Buddha Avatāra
The Buddha avatāra is the form Bhagavān Viṣṇu took as the son of Śuddhodana. The Agni Purāṇa says he took this form to bewilder the asuras, who had grown strong by keeping the Veda and its dharma, and so lead them away from it. With the asuras cut off from the source of their strength, the devas could defeat them. The Purāṇa presents this as an act of great compassion that restored the order of dharma.
Purpose of the Buddha avatāra
The sixteenth chapter of the Agni Purāṇa is called “Buddhakalkyavatāra-varṇana”. It explains why this avatāra came. The devas were beaten in yet another great war with the asuras. They fled in distress and took refuge with Parameśvara, and prayed to be rescued and comforted.
The asuras had grown so strong because they faithfully followed the path laid down by the Vedas, the path of yajña (fire ritual) and dharma. This was making them nearly unbeatable in spirit and in strength. Open battle was not enough. What was needed was to break their link with the Vedic dharma that kept up their power.
In answer to the prayer of the devas, Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who is māyā-moha-svarūpa (the very form of cosmic illusion and bewilderment), took birth as the son of Śuddhodana in the form of the Buddha. His aim was to teach a path that would charm the asuras and lead them away from the Vedic rites, from the system of varṇa and āśrama, and from the dharma of yajña that was the source of their power (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16).
The avatāra
Born as the son of Śuddhodana, the Buddha taught a doctrine that moved his listeners away from Vedic dharma. The asuras, charmed by his teaching, became Bauddhas, followers of the Buddha’s path, and gave up the Vedic practices. The text calls them pāṣaṇḍas, those outside the Vedic fold. By leaving the Veda they lost the protection and power that came from keeping it. They fell into actions that lead to naraka (hell). They came to depend on the charity of even the lowest people, and over time they grew confused and fell in conduct. The text notes that such people, mixed together in the disorder of Kaliyuga, become like thieves with no right conduct.
With the asuras weakened and cut off from the Vedic source of their strength, the devas were able to defeat them. The plan of the Buddha avatāra was therefore an act of the highest compassion, aimed at keeping the order of the cosmos. The passing suffering of the asuras served the lasting restoration of dharma (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16).
Form of the Buddha mūrti
The forty-ninth chapter of the Agni Purāṇa is told by Hayagrīva. It describes the right forms for setting up images of the avatāras, and it gives the form of the Buddha mūrti (sacred image):
- He is shown in a śānta posture, deeply calm and still.
- He sits on a high padmāsana (lotus seat).
- His hands show the varada-mudrā (the gesture of granting boons) and the abhaya-mudrā (the gesture of protection and fearlessness).
- His body is white.
- His ears are long and stretched.
- He wears beautiful pīta-vastra, golden-yellow garments (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 49).
Place among the Daśāvatāras
The Agni Purāṇa places Buddha as the ninth of the Daśāvatāras (the ten avatāras). He comes after the eighth avatāra, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa as a pair, and before the tenth, Kalki, who is yet to come.
Chapter 16 ends by saying that Bhagavān Viṣṇu takes countless avatāras in all kalpas and all manvantaras, both past and still to come. Whoever reads or hears the account of the Daśāvatāras of Bhagavān Viṣṇu destroys all pāpas (sins), gains all he desires, and reaches svarga (heaven) together with his whole family line (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16).
Sources
- Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 16
- Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 49