COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DHASHA AVATHAAR WITH DARWIN THEORY OF EVOULUTION

-*Dr. S. Vijay Kumar Vedas and Puranas constitutes important sources of Hindu religion. Vishnu Purana primarily centers around Lord Vishnu and his avatars. Hindu’s mythology Dashavatar, the embodiment of Lord Vishnu, tells about ten incarnations in which the divine preserves cosmic order and brings the universe back into harmony. While, Darwin's hypothesis natural selection is based on variation and adaptation to external conditions, and is the process by which species change over time. Darwin outlined his theories on natural selection and evolution in his book “On the Origin of Species”, published in1859. There are interesting similarities between the explanations for the diversity of life on Earth that can be found when comparing Lord Vishnu's Dashavatar with Darwin's theory of evolution. Both highlight the rich fabric of various intellectual and cultural traditions that influence our world view and aid humanity in its quest to understand existence. Darwin's theory of evolution and the Geological Time Scale both identify distinct phases in the history of humans, starting with aquatic life and progressing through invertebrates, vertebrates, and ultimately modern humans. Dashavatar of Lord Vishnu in Hindu Scripture has a more developed theory of evolution than the one proposed by 17th-century English Scientist Charles Darwin. Westerners thought revolved around the evolution of the man. But in Dashavatar by the time of ‘Vaman Avatar’, we became human beings, finally comes Rama, a perfect human being and then comes Krishna, a more knowledgeable, logical, and more of a politician. This evolution goes on ..., our sages and saints thought beyond evolution. In Hindu Religion, Garuda Purana tells what will happen after death. Kauravas were born due to stem cells - test tube technologies and knowledge of well guided missiles was available in India thousands of years ago. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on February 12, 1809, and died at Down House Kent, on April 19, 1882. According to his theories, “all species have a common ancestor, new species arise from pre-existing ones, and species can change over time”. According to this hypothesis, each species has a distinct set of heritable (genetic) differences from its common ancestor that have developed progressively over incredibly long epochs. A multi-level "tree" connecting all living things is created by repeated branching events, in which new species split off from a common ancestor. He travelled in the HMS Beagle (British Royal Navy Ship famous for carrying naturalist Charles Darwin) on a survey mission from 1831 to 1836, arriving at harbours in Australia, South America, and the southern tip of Africa. Darwin had the chance to research and inventory the indigenous flora and fauna at every location the voyage stopped. Over a period of five years, the ship travelled nonstop between islands, where he conducted studies on the local’s customs, wildlife, flowers, fruits, and fossils. He meticulously studied and recorded every observation in his journals, gathering a sizable collection of fossils, creatures, and flowers from Falkland Island and the Galapagos Islands. This Paper is an attempt to study and analyse the comparison between Hindu Dashavatar and Charles Darwin’s Evolution Theory. *Head & Professor (Associate) of Economics (Retd.), KGC (A), Hanamkonda, Ex - Member Board of Studies, Kakatiya University, Warangal. Charles Darwin after returning to England from Falkland Island and the Galapagos Islands, on October 2nd, 1836, he shared all of his observations and fossil finds with his good friends the botanists, zoologists, natural scientists, and geologists. They all agreed that "Life evolved in water in the form of simple single cell creature, over hundreds of year, this single cell evolved into complex multicellular organism". Through gradual dietary changes and morphological changes, the aquatic animals gradually began to shift from their aquatic home to one on the Earth. They had first transformed into creatures with 100 feet, such as centipedes, and then into creatures with four legs, and lastly into humans with two feet. Numerous alterations are also observed in humans: from little, armoured man to sentient, intelligent man. Darwin's idea is straight forward between 1830 and 1835, he noted in the Galapagos Islands in Latin America that life originated in water. Every species on the planet, including fish, flowers, bananas, and birds, share common origins. They battled relentlessly, changing their genes, size, form, and eating habits in addition to selectively breeding until they eventually produced entirely new progeny with completely distinct appearances. "Struggle for existence and survival of the