毗湿奴(Vishnu)的十种化身

 
在吠陀神话中的毗湿奴并非有力量的神.但在印度神话中,他却在三大主神之一,占着有力的地位,并衍生出无数的神话.
 
1、灵鱼马特斯亚(麻磋-Matsya)
当淹没世界的大洪水袭来之际,毗湿奴化身为鱼,以他的须系住人类的始祖马奴所乘的船,使其成为唯一的生存者.(注:马奴,印度神话中人类的始祖,在印度古时有马奴法典,用来规范当时人的生活种种.另外,灵鱼在大洪水泛滥之前昭示人类的始祖摩奴脱离洪水的围困.听着有点像诺亚方舟的故事,是始前确有其事还是互相抄袭？)
                
                
Matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य, literally "Fish") is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the form of a fish. Often listed as the first avatar in the lists of the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, or anthropomorphically with a human torso connected to the rear half of a fish.
The earliest accounts of the legend associate Matsya with the creator god Prajapati (identified with Brahma). However, Puranic scriptures incorporate Matsya as an avatar of Vishnu. Matsya forewarns Manu about an impending catastrophic flood and orders him to collect all the grains of the world in a boat; in some forms of the story, all living creatures are also to be preserved in the boat. When the flood destroys the world, Manu - in some versions accompanied by the seven great sages - survives by boarding the ark, which Matsya pulls to safety. In later versions of this story, the sacred texts Vedas are hidden by a demon, whom Matsya slays: Manu is rescued and the scriptures are recovered. The tale is in the tradition of the family of flood myths, common across cultures.
 
2、龟(卡契亚帕-Kurma)
当神与恶魔施行乳海大搅拌之际,毗湿奴化身为龟潜入乳海之底,背负着曼陀罗山,并以此作为搅棒搅动乳海,使诸神得到甘露,保持长生不老.(注:龟即前面神话中的(Tortoise),恶魔指阿修罗.)
                
                
Kurma (Sanskrit: कूर्म; Kūrma) was the second Avatar of Vishnu, succeeding Matsya and preceding Varaha. Like Matsya this incarnation also occurred in Satya yuga. The temples dedicated to Kurma are located in Kurmai, of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and Srikurmam, Andhra Pradesh.
3、野猪瓦拉哈(筏罗柯-Varaha)
当一个名为毕拉尼克的邪的恶魔将大地拖入海中之际,毗湿奴化身为野猪潜入海中与恶魔决斗并打倒恶魔,再以他的牙将大地拉起.
                
                
Varaha (Sanskrit: वराह, "boar") is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the form of a boar. Varaha is listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. When the demon Hiranyaksha stole the earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi) and hid her in the primordial waters, Vishnu appeared as Varaha to rescue her. Varaha slew the demon and retrieved the Earth from the ocean, lifting it on his tusks, and restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe.
Varaha may be depicted completely as a boar or in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and human body. His consort, Bhudevi, the earth, is often depicted as a young woman, lifted by Varaha. The earth may be depicted as a mass of land too.
4、狮面人(那罗辛哈-Narasimha)
不死身的恶魔毕拉尼卡吉布因其子崇信毗湿奴,愤而欲杀其子,毗湿奴化身为狮面人打败恶魔 .
                
                
Narasimha (IAST: Narasiṁha), Narasingh, Narsingh and Narasingha in derivative languages is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and one of Hinduism's most popular deities, as evidenced in early epics, iconography, and temple and festival worship for over a millennium.
Narasiṁha is often visualised as half-man/half-lion, also known as Mrigendra (Indra of animals), having a human-like torso and lower body, with a lion-like face and claws.This image is widely worshipped in deity form by a significant number of Vaiṣṇava groups. Vishnu assumed this form on top of Himvat mountain(Harivamsa). He is known primarily as the 'Great Protector' who specifically defends and protects his devotees in times of need. Vishnu is believed to have taken the avatar to destroy the demon king Hiranyakashipu.
5、侏儒瓦摩纳(威马那-Vamana-三步神)
为从恶魔帕利手中夺回天、空、地三界的主权,毗湿奴化身为侏儒,恶魔帕利以为小侏儒没什么了不起的就答应将他走三步的范围内的土地交出来,没想到毗湿奴恢复原来的模样,迈出两步就跨越天堂和人间,然后停步不前,将地狱留给了魔王(隐喻太阳早、午、晚跨越宇宙空间).
                
