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c.smith
08 June 2006, 07:35 PM
This is probably a silly question for those of you who have grown up Hindu, but can someone explain the difference between Gods/DemiGods/Avatars?

The little understanding that I have is, for example that Visnu is a God and Krishna would be an Avatar. Perhaps I am even wrong on this.

sarabhanga
08 June 2006, 09:10 PM
Namaste,

A God is both unborn and immortal, whereas a “Demi-God” is the offspring of an immortal God and a mortal (generally human) creature ~ i.e. born by divine inspiration or intervention, and thus virtually immortal.

An Avatara is therefore a “Demigod”.

Vishnu is a God, and Krishna is an Avatara ~ but remember that Shri Krishna is a Purnavatara or “Perfect Incarnataion” of Vishnu; and as such, Krishna and Vishnu are exactly equivalent conceptions of God.