The Connection Between Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Dashavatars of Lord Vishnu:
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The people who believe in this theory are called Creationists and they're found in all religions.
What happened in 1859 Charles Darwin published the book whose name is 'The Origin of Species'. This book becomes very famous because, in this book, Darwin proposed 'The Theory of Evolution'. To sum it up in one line, Darwin said in their book that "All the species in this world, they've all come from one common ancestor. And we've evolved according to our natural conditions." Because of this theory, Charles Darwin is considered the Father of Modern Biology.
But, my question is the concept of evolution only 163 years old?
What if I tell you that 1000s of years ago before Darwin's book came, Indian sages had discovered and identified the concept of evolution?
And today in this little controversial but interesting blog, we'll talk about the same topic.
And Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and Lord Vishnu's Dashavatars we'll try to understand the resemblance between them.
So the roots of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, are from India filled with Ved-Puranas? To know, keep reading this blog!
"Whenever religion is harmed in this world, Destruction takes place, and unrighteousness goes on, that's when I appear in this world."
These words were said by Lord Krishna before the Kurukshetra war had started, to Arjuna referring to his incarnations on this Earth. And in many Puranas, Dashavatars have been written about. Dashavatar means 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Starting from the 'Matsya' avatar to ending in the 'Kalki' avatar, in this incarnation list, many modern interpreters have shown their interest. And the only reason is its resemblance with Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
Around 1400 years ago in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram, Lord Vishnu's 10 avatars were carved on a pillar. And whenever we talk about Dashavatars then all the avatars had come to earth in order. So the sculptor disrupted the order while carving, and because of that, it still hasn't been made today. It is still undone.
So from this, we get to know that, the order of incarnation was very important for our ancestors. But why is that?
And this is the point when Darwin's theory of evolution starts resembling the Dashavatars.
In Darwin's theory of evolution, it has been said that an organism evolves generation after generation. It inherits physical and behavioral traits because of which they're able to adapt and survive in nature. And the list of Lord Vishnu's incarnations walks parallel to this order of evolution. Let's see how.
According to Yajur Veda, one day King Manu saved a small fish. He was unknown of the fact that the small fish is Lord Vishnu himself. So in change for generosity, that fish warned King Manu about the upcoming destructive flood and also gave him some advice to make a boat. Not only this but on the day of the flood, that fish tied King Manu's boat to its horn and saved it from drowning. So at this time, Lord Vishnu took the Matsya avatar and defeated Hayagreevasura, and took back the 4 Vedas stolen by him and gave them to King Manu. Lord Vishnu's this legendary avatar is an aquatic life form.
And even Darwin had said that on this Earth, the first life form was formed in water bodies. If we dig deeper into this, then we get to know that the first vertebrate on this earth was a jawless fish.
Lord Vishnu's second incarnation is Kurma Which is a tortoise. According to Post-Vedic Puranas, this avatar is related to Samudra Manthan. Gods and Demons together wanted to churn the Kshir Sagar, which is also called the Ocean of Milk, and gain Nectar from it. And in this whole process, Mount Mandara was being used as a churning stick. The great Naga Vasuki had offered himself as a rope. So in this Manthan, to balance Mount Mandara on his back Lord Vishnu had taken the Kurma avatar.
Now this incarnation, on an evolutionary stage fits after aquatic animals. And according to Darwin, at this time, organisms were coming out of the water to become reptiles. So Kurma, which is a tortoise, is a reptile that is closely related to dinosaurs which is a primitive form of reptile. So, we can say that after aquatic vertebrates the most important evolutionary stage is resembled by the Kurma avatar.
According to the scriptures, Lord Vishnu had taken the form of Varah avatar when Hiranyaksha troubles the Gods, had drowned the whole Earth underwater. Now at this time, Manu and his wife Shatarupa were staying on Earth so to save themselves from this problem, they prayed to Lord Brahma. But the problem was that Lord Brahma had given a blessing to Hiranyaksha that no human will be able to defeat him nor any God, no Demon, and no animal. So, to save the world from this problem, Lord Vishnu had taken the Varah avatar. Because while asking for a blessing, Hiranyaksha had taken the names of all animals except- You guessed it right! A boar. So finally, this incarnation of Lord Vishnu fought and defeated Hiranyaksha and saved the Earth.
Now boar is a mammal walking on land, and in the evolutionary stage too, a mammal comes after reptiles. A creature that stays and walks on land.
By taking the Varah avatar, Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyaksha. After this, Hiranyaksha's brother, Hiranyakashipu who was a Demon king he had determined that he would kill all the devotees of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu also gained a blessing from Lord Vishnu via meditation. This blessing was very special because, in this, no one will be able to kill Hiranyakashipu during the day or the night, not any human or any animal, not on the Sky (Space), or the land, not inside the home, or outside.
Now, with such a blessing, Hiranyakashipu was almost immortal. Now, what happened is that Hiranyakashipu had a son named Prahlad. Although he was the son of a demon, he was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Just as Hiranyakashipu gets to know this thing, he feels very bad and in anger, he determines that he will kill his son. And at that time, to save his devotee Prahlad, Lord Vishnu takes such a form, which has the head of a lion and body of a man.
By taking the Narasimha avatar, Lord Vishnu fights Hiranyakashipu, defeats him, and kills him. According to the scriptures, Hiranyakashipu was killed at a point of dusk that wasn't day or night, He was killed on the lap of Vishnu, with no clouds or the land. His death took place at the threshold of the palace, not inside the house, or outside, and he was killed by the Lord's hand, not a weapon.
Now, Narsimha is such an incarnation that resembles the most important and missing link of the human evolutionary stage. Because this incarnation is half human and half animal, this resembles the transition between the apes and us.
