Prsnigarbha (,
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: ) is a name of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
deity
Vishnu. According to the
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
, it is the name accorded to one of the births of
Vishnu. The name is a Sanskrit compound word consisting of the terms ''pṛśni'' and ''garbha'', literally meaning, "Pr''ś''ni's embryo".
Birth
The Prajapati Sutapa and his wife Prśni worshipped
Vishnu with such devotion that he himself appeared before them for granting a boon. In their enthusiasm, they asked thrice "We need a son equivalent to you". Vishnu told them that he himself would be born as their son in three different ''janmas'' (birth). He instructed the importance of the practice of
brahmacharya
''Brahmacharya'' (; sa, ब्रह्मचर्य ) is a concept within Indian religions that literally means to stay in conduct within one's own Self. In Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it generally refers to a lifestyle charac ...
to the world.
In the first janma in
Satya Yuga, Vishnu was born as Prsnigarba, the son of Sutapa and Prśni. In the second life, during the
Treta Yuga, He was born as
Vamana, the son of
Aditi and
Kasyapa. In the third life, towards the end of
Dvapara Yuga
''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine y ...
, He was born as
Krishna, the son of
Vasudeva and
Devaki.
According to the ''Guruvayur
Sthala Purana'', the deity of
Guruvayur was originally given to Prśni and Sutapa during the Satya Yuga by
Brahma, and it was following the worship of
Hari in his four-armed form, that Prsnigarba was born to Prśni and Sutapa.
References
Avatars of Vishnu
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