The author has made a concise effort to discuss the concepts of avatar from sociological and epistemological contexts with references to Bhagavadgita and the Puranas. This is a good introductory book for anyone interested in understanding as how concept of avatar influenced Hindu thought and its tradition in terms of its polytheistic nature. Lord Vishnu is known to be the savior and protector of dharma and he is known have appeared in nine avatars and the tenth avatar (Kali form) is yet to come. The nine avatars are; Varaha, Tortoise, Boar, Narasingha, Dwarf (Vamana) Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, and Buddha.
The avatar concept explains that one god is worshipped in different forms because the Lord took many forms, shapes and sizes to combat the evil and save humanity from death and destruction. In this process he taught the path of dharma and devotion to man. Implementing the dharma in a world of sins is the central philosophy of the avatar concept. It is a revival of faith in the authority of God Almighty. This is illustrated in Bhagavadgita 4:7, Lord Krishna says; “Arjuna! Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, and the rise of unrighteousness, then I embody myself.” In Bhagavadgita 4:8; Krishna says “I am born from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evil-doers and for establishing dharma (righteousness) on a firm footing.” The whole universe is the manifestation of the Lord according to Gita 10:41, “Every creature is glorious, brilliant or powerful, know that to be a manifestation of a spark of my effulgence.” Referring to His universal self, He says that “He who sees Me (the universal Self) present in all beings and sees all beings exists in Me.” This implies that the Supreme Lord is everywhere in spacetime through his manifestation. The purpose of avatar according to the Gita is two fold; to uphold the dharma and to lead the human mind from the vicious circle of ignorance to knowledge. There are two aspects of the divine birth. One is descent, the Godhead losing into the human form and the other is ascent, the transformation of man into Godhead: The man gradually rising into the divine form and the absolute consciousness.
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