After this stage, the Dashavatars mentioned Vamana depicting human evolution Vamana is a Sanskrit word that means dwarf. Lord Vishnu's this avatar had come to Earth when Demon King Mahabali had captured the whole universe and made Devs almost powerless. So, to humble the mighty king, Lord Vishnu incarnated as a dwarfed holy man goes by taking the Vamana avatar, Lord Vishnu went to King Bali's kingdom to beg. When he was asked what he wanted, he said I want the land covered by my 3 steps. Bali granted him the wish. But just as Bali granted this wish, the size of the Vamana avatar started increasing. His form increased so much that just in the first 2 steps, he covered Earth and Heavens. King Bali was humbled by the mighty lord. And when Vamana's avatar asked him where should he put his last step, Bali surrendered and offered up his head. And looking at this, he was made the king of Patal Lok.
Now, this avatar in the evolutionary stage resembles the ancestors of humans. And if physical characteristics are compared then this avatar matches Homo Floresiensis because of the dwarfed height. This incarnation denotes the complete transformation from animals to humans, and the start of intelligence in humans.
Lord Vishnu's 6th incarnation is Parshu Rama. Parshu means Axe. This Vishnu avatar is considered to be very furious. Parshu Rama was the son of Rishi Jamadagni and Renuka And he was known for his Axe and his anger. His nature was so furious that by the orders of his father, he had cut his mother's head without letting any emotions in his way. And not only this, he is also called the destructor of Kshatriya Kul Because he took revenge for his father's death by killing all the males of the Kshatriya Clan For 21 successive times.
This incarnation depicts 'survival of the fittest' from the Theory of Evolution. And resembles the tribal mentality of Early Stone Age Man. This avatar is always seen with an Axe and this Axe Depicts Stone Age tools. Now, till the Parshu Rama avatar, Homo Sapiens had fully developed. And Darwin's Theory of Evolution Comes here and stops.
But, Indian sages had more to offer to this world.
Now the avatars ahead from here, don't depict the physical evolution but the social and psychological evolution of humans, represent the journey towards enlightenment.
By mentioning Sri Rama and Ayodhya, we start thinking about a civilized society, a society running on rules and regulations where relationships are given importance and injustice is fought against.
Maryada Purushottam Rama The perfect man who abides by the rules of society. Sri Rama is such a historical figure whose stories we've been hearing since childhood. How he completed a Vanvas(Exile) of 14 years. Defeated Ravana and saved Sita, Followed the religion, and that is why this avatar is worshipped in the whole of India.
And this divine incarnation shows the transitional phase of human beings from a caveman to a civilized society. Dhanushya Baan which is a weapon of Lord Rama resembles the weapon development phase of the human evolutionary stage and resembles the transition of a Stone Age Man to a Hunter-Gatherer.
In the Dashavatar list, after Lord Rama comes to Balrama who is Lord Krishna's elder brother? In India, he is associated with agriculture. Even his weapon is a plow which highlights his significance in the farming community of India.
This incarnation very gracefully resembles the transition from a Hunter-Gatherer to a farmer. And because of the agricultural revolution, human civilization has acquired many heights. And that is why in Homo Sapiens, this sociological evolutionary stage matters a lot.
Following his elder brother in line, we arrives the ninth avatar of Lord Vishnu, Sri Krishna. So just as humans started farming, they started claiming the land as their domain, became materialistic. And at the same time, humans got to know a lot of philosophical concepts like Love, Hatred, and Politics.
So basically Lord Krishna's avatar gives us a deeper understanding of all these factors by finding the right balance between them. As we saw in Mahabharata, Lord Krishna plays the role of both, a Statesman and a Politician. He portrays sheer intelligence and warfare skills because of which he had guided Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war.
Bhagavad Gita stresses the importance of a politically well-versed society. Lord Rama is considered a perfect man, Lord Krishna is considered a practical man.
I'd like to tell you that the list of incarnations that we are discussing in this blog is according to Vishnu Purana and Bhagavad Purana. And according to this scripture, Balrama is considered to be the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. But there are some other scriptures, which consider Krishna the eighth and Gautama Buddha the ninth avatar.
So I mean to say that according to scriptures and beliefs, this list keeps changing, it has 2-3 versions.
We, humans, have witnessed evolution only till this stage, but our ancestors have predicted another stage.
We are now staying in an advanced civilization. From Hunter-Gatherers to Farmer, Farmer to civilized man, but what comes after civilized man? Like we earned money, bought land, fought for it,
But what's ahead?
So according to the scriptures, when the minds of all humans will be filled with jealousy, hatred, and lust, Evil will be at its peak, and there will be no faith left, at that time, Lord Vishnu will be born as his 10th avatar Kalki Avatar
He will be riding on his white horse, and with his Lazor-like sword, he will end the whole world, marking the end of the Kaliyuga. And then the Kalki avatar will turn the Chakra of Kaal, and start the universe of Satyayuga.
Now Darwin's theory can't explain this stage, but one thing is very obvious, the way this avatar is predicted by our ancestors, it is going to be genetically different and superior to Homo Sapiens.
Also looking at the kind of power this avatar will have it feels like it'll be more technologically advanced than us, too.
So, what did we learn today?
We learned how Darwin's Theory of Evolution came 163 years ago, and was discovered by our ancestors thousands of years ago!
On one side, this interpretation seems so obvious, but on the other side, some people don't believe in the connection between Darwin's Theory and Dashavatars. due to some minute reasons.
One of the reasons is the interaction of the Matsya avatar with humans.
When the evolutionary stage was limited to aquatic life, then how were the humans recorded? So with such questions, this interpretation is called invalid.
But we shouldn't forget that Indian scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata there are scientific and spiritual, both aspects to them which help us make our way of thinking better. And just like this, we should consider the spiritual significance and scientific resemblance so that we open our minds to new learning and experience.