fittest" describes how life first appeared on water, gradually evolving into amphibians, then terrestrial animals. It took thousands of years for humans to evolve from primates to prehistoric man and then to the modern species. Cyclic Time and Yugas: The literature of the Vedas makes no mention of cyclical time. The idea that the world is eternal was introduced in early post-Vedic literature. In Hinduism, the smallest unit of cosmic time is called a Yuga, or "Age." Mahayuga, or the Great Age, is composed of four Yugas: The Golden Age (Krita or Satya Yuga), the Silver Age (Treta Yuga), the Bronze Age (Dvapara Yuga), and the Iron Age (Kali Yuga). These Yugas depict the advance of evil over virtue throughout human history, as well as the progressive deterioration of social, ethical, spiritual, and political arenas. Families of the gods and others, the Manus, the period, called Manavantaras, those termed Kalpas, and their sub-divisions, and the four ages: the events that happen at the close of a Kalpa, and the terminations of the several Ages. Time Division in Hindu Religion: One Sexagenary Cycle (Calendar) = 60 Years Kali Yuga = 4,32,000 Years Dvapara Yuga = 8,64,000 Years Treta Yuga = 12,96,000 Years Krita Yuga = 7,28,000 Years One Maha Yuga = 43,20,000 Years 71 Maha Yugas = 1 Manavantara 14 Manavantaras = 1 Kalpam 2 Kalpas = 1 Day for Lord Brahma 2,000 Kalpas = Age of Brahma 200 Kalpas for Lord Vishnu = One Day for Lord Shiva 200 Kalpas for Lord Shiva = The blink of eye time for Aadhipara Shakti Source: Drikpanchang.com DHASHA AVATAR OR TEN INCARNATIONS OF LORD VISHNU AND TIME PERIODS: 1. Matsya Avatar (Fish Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Matsya (Giant Fish) descends to save world from a cosmic flood, symbolizes the inception of life in water, paralleling the Silurian Period over 400 million years ago when life began to thrive in aquatic environments. 2. Kurma Avatar (Tortoise Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Kurma (Tortoise) descends to support Mount Mandara during churning of the Ocean to obtain nectar of immortality (Amrita) represents the transition of life from water to land, much like the evolution of amphibians during the Mesozoic era. 3. Varaha Avatar (Boar Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Varaha (Wild Pig) descends to save Bhudevi (Earth) signifies the emergence of terrestrial animals, akin to the evolution of land animals in the Cenozoic era. Earth in this incarnation was shown as scientists discovered. Thus, Hindu Religion conceived earth shape millions of years ago. 4. Narasimha Avatar (Half-Man Half-Lion Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Narasimha denotes the evolution of primates, bridging characteristics of both humans and animals. 5. Vamana Avatar (Dwarf Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Vamana represents the evolution of Homo erectus - an immature man and the ancestor of the human race compared to modern humans. 6. Parashurama Avatar (Warrior Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Parashurama symbolizes early humans like Homo habilis (Skilful Human Species), who utilized tools and exhibited early forms of societal structures. 7. Rama Avatar (Ideal Man Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Rama epitomizes Homo sapiens (Wise Man), with advanced intellectual and social capabilities. 8. Krishna Avatar (God Incarnate): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Krishna illustrates the development of spirituality and religious structures within human society. 9. Buddha Avatar (Enlightened Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Buddha signifies the evolution of human consciousness and the quest for enlightenment and deeper understanding. 10. Kalki Avatar (Destroyer Incarnation): The incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Kalki, yet to appear, represents humanity’s future potential, aligning with genetic advancements and the quest for an ideal human form. Comparative Analysis of Darwin’s Theory with Dashavatar: According to British geneticist and evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, Dashavatar—a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a man-lion, a dwarf, and eventually four men - advance stage of man (Kalki is not yet born)—represents a "rough idea" of vertebrate evolution, He said that the ten primary avatars of Lord Vishnu, known as the Dashavatar, represent a true sequential picture of the enormous unfolding of evolution. There is an uncanny similarity between these Vishnu avatars and the biological theory of life's evolution on Earth. Hinduism provided the original explanation for the "Theory of Origin of Life and Evolution." The phases of human evolution are depicted in the Dashavatar (Ten Incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, who came to destroy the