학술논문
从十大化身辨析毗湿奴"升格"历程—— / An Analysis of Vishnu's Ascension Process from the Ten Avatars in the Agni Purāna
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Source
南亚东南亚研究 / South and Southeast Asian Studies. (5):116-136
Subject
Language
Chinese
ISSN
1674-6392
Abstract
毗湿奴是印度最有影响力的大神之一,其形象从早期的《梨俱吠陀》中并不受重视的普通神祗到现今印度教三大主神之一,毗湿奴的神格有明显的提升,而且形成了非常有特色的化身神话系统.这些毗湿奴的化身传说,各类印度著作中多有记载.毗湿奴的化身非常多样,其中最常见的、影响力最大的有十大化身.这十大化身传说的来源各有不同,既有对上古传说中各种神话形象的结合,也有对于后期文化的融合,还有对不同教派的处理,如将佛陀引入,成为毗湿奴的第九大化身,是毗湿奴化身中非常特殊的一个形象.对佛陀化身的分析可见印度教徒对佛教这一有力的竞争对手不同的处理角度以及印度教徒的真实态度,不仅是对佛陀加以转化或贬斥,也加以赞美和崇拜,这说明印度教文化是具有一定包容性并不断发展的.分析这些化身形象有助于探索现今毗湿奴形象的形成过程,选择往世书系列文献中的《火神往世书》作为线索,重点讨论毗湿奴十大化身的来源与演变情况.从这些化身传说中,可以发现早期与这些神话形象结合的大多是另一主神梵天,而非毗湿奴.毗湿奴这十大化身形成的过程,既是毗湿奴形象不断丰富的过程,也是毗湿奴的神格与影响力逐渐提升、梵天的影响力逐渐下降的过程,对于各类化身传说的整合,也有利于毗湿奴神格的提升以及毗湿奴派的传播.
Vishnu is one of India's most influential deities,whose image has evolved from being a relatively ordinary deity with little emphasis in the early Rigveda to becoming one of the three major deities in modern Hinduism.Vishnu's divine status has significantly elevated over time,and a distinct and highly characteristic mythology of his incarnations has developed.These Vishnu avatar legends have been recorded in various Indian works,and Vishnu's avatars are very diverse,among which the most common and influential are the top ten.The sources of these ten avatars are different,including the combination of various mythological images in the ancient legends,the integration of later culture elements,and the treatment of different sects.For example,the introduction of Buddha into Vishnu as the ninth avatar of Vishnu is special in Vishnu's avatars.It shows that Hindus have different perspectives on dealing with this powerful competitor of Buddhism.The true attitude of Hindus is not only to transform or denigrate Buddha,but also to praise and worship him,which shows that Hindu culture is tolerant and constantly developing.The analysis of these avatars helps explore the formation process of the current image of Vishnu.This paper selects the Agni Purāna in the Purāna series and focuses on the origin and evolution of Vishnu's ten avatars.Moreover,from these avatar legends,we can also find that the early combination of these mythical images is mostly another deity,Brahma,rather than Vishnu.The formation process of Vishnu's ten avatars is not only a process of continuous enrichment of Vishnu's image,but also a process of gradual improvement of Vishnu's divinity and influence,and gradual decline of Brahma's influence.It significantly contributes to the integration of various avatar legends,which in turn benefits the elevation of Vishnu's divine status and the spread of Vaishnavism.
Vishnu is one of India's most influential deities,whose image has evolved from being a relatively ordinary deity with little emphasis in the early Rigveda to becoming one of the three major deities in modern Hinduism.Vishnu's divine status has significantly elevated over time,and a distinct and highly characteristic mythology of his incarnations has developed.These Vishnu avatar legends have been recorded in various Indian works,and Vishnu's avatars are very diverse,among which the most common and influential are the top ten.The sources of these ten avatars are different,including the combination of various mythological images in the ancient legends,the integration of later culture elements,and the treatment of different sects.For example,the introduction of Buddha into Vishnu as the ninth avatar of Vishnu is special in Vishnu's avatars.It shows that Hindus have different perspectives on dealing with this powerful competitor of Buddhism.The true attitude of Hindus is not only to transform or denigrate Buddha,but also to praise and worship him,which shows that Hindu culture is tolerant and constantly developing.The analysis of these avatars helps explore the formation process of the current image of Vishnu.This paper selects the Agni Purāna in the Purāna series and focuses on the origin and evolution of Vishnu's ten avatars.Moreover,from these avatar legends,we can also find that the early combination of these mythical images is mostly another deity,Brahma,rather than Vishnu.The formation process of Vishnu's ten avatars is not only a process of continuous enrichment of Vishnu's image,but also a process of gradual improvement of Vishnu's divinity and influence,and gradual decline of Brahma's influence.It significantly contributes to the integration of various avatar legends,which in turn benefits the elevation of Vishnu's divine status and the spread of Vaishnavism.