Brian Griffith's Blog - Posts Tagged "divine-beings"

According to India’s myth makers, the world soul, Vishnu, has come in ten great incarnations over the course of evolution, and the first four were incarnations as animals: Matsya the fish, Kürma the tortoise, Varāha the boar, and Narasimha the lion-man. For his eighth incarnation, Vishnu came into the world as the cow-herding boy Krishna, who loved to teach universal truths through mischievous pranks. While rambling through the world with his cows, he wandered into the heavenly palace of the non-incarnated Vishnu, sitting on his lordly throne. The enthroned Lord, asked what a mere cow boy was doing in his court, and Krishna said, “I just wanted to see which Lord Vishnu you are.” After considering this preposterous question for a moment, the great Lord thundered, “What do you mean WHICH Lord Vishnu? I am THE Lord Vishnu.” At this, the boy gave a whistle, and into the hall poured a wave of ants. They swarmed forward over the vast marble floor, approaching Vishnu’s throne. “What is this?” Lord Vishnu demanded to know. “You see?” Krishna explained, “All of them—former Lord Vishnus.”
War and Peace with the Beasts: A History of Our Relationships with Animals