In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatara Devanagari, IAST avat ra , the
Sanskrit for "descent" usually implies a deliberate
descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence
for special purposes, often translated into English as incarnation.
Avatars that are of importance are mainly those of the Supreme
Being which are plenary and marked with superhuman qualities. Other
types of descents are limited expansions of Ishvara, and some that
are descents of lesser empowered divinities. The term is used
primarily in Hinduism for descents of Vishnu whom Vaishnava Hindus
(one of the largest branches of Hinduism) worship as the Supreme
God, a distinctive feature of Vaishnavism. While Shiva and Ganesha
are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the
Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's
avatars specifically, the avatars of Vishnu carry a greater
theological prominence than those of Shiva or Ganesha and upon
examination relevant passages are directly imitative of the
Vaishnava avatara lists.
