Friday 26 April 2024

Has Vishnu ever incarnated as an asura?

Has Vishnu ever incarnated as an asura? According to Vishnu Mahapurana 3.3, in the third Dwapara Yuga of the present Manvantara, Vishnu incarnated a portion of His energy within Ushanas, also known as Shukracharya, Guru of the Asuras, for the purpose of acting as the Veda-Vyasa of that Mahayuga. This is probably what He references when in Bhagavad Gita 10.37 He says “Among poets I am the poet Ushana.” According to Bhagavata Mahapurana 5.24, a form of Vishnu stays at the door of the Asura Raja Mahabali in Sutala Loka. But it does not refer to this as an incarnation or Avatar specifically. In Bhagavad Gita 10.30 He says “I am Prahlada of the Daityas.” But this section is generally not taken as referring to incarnations per se, but rather, Vishnu expressing that He is the greatest and most preeminent of all categories of things.

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