 9th position: Varaha Purana 4.2; Matsya Purana 285.6-7; Agni Purana 49.8; Bhagavata Purana X.40.22 and I.3.
- Krishna/Balarama, Buddha
- The Hare Krsnas, Incarnations of the Lord - Dasavatara - Ten Primary Visnu Incarnations. The Hare Krsnas refer to the eight avatar both as Krsna and as Balarama.
- ^ a b c d The Hare Krsnas, Incarnations of the Lord - Dasavatara - Ten Primary Visnu Incarnations. The Hare Krsnas refer to the eight avatar both as Krsna and as Balarama.
- ^ (Leyden 1982, p. 22): Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra.
- ^ (Leyden 1982, p. 22): Southern Deccan, Mysore.
- ^ (Leyden 1982, p. 22): Rajasthan, Nepal, Northern Deccan.[7]
- ^ prabhat Mukherjee: Orissa;[18] Leyden: West Bengal
Orissa.[7] - ^ Maharashtra, Goa.[10]
- ^ Donald J. LaRocca, Metropolitan Museum of Art, describes a katar with Rama-Krishna-Buddha, referring to Rama as Ramachandra, or alternately Balarama.[19] Yet, Hoiberg specifically states that Rama, as an avatar of Vishnu, is Ramachandra.[20]
- ^ In the Puranas:
- Agni, Chapter 49[22]
- Garuda (list 1), Volume 1, Chapter 86, Verses 10–11[23] (one of two lists)
- Linga, Part 2, Chapter 48, Verses 31-32[24]
- Narada, Part 4, Chapter 119, Verses 14–19[25]
- Padma, Part 7: 66.44–54; 71.23–29;[26] Part 9: 229.40–44[27]
- Varaha, Chapter 4, Verses 2-3; Chapter 48, Verses 17–22;[28] and Chapter 211, Verse 69[29]
- Skanda, Part 15: Reva Khanda: Chapter 151, Verses 1–7[30]
- ^ Garuda list 2, Volume 3, Chapter 30, Verse 37[31]
- ^ Some contemporary Hindus also argue that there were two Buddhas, a Puranic Buddha mentioned in Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24[subnote 1] who was the incarnation of Vishnu, and the historical Buddha, who according to them was not an incarnation of Vishna. They also argue that sugata is not an ephitet for Gautama Buddha, and that "Sugata Buddha" refers to the Buddha-avatar of Vishnu or "Adi Buddha". In this view, Sugata Buddha or Adi Buddha and Gautama Buddha were two different persons.[53][54] See also A Joint Declaration: Buddha Is NOT an Avatar of Vishnu.
- Subnotes
- ^ N.A. (1950). The Bhagavata-Purana. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. p. 29.
References
- ^ "Know About "The Dashavatara"~ 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism". NewsGram. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Dalal 2010, p. 112.
- ^ a b Lochtefeld 2001, p. 73.
- ^ a b Doniger O'Flaherty 1994, p. 175.
- ^ a b Klostermaier 2007.
- ^ a b Krishna 2010, p. 28-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Leyden 1982, p. 22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Vaswani 2017, p. 12-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Carman 1994, p. 211-212.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Pathak, Arunchandra S. (2006). "Junnar". The Gazetteers Dept, Government of Maharashtra (first published: 1885). Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
- ^ "Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Ten'". spokensanskrit.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit". spokensanskrit.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Swami Parmeshwaranand (1 January 2001). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas. unknown library. Sarup & Sons. pp. 131–132.
- ^ a b c d e Wuaku 2013, p. 148.
- ^ Krishna 2009.
- ^ Avalon1935, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Nagaswamy 2010, p. 27.
- ^ a b c d e f Mukherjee 1981, p. 155.
- ^ LaRocca 1996, p. 4.
- ^ Hoiberg 2000, p. 264.
- ^ a b Morgan (1987), p. 55.
- ^ J. L. Shastri, G. P. Bhatt (1 January 1998). Agni Purana Unabridged English Motilal (vol 1.). pp. 1–38.
- ^ N.A. (1957). The Garuda-Purana Part 1. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. pp. 1–6.
- ^ J.L.Shastri (1951). Linga Purana – English Translation – Part 2 of 2. p. 774.
- ^ N.A (1952). The Narada-Purana Part 4. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. p. 1486.
- ^ N.A (1952). The Padma-Purana Part 7. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
- ^ The Padma-Purana Part 9. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 1956.
- ^ N.A (1960). The Varaha Purana Part 1. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. p. 13.
- ^ The Varaha Purana Part 2. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 1960. p. 652.
- ^ N.A. (1957). The Skanda-Purana Part 15. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
- ^ N.A (1957). The Garuda-Purana Part 3. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
- ^ Subrahmanyam, S. V. (1911). The Garuda Purana. p. 62.
- ^ "The Garuda Purana: Chapter VIII. An Account of the Gifts for the Dying". sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ Lochtefeld 2001, p. 228-229.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7914-0800-1.
- ^ Lochtefeld 2001, p. 318.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7914-0800-1.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-1866-4., Wikisource of Griffith's translation Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0-19-971825-2.
- ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4.
- ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
- ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
- ^ Rao Bahadur H. Krishna Sastri (1926), Two Statues of Pallava Kings and Five Pallava Inscriptions in a Rock temple at Mahabalipuram, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, Volume 26, pages 5-6
- ISBN 978-81-86622-76-6.
