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Purpose of incarnation

CHENNAI: The forms that the Supreme Being assumes during His advents (Avatara) in this world are all divine and the most recent of them is His Krishnavatara. The important feature of this incarnation was His accessibility to one and all, and His divine nature was made explicit in the course of accomplishing the purpose of His descent.

As though pointing to the nature of the age (Kali yuga) that was to follow in which there would be decline of Dharma, the Bhagavata Purana which was written by Vyasa exclusively to highlight the glory of Krishna and devotion to Him begins by stating the benefit of listening to His glory depicted in this Purana: “An inquiry concerning the story of Lord Vasudeva indeed purifies all these three persons, the narrator, the interlocutor and the audience.” This Purana was composed for the purpose of listening and is in the form of Sage Suka’s narration to King Pareekshit, said Kalyanapuram Sri R.Aravamudachariar in his discourse.

The Purana begins its description of Krishnavatara with Mother Earth in the form of a disconsolate cow appealing to the creator, Brahma, to alleviate her distress wrought by the misrule of arrogant kings. Brahma along with Lord Siva and other gods escorted her to the abode of Lord Vishnu. An ethereal voice then answered that He was aware of her plight and commanded the celestials to be born among the Yadus as part manifestation during Lord Vishnu’s birth as Vasudeva’s son. It also prophesied that the serpent-god Ananta (Balarama) would precede the Lord as His elder brother and His divine potency (Maya) would be born to aid the purpose of His descent.

Everything about Lord Krishna’s birth proclaimed His divine nature. When Kamsa was escorting the marriage procession of his cousin Devaki after she was given in marriage to Vasudeva, an incorporeal voice warned Kamsa that Devaki’s eighth-born son would slay him. Petrified he imprisoned the couple even though Vasudeva promised to hand over his children. When Krishna was born in the prison cell He blessed Vasudeva and Devaki with the vision of His divine form and they prayed to Him overwhelmed by their good fortune.

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