Vamana
Vamana is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, the preserver god in the Hindu trinity. He appeared in the form of a dwarf in the Krita Yuga. Here he petitioned the demon king Bali to permit him possession of all the land he could cover in three strides. With this condition in place, Vamana transformed back into Vishnu in his cosmic form and covered the earth and the sky in two steps, then banished Bali to the underworld with the third step.
Vamana in the Context of the Avatar Doctrine
Avatar, from the Sanskrit term literally meaning "descent", refers to an appearance of the divine in the realm of material existence. Through the power of maya ("illusion" or "magic"), it is said that God can manipulate forms in the physical realm, and is therefore able to assume bodily forms and become immanent in the empirical world. Although many Hindu gods are said to have avatars, the term is most ubiquitously related to Lord Vishnu, of whom Vamana is an incarnation. Hinduism states that the Absolute can take on innumerable forms and, therefore, the number of avatars is theoretically limitless; however, in practice, Hinduism recognizes ten major avatars, collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' ('dasa' in Sanskrit means ten). Scriptural lists of these ten divine manifestations frequently differ, however, the most commonly accepted has Vamana preceded by Matsya, a fish; Kurma, a turtle; Varaha, a boar and Narasimha, a man-lion hybrid; and followed by 6) Parasurama, a man bearing an axe; Rama, a noble man; Krishna, the teacher of the Bhagavadgita; Buddha, a spiritually enlightened being and Kalkin, the tenth and final avatar who has yet to arrive. These avatars usually take physical form for the purpose of protecting or restoring dharma, the cosmic principle of order, when it has devolved. Krishna explains this in sloka 4.7 of the Bhagavad Gita: "Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness O Arjuna, I send forth Myself." Vishnu's tenure on earth typically involves the performance of a particular series of events in order to instruct others concerning the path of bhakti (devotion) and ultimately leading them to moksha (liberation). The avatar doctrine is a seminal concept in certain forms of Hinduism, particularly Vaishnavism, the sect which worships Vishnu as the Supreme God.
Mythology
Vamana entered into creation as a response to the tyranny of Bali, great grandson of the Hiranyakshipu and the reigning king of the demons. By his acts of sacrifice, Bali became incredibly powerful, overtaking Indra so as to attain rulership over the cosmos. Indra and the gods begged Vishny to come to their rescue, due to the fact that the demons were about to overrun the universe. Aditi, Indra's mother, asked that Vishnu to be born of her for purposes of killing Bali. Vishnu complied, being born to her as Vamana, a dwarf. Once he had reached boyhood, the dwarf went to Bali and begged his charity. Shukra, the priest of the asuras warned Bali that he was indeed dealing with the incarnation of Vishnu. Nonetheless, Bali agreed to give Vamana anything he wished to have, considering this visitation by an incarnation of Vishnu to be a great honour. Vamana requested that Bali reward him with a piece of land equal to three of his strides, upon which he could sit and meditate. Confident with the small size of Vamana's stride, Bali gladly rewarded him the condition of his request. Vamana promptly grew in size and covered the earth, the heavens and the midworld in two strides. There was no space left for the third stride, so Vamana placed his foot on the head of the demon king and pushed him into the nether regions, so he could serve as monarch there. Thus, the world was saved from the tyranny of the asuras. The three strides taken by Vamana in this story are thought to represent the rising, culmination and setting of the sun.
Depiction
Vamana is typically depicted as a small man, the first of the fully human avatars. He typically has two arms or else four. His two-arm variation depict Vamana before his transformation into VIshnu Trivikrama features one arm extended in supplication, begging for alms. The other hand carries an umbrella or a waterpot (kamandalu). His four-arm variation carries the typical symbols of Vishnu: a shankha, a chakra, a padma and the gada, and occassionally arrows. Tucked under one of his arms is a danda, or stick. He wears an Upavita cord or a deerskin around his waist. He has a shikha, a tuft of hair, on his head. In his ears he wears a pair of earrings upon his ears which are significant, since the form of a murti or icon, Vamana is associated with a devotee's left or right ear. His third finger bears a ring made from grass. He wears yellow clothers and a lion cloth. He is dark in colour or black. Depictions which focus upon the myth in which Vamana takes three steps to reclaim the universe are called Trivikrama; in this form he is shown with one leg raised as if taking a step, and he is sometimes golden in colour if not his usual black.
Significance
As a dwarf, Vamana may have symbolized an early, underdeveloped state of humanity at the beginning of the Treta Yuga. In contrast to more ferocious avatars such as Narasimha, Vamana uses intelligence and trickery rather than harsh measures in order to conquer evil. Through a cunning strategem, Vamana is able to overcome his diminutive size in order to uphold the dharma. The story of the three steps is one of the most famous in Hindu mythology, and with good cause: as a creation myth, in upholds important symbolism which originates in the Rg Veda. The three steps maintain the three divisions of reality in Hindu cosmology, sky, earth and underworld, and this myth illustrates Vishnu's ability to preside over all three realms.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bassuk, Daniel E. Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: the myth of the god-man. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1987. ISBN 0391034529
- Gupta, Shakti. Vishnu and His Incarnations. Delhi: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1974.
- Mitchell, A.G. Hindu Gods and Goddesses. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1982. ISBN 011290372X
- Parrinder, Geoffrey. Avatar and incarnation: the Wilde lectures in natural and comparative religion in the University of Oxford. London: Faber, 1970. ISBN 0571093191
