Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
see below for other meanings An Avatar (from Sanskrit avatAra) is a descended form of Hindu god.
The two main avatars of Vishnu that appear in the epics are Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and Krishna, the friend of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Unlike the superhuman devas (demigods) of the Vedic Samhitas and the abstract Upanishadic concept of the all-pervading and formless Brahman, the avatars in these epics are the original forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who is in control of demigods and Whose transcendental body produces the impersonal Brahman effulgence.
Even Lord Buddha, Who is the source of Buddhism is actually an avatar of Vishnu.Although the avataras of God are unlimited in number, ten prominent avatars are:
- Matsya, the fish
- Kurma, the tortoise
- Varaha, the boar
- Narasimha, the Man-Lion (Nara = man, simha = lion)
- Vamana, the Dwarf
- Parashurama
- Rama
- Krishna (the All-attractive Supreme Lord, the original form of God, and the fountainhead of all other forms, including Vishnu).
- Lord Buddha
- Kalki
External Links
- http://www.avatara.org/
- http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Religions/Avatars/Vishnu.html
- http://www.hindunet.org/avatars/index.htm
- http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wsanford/darshan/hindu_deities/ten_avatars.html
Usage (by analogy with the above) in hacker culture:
1. Among people working on virtual reality and cyberspace interfaces, an avatar is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual reality. The term is sometimes used on MUDs, and also in computer role-playing games.
2. [CMU, Tektronix] root, superuser. There are quite a few Unix machines on which the name of the superuser account is 'avatar' rather than 'root'. This quirk was originated by a CMU hacker who found the terms 'root' and 'superuser' unimaginative, and thought 'avatar' might better impress people with the responsibility they were accepting.
Source: the public domain Jargon file The Avatar is also the main (player) character in the Ultima series of games. He (or she) is not an embodiment of a god, but of a set of ethic guidelines called the Virtues.
Distinguish also the use of the word Avatar to refer to Harry Palmer's self-development system.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Avatar."
| 1. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.