-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Do Hindu gods have their own destiny?
- Thread starter Viraja
- Start date
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
This is a matter of Puranas, stories (or histories if you would like to call it that) and not of Vedanta.
Yes, Hindu Gods have their destinies. Lord Vishnu had promised to be born to Sage Kashyapa and his wife, Aditi, daughter of Prajapati Daksha (kindly note that it is a Purana story). King Dasharatha was the next incarnation of Sage Kashyapa and Kaushalya that of Aditi. Then Sage Narada had cursed Lord Visnhu that he would be helped by monkeys, in retaliation to Lord Vishnu giving Narada a monkey's face when he wanted to marry a beautiful princess. Lord had to fulfill these two incidents. That is why Mother Sita had to be abducted and reclaimed with the help of the monkey army. Then Lord Vishnu had to be born as Krishna in restitution of killing the monkey king Bali unfairly, so that the hunter 'Jara', who was the incarnation of Bali could end the Krishna avatara by shooting an arrow in his feet. Jaya and Vijay had to be born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna to enable their quick return to their station as door-keepers in Vaikuntha when they were cursed by the four 'kumaras' for not allowing 'kumaras' immediate entry to Lord Vishnu's presence. All things happen because of reasons. One thing leads to another.
To add, Dasharatha had to suffer separation from Rama because he had killed Shravana by mistaking him for a deer and Kakeyi and Manthara, who loved Rama more than Bharata had to ask for his exile because their minds were corrupted by Mother Saraswati at the request of the lesser Gods whom Ravana had vanquished, so that Ravana could abduct Mother Sita and be killed by Lord Rama. And Ravana (in reality, Jaya of Vaikuntha) had to be so cruel to enable him to be killed only by Lord Vishnu in the avatara of Lord Rama, he did not want to die at the hand of any lesser person. Puranas are a vast web of stories.
Yes, Hindu Gods have their destinies. Lord Vishnu had promised to be born to Sage Kashyapa and his wife, Aditi, daughter of Prajapati Daksha (kindly note that it is a Purana story). King Dasharatha was the next incarnation of Sage Kashyapa and Kaushalya that of Aditi. Then Sage Narada had cursed Lord Visnhu that he would be helped by monkeys, in retaliation to Lord Vishnu giving Narada a monkey's face when he wanted to marry a beautiful princess. Lord had to fulfill these two incidents. That is why Mother Sita had to be abducted and reclaimed with the help of the monkey army. Then Lord Vishnu had to be born as Krishna in restitution of killing the monkey king Bali unfairly, so that the hunter 'Jara', who was the incarnation of Bali could end the Krishna avatara by shooting an arrow in his feet. Jaya and Vijay had to be born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna to enable their quick return to their station as door-keepers in Vaikuntha when they were cursed by the four 'kumaras' for not allowing 'kumaras' immediate entry to Lord Vishnu's presence. All things happen because of reasons. One thing leads to another.
To add, Dasharatha had to suffer separation from Rama because he had killed Shravana by mistaking him for a deer and Kakeyi and Manthara, who loved Rama more than Bharata had to ask for his exile because their minds were corrupted by Mother Saraswati at the request of the lesser Gods whom Ravana had vanquished, so that Ravana could abduct Mother Sita and be killed by Lord Rama. And Ravana (in reality, Jaya of Vaikuntha) had to be so cruel to enable him to be killed only by Lord Vishnu in the avatara of Lord Rama, he did not want to die at the hand of any lesser person. Puranas are a vast web of stories.
Last edited:
atma varta
New Member
First understand what is god in terms of vedanta...the world samsara is just illusion, the lokas that we talk about they are of the realm of mind (maan), which is also maya..atman is the seer(Drasta)..and atman and brahman are one...as vedas says "यम् आत्मा ब्रह्म"" , atman is brahma, atma is seer (Drasta) and that is brahma. So according to vedanta atman, self and god are not different they are one..and every thing in the world is just brahma nothing else. So if you are talking about devi devta, yes they have to face consequences of karma..but GOD, brahma? Brahma alone is present in the entire cosmos what does it have to face? Now, you might be thinking, but there are so many gods with so many forms what are they ? If vedanta doesnot talk about a specific form of god then why so many gods? To understand that you can read : God form full or formless . A beautiful talk by Ramana Maharishi.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
ajay0
Well-Known Member
Viraja
Jaya Jagannatha!
Thanks to everyone for their replies!
Aup ji, those are great stories from the purana...
Atma Varta ji, I am planning to read the link you have given shortly. Thanks for the same!
But, my question to clarify again is: Do gods undergo penalty for their actions, either in their worldly avatara or in the heavens? For instance, Rama is said to have killed someone in Uttarakhanda and he is also known for sly-killing Vali... did he ever had to pay for these actions?
And how about godly lifetimes? Do they undergo birth and death?
Atma Varta ji, above questions not for you...
Aup ji, those are great stories from the purana...
Atma Varta ji, I am planning to read the link you have given shortly. Thanks for the same!
But, my question to clarify again is: Do gods undergo penalty for their actions, either in their worldly avatara or in the heavens? For instance, Rama is said to have killed someone in Uttarakhanda and he is also known for sly-killing Vali... did he ever had to pay for these actions?
And how about godly lifetimes? Do they undergo birth and death?
Atma Varta ji, above questions not for you...
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
I have already mentioned about how Krishna avatara compensated Rama's killing of Bali. There must be many stories like that.
Yes, IMHO avataras are born and die in just the human way - 'Punarapi janmam, purapi maranam, punarapi jananī jathare shayanam'. Are they not in the human form? They ask for the moon to be given to them, they refuse that they have eaten butter and yoghurt. They study with gurus, marry and have wife/wives, beget chidren.
Yes, IMHO avataras are born and die in just the human way - 'Punarapi janmam, purapi maranam, punarapi jananī jathare shayanam'. Are they not in the human form? They ask for the moon to be given to them, they refuse that they have eaten butter and yoghurt. They study with gurus, marry and have wife/wives, beget chidren.
Last edited:
ajay0
Well-Known Member
The Avatars come when there is severe deviation from dharma, and to ensure the balance of the cosmic order, which is upset by those of a demonic nature who had gained strength from austerities. Such as the likes of Hiranyakashipu, Mahishasura, Ravana and Duryodhana.
No matter whatever boons these bad guys get, the Avatars always manage to find loopholes in them and ensure course correction.
The Avatars are not bound to karma, though they may take on the karma of disciples or devotees to ensure their faster spiritual development. The karma does not affect them much as well as it would the disciples or devotees.
Dharma is all that which contributes to the expansion of consciousness and reduces the bondage of karma and matter.