evil powers of adharma and restore dharma. These stages correspond precisely with Darwin's theory of evolution, starting from aquatic life and ending with vertebrates and modern humans. With merit-based creationism as its common ancestor, the Almighty, Indic philosophy stands in stark contrast to Darwin's Theory of Evolution by omitting to address the causes and mechanisms leading to physical evolution. The original form was that of an aquatic creature called a "Fish." The amphibian "Tortoise" was the second incarnation. "The Boar," a vertebrate mammal, was the third incarnation. "The half-man, half animal (lion)" was the fourth incarnation. The sixth incarnation was "Dwarf Man," an immature man and the ancestor of the human race. "Uncouth Man," who had an axe symbolizing his means of subsistence in the woods, was his sixth rebirth. He was completely out of control of his emotions, especially his rage. "Lord Rama," the seventh incarnation, was a human being who, among the group of incarnations, bordered on divinity. He was a skilled and impartial administrator who was unaffected by emotions. Buddha is pursuit of happiness. He taught us that dukkha, or sadness, is a part of life and that it results from greed and seeking. We escape dukkha if we are able to restrain ourselves towards extreme greed for wealth or material gain, selfishness, and jealousy. He also preached that everyone must die and that death is an eternal state. The tenth and final incarnation of "Kalki" is still to come; he will manifest when human depravity reaches its peak, signifying his origin as the disintegration of this world and subsequent rebirth. Thus, shows there is a tight relationship between religion and science. Comparison of the Time-line of the Ten Incarnations with respect to the Vedic Time-line and the Geological Time-line: Dashavatar with respect to the Vedic Timeline and the Geological Timeline Chronological Order of the Avatar Name of Incarnation Vedic Timeline Geological Timeline 1. Matsya (Fish) - Aquatic Organism Beginning Vaivasvata Manvantara Of Pre Cambrian- Silurian- 500- 550 MYA 2. Kurma (Tortoise) Amphibian – Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga – 2nd Devonian- 358.9 – 419.2 MYA 3. Varaha (Boar) – animal, A vertebrate Land Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga – 3rd. Triassic 250 MYA – 200- 4. Narasimha (Half Man and Half Lion) Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga - 7th Cretaceous – 66- 56 MYA 5. Vamana (Dwarf Man) Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga - 10th Quaternary- 0.001-2.6 MYA 6. Parashurama (Tall with Axe) Man Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga - 19th Quaternary- 0.001-2.6 MYA 7. Lord Rama (Perfect Human) Vaivasvata Manvantara Tretayuga - 24th Quaternary- 0.001-2.6 MYA 8. Lord Krishna (Embodiment of Divinity) Vaivasvata Manvantara Dwaparayuga - 28th Quaternary- 0.001-2.6 MYA 9. Buddha No Data found – the scholars believe the historical Buddha lived from 563 to 483 B.C. 10. Kalki (Yet to arrive) Vaivasvata Manvantara – End of 28th Kaliyuga Quaternary- 0.00 MYA (Million Years Ago). Source: Y. V. Subba Rao’s Research Article on “Transformative Phases of Spiritual Progress in Dashavatar (Ten Incarnations)”. Conclusion: Thus, there are interesting similarities and differences between scientific and mythical explanations for the diversity of life on Earth that can be found when compared Lord Vishnu's Dashavatar with the Darwin's Theory of evolution. Darwin's theory offers a biological framework for comprehending how species gradually evolve over time. It is based on actual data and natural selection. In contrast, Lord Vishnu's Dashavatar, which consists of 10 different avatars, provides a mythical viewpoint that emphasizes the cyclical nature of creation, preservation, and destruction. Both highlights the rich fabric of various intellectual and cultural traditions that influence our world view and aid humanity in its quest to understand the process of evolution on earth. References: 1. Comparative analysis of Darwin Theory of Evolution with Lord Vishnu Dashavatar by MS. Jigyasa Singh. Published in International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts. 2. Darwin's theory of evolution resembles Lord Vishnu's Dashavatar Healthvision.inhealthvision.in/darwins-theory-of-evolution-resembles-lord-vishnus-dashavatar/ 3. “Darwin and The Origin of Species” by A.J. Burton published in Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory Volume No. 14. 4. Darwin’s “On The Origin of Species (1859). 5. Drikpanchang.com www.drikpanchang.com/tutorials/basics/hindu-time-keeping.html 6. Transformative Phases of Spiritual Progress in Dashavatar (Ten Incarnations) by Y.V. Subba Rao published on 16 April 2022 in International Journal of Research – Granthaalya. 7. Vishnu Purana by H.H Wilson.