                
Vamana (Devanagari: वामन, IAST: Vāmana) is described in the Puranas as the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age or Treta yuga.[1] He is the first avatar to appear as a human, although he does appear as a dwarf Brahmin.
6、帕拉罗摩(持斧罗摩-Parashurama)
以圣仙吉马达克尼的儿子帕拉罗摩的身分出世,扫荡了傲慢的克吉特里亚王族,确立婆罗门的地位.
                
                
Parshurama(Parashuram) is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is the son of Renuka and one of the saptarishi Sage Jamadagni. He lived during the last Treta,Dvapara Yuga's and is one of the seven immortals or Chiranjivi of Hinduism. He received an axe after undertaking terrible penance to please Lord Shiva, who in turn taught him the martial arts.
Parashurama is most known for ridding the world of kshatriyas twenty-one times over after the mighty king Kartavirya Arjuna killed his father. He played important roles in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, serving as mentor to Bhishma, Drona and Karna.
7、罗摩(Rama)
以大叙事诗《《罗摩衍耶》》的主角罗摩的身份出世,他在神猴哈努曼的帮助下战胜了愣伽岛(Lanka)的拥有十个头的魔王罗波那(Ravana),将被劫持的妻子悉多(Sita)公主夺了回来.神猴哈奴曼在此故事中也十分活跃,有人说西游记的孙悟空即是由它演化而来.
注:十首王--克吉特里亚王为楞伽岛的国王,楞伽岛即今斯里兰卡.神猴 哈奴曼为风神之子,其在故事中的活跃情形一如西游记中孙悟空,由于这个故事传说早于佛陀降世就有了,一般而言,学者认为明朝时吴承恩作西游记时参考哈奴曼的事迹创出孙悟空来另外在佛教经文中大智度论有提这一些传说.
                
                
Rama is the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu,and a king of Ayodhya. Ram is also the protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayan, which narrates his idealistic ideas and his greatness. Ram is one of the many popular figures and deities in Hinduism, specifically Vaishnavism and Vaishnava religious scriptures in South and Southeast Asia. Along with Krishna, Ram is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu. In a few Ram-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar.
8、牧神奎师那(Krishna)黑天-奎师那-克里希纳
以婆苏婆提(Vasudeva)与提娃吉之子克里布纳的身份出世,斩杀恶王西泽.
注：这个故事出于摩诃婆罗多,与上面的罗摩衍那合称印度二大史诗,印度神话大都出于此二本书.克里希纳又译为克利修纳,奎师那(Krishna).奎师那在摩诃婆罗多中对阿周那的精神讲话,称为薄伽梵歌,是印度教的重要经典.在印度薄伽梵,意为世尊,本来是毗湿奴神的称号之一 ,后来被佛教采用做为佛十名号之一,后世在印度,有时也用来称呼各宗派中成就的人.
                
                
                
                
Krishna & Arjun
Krishna is considered the supreme deity, worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. Krishna is recognized as the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Lord Vishnu, and one and the same as Lord Vishnu one of the trimurti and as the supreme god in his own right. Krishna is the principal protagonist with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita also known as the Song of God, which depicts the conversation between the Royal Prince Arjuna and Krishna during the great battle of Kurukshetra 5000 years ago where Arjuna discovers that Krishna is God and then comprehends his nature and will for him and for mankind. In present age Krishna is one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities.
9、佛陀(Buddha)
即佛教创始人释迦牟尼,毗湿奴化身为佛陀,否定了婆罗门的牺牲祭祀,倡导不杀生.
也有一种说法是：佛陀怂恿妖魔和恶人渺视吠陀、弃绝种姓、否认天神,引导他们自我毁灭.
注：“第九化身”的说法,只可能在佛灭度之后,佛教在印度衰落之后,印度教自己的文献中才能找到记载.毫无证据性可言.有一种说法是：印度教创造出“第九化身”,其目的不是为了教化世人,而是故意令某些世人跟随这个化身而抛弃种姓等级观念、不承认主神(佛教认为众生平等).让这些人因此见解而自我毁灭.这个用意就比较险恶,完全是为了毁灭他们眼中的“异教徒”(佛教徒).
                
