Talk:Saguṇa Brahman as Vibhūti-s:Relationship between Vibhūtis, Avatāras and Mūrtis

By Sri Vishal Agarwal

The concept of Vibhūti-s overlaps that of Avatāra-s on one hand, and that of Mūrti on the other. In particular, we may even call Avatāra-s as prominent Vibhūti-s that reflect the power and glory of Brahman more fully. Or conversely, several Vibhūti-s are partial incarnations of Brahman. This is the reason why a personage like Veda Vyāsa is enumerated as an Avatāra in scriptures like the Bhāgavata Purāṇa but as a Vibhūti in the Bhagavad Gītā.

Malhotra explains this overlap: "The Purāṇas and some other Vaiṣṇava traditions do not make a clear distinction between vibhuti and avatara, and there is a tendency to apply the name ‘avatar’ to anyone who has risen above the ordinary level of human consciousness or has some special divine power. But the Bhagavadgita is specific about avataras and says that there can be infinite numbers of vibhutis, or ones with special qualities and powers of the divine, but the Supreme descends in human form as an avatar for a specific purpose."

Many Vibhūti-s, on the other hand, are natural objects like the river Gaṅgā, the Himālaya-s and so on. They have a discernible, tangible, and permanent material form like the Mūrti. Therefore, these Vibhūti-s are like ‘natural’ Mūrti-s. The two are also related to each other through the practice of worshipping Kula and Grāma Devatā-s.

Some scholars state that an Avatāra is distinct from a Vibhūti because the former is always conscious of its divine nature whereas the latter is not. However, this is not completely true. For example, in the Rāmāyaṇa we read that Śrī Rāma, an Avatāra, had to be reminded of His divine nature before his battle with Rāvaṇa. It should be pointed out, however, that some sages also clarify that this apparent ‘forgetfulness’ on the part of Rāma was merely His divine play, and that in reality He was never non-cognizant of His divine nature or purpose.

Vibhūti-s as Kula Devatā and Grāma Devatā The concept of this entire universe being a vibhūti of Brahman (with numerous finite exemplars listed in the Gītā) naturally leads to recognition by the peoples of local manifestations of Divinity (Grāma Devatā) and also worship of an Iṣṭa Devatā that has been traditionally worshipped within their own family for several generations (Kula Devatā). These may be either a pan-Hindu Devatā like Durgā, or a locally worshipped Devatā, or a Devatā that is worshipped only by that particular family or a few other families.

The Kula and Grāma Devatā-s are worshipped for the sake of welfare of the village or one’s family out of tradition, in the form of a Mūrti. They are frequently treated as manifestations of one of the pan-Hindu Devatā-s and, through them, of Brahman.

Typically, peoples do not worship them to achieve the higher goal of mokṣa, and accord the right to all communities and families to worship their own kula and grāma devatā.