[Advaita-l] dashAvatAra jayantIs

[Anand Hudli]

                      ||shrIrAmachandraparabrahmaNe namaH ||

Among the many wonderful avatars of bhagavAn ViShNu, ten are more commonly 
mentioned. These are matsya, kUrma, varAha, narasiMha, vAmana, parashurAma, 
dAsharathi rAma, KR^iShNa, Buddha, and Kalki. The  dharmasindhu lists the 
times of observances related to these ten avatars, while admitting that 
there could be differences among sources regarding the specific times.

avatAra        mAsa  pakSha  tithi   kAla

-------------------------------------------------------------

matsya   -   Chaitra  shukla   3,         afternoon

kUrma  -   VaishAkha pUrNimA,         evening

VarAha  -   BhAdrapada shukla 3,      afternoon

narasiMha  - VaishAkha shukla 14,      evening (twilight)

VAmana     - BhAdrapada shukla 12,  noon

ParashurAma  - VaishAkha shukla 3,   noon, pradoSha (after sunset) according 
to many

dAsharathi rAma -  Chaitra shukla 9,   noon

KR^iShNa  -   shrAvaNa kR^iShNa 8,  midnight

Buddha     -   Ashvina shukla 10,       evening

Kalki           -   shrAvaNa shukla 6,     evening


Starting from the shukla  tR^itIyA of chaitra, the swing (dolotsava) 
ceremony of shrIrAma (placing the image on a swing and rocking it gently), 
along with pUjA is to be performed. Other deities, especially 
gaurI-shankara, are also worshipped this way. This lasts for a month.

According to the devIpurANa statement, " Ashvine vA .athavA mAghe chaitre vA 
shrAvaNe .api vA", the devInavarAtrI is observed in the months of Ashvina, 
mAgha, chaitra, or shrAvaNa, depending on one's tradition.

Anand

_________________________________________________________________
Get a FREE Web site, company branded e-mail and more from Microsoft Office 
Live! http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/mcrssaub0050001411mrt/direct/01/