                
Gautama Buddha is viewed as an avatar of the god Vishnu in Vaishnava Hinduism. Buddhist teachings do not rely on the Vedas, are atheist[1][2][3] and deny the reality of the self or Ātman; consequently, Hindu philosophers classified Buddhism as nāstika or heterodoxy within the scheme of Hinduism
10、白马卡尔基(柯奇-Kalki)
世界濒临破灭,末法现世结束之时,毗湿奴将手持利剑,身跨白马,化身为柯奇现身救世.
注:以上十种化身中且佛陀在印度教中被为毗湿奴神的化身之一,而在佛教中毗湿奴神却是佛教中的护法神,而湿婆神更是改头换面成为密宗许多神话的来源,以上是从神话学的观点来看.所以有人认为在印度被回教势力入侵之后,婆罗门教变成印度教,而佛教则被印度教吸收而纳入其中,可能是由此而来的.
                
                
Kalki is the final incarnation of Vishnu in the current Mahayuga, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the current epoch. Religious texts called the Puranas foretell that Kalki will be atop a white horse with a drawn blazing sword. He is the harbinger of the end time in Hindu eschatology, after which he will usher in Satya Yuga.
毗湿奴十种化身合集
                
                
十种化身俱卢大战版
                
                
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毗湿奴常见形象
 
手持法螺贝,飞轮(妙见),月光杵与莲花,座骑是一只称为加尔达的大鸟.千头的舍沙龙（或称阿南塔龙）将其掩蔽.他的肚脐上长了一株莲花,梵天（亦为三大主神之一）由此而生,创造新世界.毗湿奴最为显著的特色就是阿哇陀那（权化或称化身）的神话,化身的种类没有一定,但一般都称他以十种化身来救世.
注：加尔达的大鸟又称为迦楼罗即是所谓的金翅鸟,专门以龙为食,每天要吃一只龙王及五百条小龙.千头的舍沙龙:有时只画成七头的眼镜蛇,在南传佛教寺院常见其造形,甚至有一种佛陀的的造形,坐在这尾蛇所盘成的身躯上,而蛇的七个头张开如伞盖,护住佛陀的头,这个形象进入密宗之后,成为北方不空成就如来的造型.
                
                
                
                
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舍沙(Shesha)
 
舍沙(Shesha)，又称阿难陀龙(Ananta)，是印度教中的上等神，与创世神话中的神蛇婆苏吉的神格相似。舍沙是拥有一千个蛇头的那伽之王，也是印度神话中第一条出生的蛇类，同时亦是毗湿奴神的重要随从 。在《往世书》中，舍沙的众多头部主宰着宇宙中一切星体，支撑着大地，而且不断吟咏颂扬毗湿奴的歌声。它有时会被写成“阿难陀舍沙(Ananta-Shesha)”，涵义是“无限的舍沙”。
 
神格化的形态
在众天体系中的舍沙，通常会被描绘成规模极为庞大的存在体，它卷动着千蛇的身躯，漂浮在宇宙之中。舍沙亦会蕴藏整个宇宙海，并具体化地变为毗湿奴神的床垫。它有时会被绘画成五个头或七个头，不过最常见的是其呈现一百个蛇头的形态，有时每个蛇头上还会戴着堂皇的冠冕或刻着“卍”的图案。
舍沙与毗湿奴神有着紧密的联系，它的名字有着梵语的语根“shi”，代表着“无限”、“永存”、“恒常者”。这是因为当世界走到尽头，将要毁灭之时（印度教中称为“伽鲁帕（Kalpa）”），舍沙会吐出破灭的火炎摧毁宇宙大地，而它自己则仍可以保持原来的形态。