Buddha Avatar

The ninth avatar, or “incarnation,” of
the god Vishnu. As the only attested historical figure (and one who clearly differed with the Hindu orthodoxy of his
time), the Buddha avatar shows how the
avatar doctrine was used to envelop and
assimilate existing religious figures.
Although this designation as an avatar
was an attempt to appropriate a significant religious figure by projecting him as
an incarnation of Vishnu, this attempt’s
transparency can be seen in the differing opinions over this avatar. In the
opening chapter of his Gitagovinda, the
poet Jayadeva claims that Vishnu incarnated as the Buddha to condemn the
animal sacrifices prevalent in Vedic
times. Other accounts portray him as
misleading the wicked by instructing
them to deny the authority of the Vedas
(which the historical Buddha explicitly
denied) and drive themselves into
hell. Despite being named as one of
the avatars, the Buddha was never
worshiped by Vaishnavas, and
Buddhists themselves have certainly
never accepted this assertion.