- ^ a b K R Srinivasan (1964), Cave temples of the Pallavas, Archaeology Survey of India, Government of India, pages 166-175
- ISBN 978-81-87892-00-7.
- ISBN 978-0-19-569373-7.
- ^ a b Holt 2013, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Holt 2013, pp. 14–18.
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 116.
- ^ Holt 2013, p. 18.
- ^ Almond 1988, p. 16-18.
- ^ Bhakti Prajnan Keshava (2003). "Two Buddhas". Beyond Nirvana: The philosophy of Mayavadism: A life history. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications. pp. 42–49.
- ^ Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha. "Sri Buddha-Avatara". Dasavatara: Ten Manifestations of Godhead. pp. 184–197.
- ^ Holt 2013, p. 3.
- ISBN 978-81-85182-99-5.
- ^ Indian, History. "(Prabha IAS-IPS Coaching Centre - Indian History 2003 exam - "The crystallization Of the Avatara Concept and the worship of the incarnations of Vishnu were features of Bhagavatism during the Gupta period"". Arumbakkam, Chennai. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ "Orissa Review" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Religion of the Hindus By Kenneth W Morgan, D S Sarma p.55
- ^ Iconography of Balarama By N.P. Joshi p.25
- ^ Kennedy, M.T. (1925). The Chaitanya Movement: A Study of the Vaishnavism of Bengal. H. Milford, Oxford university press.
- ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0. Retrieved 21 April 2008."Early Vaishnava worship focuses on three deities who become fused together, namely Vasudeva-Krishna, Krishna-Gopala and Narayana, who in turn all become identified with Vishnu. Put simply, Vasudeva-Krishna and Krishna-Gopala were worshiped by groups generally referred to as Bhagavatas, while Narayana was worshipped by the Pancaratra sect."
- ISBN 0-275-99006-0
- ^ Schrader, Friedrich Otto (1916). Introduction to the Pāñcarātra and the Ahirbudhnya saṃhitā. Adyar Library. p. 42.
- ^ Sullivan 2001, p. 32.
- ISBN 978-90-04-03610-9.
- ^ Santhanam, R. Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra With English Translation (Volume 1). p. 23.
- ^ Santhanam, R. Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra With English Translation (Volume 1). p. 28.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-18791-7.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-1-136-48467-4.
- ^ Brahmo Samaj Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ Sen was a leader of the colonial era monotheistic Brahmo Samaj reform movement of Hinduism that adopted ideas from Christianity and Islam.[72]
- ISBN 978-1-136-48467-4.
- ISBN 978-90-04-18791-7.
- ^ "Cover Story: Haldane: Life Of A Prodigious Mind". Science Reporter. 29: 46. 1992.
- ISBN 978-81-908918-6-8.
- ^ Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh (1972). Aspects of Development. Young Asia Publication. p. 33.
- ISBN 978-1-136-48467-4.
Sources
- Almond, Philip C. (1988), The British Discovery of Buddhism, Cambridge University Press
- Avalon, Arthur (1935). Tantrik Texts Prapancha Sara Tantra Vol. XVIII. Arthur Avalon.
- Carman, John Braisted (1994), Majesty and Meekness: A Comparative Study of Contrast and Harmony in the Concept of God, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
- Dalal, Roshen (2010), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Penguin Books India, ISBN 9780143414216
- Doniger O'Flaherty, Wendy (1994), Hindu Myths, Penguin Books India, ISBN 9780144000111
- Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0
- Hoiberg, Dale (2000), Students' Britannica India: M to S : (Miraj to Shastri) - Volume 4, Popular Prakashan, ISBN 9780852297605
- Holt, John C. (2013), The Buddhist Visnu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-02311-3-3234
- Hughes, David Bruce, Śrī Vedānta-sūtra, Adhyāya 2
- Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2007), Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide, Oneworld Publications
- Krishna, Nanditha (2009), Book of Vishnu, Penguin UK, ISBN 978-01430-6-7627
- Krishna, Nanditha (2010), The Book of Vishnu, Penguin Books India, ISBN 9780143067627
- LaRocca, Donald J. (1996), The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery and the Decoration of Arms and Armor, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Leyden, Rudolf von (1982), Ganjifa: The Playing Cards of India, The Victoria and Albert Museum, ISBN 978-09052-0-9173
- Lochtefeld, James G. (2001), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume 1: A-M, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, ISBN 9780823931798
- Morgan, Kenneth W. (1987). The Religion of the Hindus. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0387-9.
- Mukherjee, Prabhat (1981), The history of medieval Vaishnavism in Orissa, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 9788120602298
- Nagaswamy, N. (2010), Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram), Oxford University Press
- Sikand, Yoginder (2004). Muslims in India since 1947: Islamic perspectives on inter-faith relations. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 978-0-415-31486-2.
- Sullivan, Bruce M. (2001), The A to Z of Hinduism, 2nd Edition, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-08108-4-0706
- Vaswani, J.P. (2017), Dasavatara, Jaico Publishing House, ISBN 9789386867186
- Wuaku, Albert (11 July 2013). Hindu Gods in West Africa: Ghanaian Devotees of Shiva and Krishna. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-25571-5.