The Concept of Avatāra in the Eknāthī-Bhāgvat

Abstract

The Sanskrit word avatāra means the appearance or incarnation of a deity (especially Viṣṇu) on earth. In this paper, I discuss the development of the concept of avatāra in the Vārkarī sect, according to the Eknāthī-Bhāgvat, written in the Marāthī language by the sant (poetic saint) Eknāth in the 16th century.

In the Sanskritic Vaiṣṇava tradition, it is believed that Lord Viṣṇu descends to the earth as avatāras for the salvation of his devotees. After that, Eknāth expanded this concept of avatāra. He insisted that his guru Janārdana is an avatāra of God and emphasized the importance of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). This modification of the concept of avatāra made sant-worship possible for later Vārkarīs.