<!--QuoteBegin-Ashok Kumar+Jun 12 2007, 10:38 AM-->QUOTE(Ashok Kumar @ Jun 12 2007, 10:38 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->In that stuti, ten avatAra of "keshava" are mentioned. But curiously the krishna avtar is missing from the list! Instead he lists "balarAma" or "haladhara" as the avatAra between rAma and buddha.
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Only explanation I can give is that instead of considering the 10 avatAra's as those of vishNu, the writer claims them to be avatAra's of kR^ishNa. Therefore listing him as his own avatAra becomes superfluous. Henec balarAma as an avatAra.
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Ashokji,
This is very interesting indeed. But I have seen another explanation too.
Babu Harsha Chandra was a famous Bangali-Marwari Seth of Varanasi (also father of Bharatendu Harishchandra, but more known because of his own deeds). Even today, there are some old buildings in Banaras, like Saraswati Sadan Library etc constructed by him. He was a Krishna-Vaishnava (Gaudiya?), and a good poet himself. He had compiled a series of poetries, one of which was 'Dashavatara Kathamrit', which Harishchandra later published.
In this collection of 10 granthas, each dedicated to one of the 10 avataras, the biggest is Balram Kathamrit. Although the name is Balram Kathamrit, the whole book is about Sri Krishna. It is explained in this that in their tradition, the name is being given in respect to Balram, being the elder brother of Krishna, and for no other reason, while the meaning is none other than Krishna himself.
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Only explanation I can give is that instead of considering the 10 avatAra's as those of vishNu, the writer claims them to be avatAra's of kR^ishNa. Therefore listing him as his own avatAra becomes superfluous. Henec balarAma as an avatAra.
[right][snapback]70029[/snapback][/right]
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Ashokji,
This is very interesting indeed. But I have seen another explanation too.
Babu Harsha Chandra was a famous Bangali-Marwari Seth of Varanasi (also father of Bharatendu Harishchandra, but more known because of his own deeds). Even today, there are some old buildings in Banaras, like Saraswati Sadan Library etc constructed by him. He was a Krishna-Vaishnava (Gaudiya?), and a good poet himself. He had compiled a series of poetries, one of which was 'Dashavatara Kathamrit', which Harishchandra later published.
In this collection of 10 granthas, each dedicated to one of the 10 avataras, the biggest is Balram Kathamrit. Although the name is Balram Kathamrit, the whole book is about Sri Krishna. It is explained in this that in their tradition, the name is being given in respect to Balram, being the elder brother of Krishna, and for no other reason, while the meaning is none other than Krishna himself.