अवतार

Etymology

From Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descended from the sky”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əʋ.t̪ɑːɾ/

Noun

अवतार • (avtār) m (Urdu spelling اوتار‎)

1. (Hinduism) an incarnation; incarnation of a deity, descent to the world

   अवतार लेना ― avtār lenā ― to incarnate

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit अवतार (ava-tāra).

Noun

अवतार • (avatār) m

1. avatar
2. descending, descent

References

• James Thomas Molesworth (1857), “अवतार”, in A dictionary, Marathi and English, Bombay: Printed for government at the Bombay Education Society's Press

Alternative forms

• अवतारु

Etymology

From Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra)

Noun

अवतार (avatāra) m

1. incarnation, rebirth, avatar

Etymology

अव- (ava, “down”) +‎ तार (tāra, “savior”), from Proto-Indo-European *aw- (“off, away”) + *terh₂- (“to cross over”)

Noun

अवतार • (ava-tāra) m

1. avatar: descent (especially of a deity from heaven), appearance of any deity upon earth (but more particularly the incarnations of Vishnu in ten principal forms, namely the fish tortoise, boar, man lion, dwarf, the two Ramas, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki)
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata 12
   • c. 1000, Kṣemendra, Kalāvilasā 10.10.21

     Madanaś chala|caurāṇāṃ / strī|vacanaṃ jñāti|bhedānām

     krūraś caṇḍālānāṃ / †māyāvī kali|yug’|âvatārāṇām†;

     The God of love among sneaky thieves, / women’s words among dividers of kinsmen,

     a cruel one among chandálas, / a necromancer among those incarnated / in the age of darkness;

2. any new and unexpected appearance
   • c. 400 CE, Kālidāsa, Raghuvaṃśa 3.36
3. any distinguished person in the language of respect is called an avatāra or incarnation of a deity
4. opportunity of catching any one
5. a तीर्थ (tīrtha) or sacred place
6. translation

References

• Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1898) A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 0099