Dashavatara of Vishnu: Stories of Assimilation and Dissemination
Anantashayana Vishnu (Vishnu Lounging on the Celestial Serpent Sheshanaga or Ananta) A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings and Sculptures from the Bharany Donation (2014) [Exhibition], National Museum, New Delhi Source: Dr. Richa Singh Vishnu, as the" Preserver of the Universe" in Hindu mythology, took on the form of the avataras, his earthly incarnations, to aid humanity at times of severe adversity. Though the number and identities of Vishnu's incarnations vary. For example, the Sanskrit text Satvata Samhita one of the earliest agamas or the post-Buddhist scriptures from the Pancharatra agamas , an older collection of Vaishnava texts, enumerates as many as 39 incarnatory forms of Vishnu, including Ananta or Shesha, the Naga who is considered Vishnu's serpent mount on which he rests in eternal yogic sleep in the "Anantashayana" position. Interestingly, some lists incorporate spiritual teachers of the Shramanic movement or heterodox sects that emerged du...