Essay name: Vaishnava Myths in the Puranas
Author:
Kum. Geeta P. Kurandwad
Affiliation: Karnatak University / Department of Sanskrit
The essay studies the Vaishnava Myths in the Puranas by exploring the significance of the ten principal incarnations of Lord Vishnu as depicted in various ancient Indian texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas. The research also investigates the social, political, philosophical, and religious impact.
Chapter 5 - Iconography of Vaishnava Avataras
7 (of 51)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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with his two lower hands in the Yoga-mudra and the other two
holding the disc and the mace.
Some of the later Sanskrit texts have described the image of
Kurma in its anthropomorphic form. According Sri Tattvanidhi,
Kurma should be of golden colour holding in the two hands the
disc and the conch and the other two hands should be held in the
abhaya and the Varada-mudra. He should be adorned with
pitambara and ornaments. The Sattrata Samhita and the Meru
Tantra also describe the image of Kurma holding the conch, the
disc, the mace and the plough. Images corresponding to these
dhyanas have not come to light so far.
The Kurmavatara had almost escaped the attention of the
worshippers of Visnu. In literature also, there is hardly anything
written containing an invocation or appreciation of Kurma. The
rarity images of the Matsya and Kurma Avataras may tempt one
to conclude that these Avataras had hardly any relevance for the
worshippers of Visnu but at the same time there is every possibility
that there might have been a small number of Vaisnavas who
worshipped these Avataras. There are all the possibilities that
there are the primitive cults and later the Brahmanic tradition
incorporated high symbolic significance.
