Home›Avatars›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups figures by the wider religious tradition that recognizes them. Wikipedia notes that "within Christianity, veneration is practiced by groups such as the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, all of which have varying types of canonization or glorification processes." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every figure from one religious tradition together.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedA category internal to the Hindu traditions: the descent of a deity into the world, above all the descents of Vishnu, undertaken to restore order. The figures gathered here are also worshipped as deities in their own right, and appear elsewhere in the atlas under that aspect. 2Size of the Traditional SetWell-attestedTen in the standard Vaishnava list of Vishnu's descents, but the lists vary and other numbers are given. 2Tradition: HinduismDirectoryCategoryWell-attestedFigures 1Learn MoreThe avatars This group gathers avatars: in Hindu tradition, the earthly descents of a deity, above all the incarnations of Vishnu who come into the world to restore order in times of crisis. The concept is distinctive to the Indian religious world. The browser will find figures understood as avatars, such as the incarnations of Vishnu. The entries note that several of these figures are also worshipped as deities in their own right and appear elsewhere in the atlas under that aspect.TraditionFilter Results1 entryAdherents Today MaximumAll1,200,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll1,200,000,000 (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllIndependent Survey (1)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (1)Establishment StatusAllVaries by Province (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCustomary Norm (1)Membership Figure As OfAll2010-01-01 (1)2012-12-18 (1)2020-01-01 (1)Origin PeriodAllNo founding event (1)Origin Period End YearAll500 BCE (1)Origin Period Start YearAll1500 BCE (1)Practice StatusAllPartly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (1)Status TodayAllLiving tradition, practised today (1)TheologyAllMonistic: one ultimate reality behind all appearance (1)Panentheistic: the divine both within the world and beyond it (1)Polytheistic: many gods (1)Show ResultsHinduismTradition4 entriesSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Hinduismtier 1Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.), Routledge, 2008Balarama and the avatar listsView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.