We seem to be going around in circles.Presently the question in circulation seems to be twofold :
- Whether Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu or not
- If so, does he figure in the top 10, or in the larger group of 22?
As I said earlier, SB mentions 22 avatars of Vishnu. Let us forget the subsect of Dasha Avatars for a minute and concentrate on the bigger list of 22. In that list, there are avatars as diverse as Kurma (who did nothing put to support the mountain) , King Prithu, Sage Kapila , Mohini and the four Sanat Kumaras.Srimad Bhagavtham, Veda Vyasa and Suta Goswami had no problems with accepting the fact that in His next incarnation as Buddha, Vishnu is not going to talk about the Vedas, yagnas, rituals, etc but will preach on more basic, fundamental social ethics.It is also said in SB itself that such an unique / different avatar will be required because of the turbulent times the world will be passing through. Scientific knowledge would have advanced so much that men would be shooting invisible rockets / missiles into outer space which will hold a threat of not only destroying life on Earth, but lives(if at all) on other spheres as well.
For anybody who is quoting srimad bhagvatam / bhagwat puran , goswami and vyas , please know that the 22 avatars it states is including Balarama and states Krishna as the source of them not Vishnu.
i have pasted that portion from SB here and also providing the link. please check it out.
Chapter 3: Krishna is the Source of All Incarnations (not agreeable to me. Krishna is only an avatar not the source!!!)
(6) "The sons of Brahm [the Kumras] were first disciplined in austerity for the sake of realizing continuity. (7) He next incarnated for the sake of the welfare of the earth like a boar lifting her up from the lower regions. (8) Thirdly He accepted [in the form of Nrada Muni] His presence among the learned for the sake of evolving Vedic knowledge concerning the service in devotion without further material motives. (9) Fourth born as the twin sons of king Dharma in the form of Nara-Nryana He underwent severe penances to attain control over the senses. (10) Fifth with the name of Kapila He gave an exposition to the brahmin suri on the nature of metaphysics and the elements of creation because in the course of time the knowledge was lost. (11) Sixth, born as the son of Atri from Anasy who prayed for Him, He lectured to Alarka, Prahlda and others about transcendence. (12) Seventh born from kti as Yaja, the son of Prajpati Ruci He, assisted the godly, with His son Yamaruled during the period of Svyambhuva Manu. (13) Eighth, from the wife of King Nbhi, Merudev, He took birth as King Rishabha and showed the path of perfection respected by people of all stages of life. (14) Accepting His ninth incarnation in response to the prayers of the sages, He ruled [as Prithu] the earth for the sake of its cultivation and produces, which made her beautifully attractive. (15) Like a fish [Mtsya] in the water He kept Vaivasvata Manu after the period of Ckshusha Manu protected in a boat afloat the waters when the world was deeply inundated. (16) Eleventh as a tortoise [Kurma] He sustained the Mandarcala Hill of the theists and atheists that served as a pivot in the ocean. (17) Twelfth there was Dhanvantari [Lord of medicine] and thirteenth He appeared as an alluring beautiful woman to the atheists when He gave nectar to the godly. (18) In His fourteenth incarnation He appeared as Nrisimha, who with His nails half as a Lion on His lap tore apart the king of the atheists like a carpenter splitting cane. (19) Fifteenth He assumed the form of Vmana [the dwarf-brhmana] who went to the arena of sacrifice of Mahrja Bali and begged for three steps of land only, while He in fact wanted to seize the three worlds. (20) In His sixteenth incarnation [as Bhrigupati or Paras'urma] He acted twenty-one times against the ruling class that negated the intelligentsia. (21) Seeing the common people as being less intelligent He seventeenth incarnated as Vysadeva taking birth from Satyavat with Pars'ara Muni as His father, in order to divide the desire tree of the Veda into several branches. (22) Next He performed in a superhuman way in controlling the Indian Ocean having assumed the form of a divine human being [Rma] in order to act for the sake of the godly. (23) Nineteenth as well as twentieth He appeared as Balarama and Krishna from the Vrishni family and thus Bhagavn removed the burden from the world. (24) Thereafter in the Age of Kali His birth as Lord Buddha from Ajan in Gay will take place in order to delude the ones envious of the theists. (25) Next, at the conjunction of two yugas when there is hardly a ruler to be found who is not a plunderer, the Lord carrying the name of Kalki will take birth as the son of Vishnu Yas'."
here is the link:
http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/downloads/bhagavatam-canto1.html#3
The question here is of the Top Ten which has only one slot for Kali Yuga avatar . which would it be--- Buddha or Kalki??
How come Varaha comes before Matsya and Kurma avatars? The timeline doesnt fit.
In this list why isnt Dattatreya included. He is accepted as an avatar of Vishnu right?
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