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Hindu Dharma for Beginners

Teaching Resource

Term 2

Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia Inc.

(World Hindu Council of Australia Inc) (ABN: 78862155168, Reg No: Y2898719, Charity No: CFN10709)

GPO Box 1374, Sydney 2001-WWW.VHP.ORG.AU

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Term II Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 and Year 6

Wk 1 Avatars Avatars Avatars Avatars

Give more details, meanings, philosophical aspects

(depends on the class)

Wk 2 Avatars Avatars Avatars Avatars

Give more details, meanings, philosophical aspects

(depends on the class)

Wk 3 Stories Stories Stories Stories

Wk 4 Good habits -

kindness

Compassion

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion

Wk 5 Good habits -

kindness

Compassion,

value based Stories

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion,

value based Stories

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion,

value based Stories

Good habits -

kindness

Compassion,

value based Stories

Wk 6 Hindu worship

Hindu greetings

Hindu worship

Hindu greetings

Hindu worship Hindu

greetings

Hindu, worship 1

Hindu greetings

Wk 7 Rangoli, Garland

making (optional)

Rangoli, Garland

making (optional)

Rangoli, Garland

making (optional)

Rangoli, Garland

making (optional)

Wk 8

Wk 9

Wk 10 Sum up, quiz, trivia

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God is one but has many forms

When He does the job of creating the universe He is called Brahma

When He does the job of preserving the universe He is called Vishnu

When He does the job of destroying evils He is called Shiva

These three forms of God are called Tri-

Murthi’s — Tri means three and murthi

means God

AVATARA

Lord Vishnu comes to earth in an animal form or as a human being to save the world and

to do some good. Thus, avatara means God's rebirth (divine incarnation). According to

Hindu belief, Lord Vishnu has had nine avataras and a tenth avatara is anticipated in

future. These ten avataras are referred to as dasa ( = ten) avataras.

The ten Avataras are:

1. Matsya Avatara – Fish

2. Kurma Avatara – Tortoise

3. Varaha Avatara – Wild Boar

4. Narasimha Avatara – Man-Lion

5. Parasurama Avatara

6. Vamana Avatara – Dwarf

7. Rama Avatara

8. Krishna Avatara

9. Buddha Avatara

10. Kalki Avatara

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Dasavataras

1. Matsya Avatara - fish

Lord Vishnu incarnated as Matsya (fish) to save

Manu and the seven sages (Sapta n during the

cosmic deluge (flood).

2. Kurma Avatara - tortoise

Once the Gods and Demons undertook the task

of churning the ocean of milk with a mountain

called Mandara as a churning rod. The

mountain started to sink during the churning.

Lord Vishnu incarnated as Kurma (tortoise) in

order to support the mountain.

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3. Varaha Avatara - wild boar;

Another time, the world was submerged in flood

waters bvj a demon called Hiranyaksha (the brother of

Hiranyakasipu - See Narasimha Avatara for details)

The Lord came down as Varaha (boar) in order to kill

th demon and protect the world.

4. Narasimha Avatara - man-

lion.

A small boy by name Prahlada was a

great devotee of Lord Vish nu. Prahlada

was treated badly by his father

Hiranyakasipu. Prahlada believed that

the Lord is present everywhere but his

father did not

believe that. Once the father challenged

the boy to sho^the Lord in a pillar

nearby. The Lord to make true the words

of the young devotee, emerged out of the

pillar as Narasimha (man-lion) and killed

Hiranyakasipu

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5. Vamana Avatara - dwarf

Once the Earth was ruled by a King by name

Bali. When he was good he prayed to God

and got a boom that he could not be easily

killed. But he became very bad and all the

people prayed to Lord Vishnu to protect

them. Even when he was bad he had one

good quality - he use to keep up his

promise. So Lord Vishnu took birth as

Vamana (dwarf) and approached King

Bali for gift of land that couid be

covered by his three steps. The King

agreed but immediately the Lord grew in

size, so big that the entire Earth was

covered by his one step, the heavens by

his second. Not having a space to cover

the Lord's third step the King,, to keep

up his promise, asked him to cover his

head as the third step and thus kiiled.

6. Parasurama Avatara Once, the world was ruled by many kings, all

of them were very bad. So Lord Vishnu wa:

bom as Parasurama (Rama with an axe) and

killed all the bad kings.

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7. Rama Avatara Rama is one of the two most popular

Avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu. He

represents the ideal man. The well know

Ramayana is the immortal epic which

depicts his life.

8. Krishna Avatara Lord Krishna is the most popular of all tehAvatars.

He is considered to be a perfect avatar (Poorna

Avatar). In this incarnation he showed himself as

the supreme statesman., warrior, hero, philosopher,

teacher and God himself. He taught Bhagavad Gita

to his dear friend Arjuna on the battel field of

Kurushetra.

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9. Buddha Avatara This Avatara of Lord Vishnu is to

preach 'ahimsa' (non-violence) and to

stop animal sacrifices.

10. Kalki Avatara The tenth Avatara of Lord Vishnu is yet to

come. Our puranas say that he will come to

earth at the end of the present age (Kali yuga).

He will come riding on a white horse with a

sword in hand and will reestablish Dharma by

destroying all bad people.

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Dasavatara

Dashavatara refers to the ten principal Avatars.

(Reference ─ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashavatara).

An Avatar refers to the 'descent' and daśa refers to 'ten' in number. The ten most famous

incarnations of Vishnu are collectively known as the Dashavatara. This list is included in

the Garuda Purana (1.86.10-11).

1. Matsya

Matsya, the fish, appeared in the Satya Yuga.

The Fish Incarnation is the first incarnation of

Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu takes the form of a fish to take a king

to the new world along with one of every single

species of plants and animals from the world's

largest cyclone. What we live in now is the new

world, where the Lord traveled, carrying everything

from the old, destroyed world.

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2. Kurma

Kurma, the tortoise, appeared in the Satya

Yuga. The turtle Incarnation is the second

incarnation of Vishnu. When the devas and

asuras were churning the ocean in order to get

the nectar of immortality, the mount Mandara

they were using as the churning staff started to

sink and Lord Vishnu took the form of a turtle

to bear the weight of the mountain.

3. Varaha

Varaha, the boar, appeared in the Satya Yuga. The

Boar incarnation is the third incarnation of Vishnu. He

appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who

had taken the Earth (Prithvi) and carried it to the

bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the

story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is

believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the

former finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the

ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in

the universe.

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4. Narasimha

Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion

appeared in the Satya Yuga. The Man-

Lion Incarnation is the fourth incarnation

of Vishnu. When the demon

Hiranyakashipu acquired a boon from

Brahma, which gave him inordinate

power, Lord Vishnu appeared in the

form of half-man/half-lion, having a

human-like torso and a lower body, but

with a lion-like face and claws.

Hiranyakashipu could not be killed by

human, deva or animal, Narasimha is

neither one of these, as he is a form of

Vishnu incarnate as a part-human, part

animal. He comes upon Hiranyakashipu

at twilight (when it is neither day nor

night) on the threshold of a courtyard

(neither indoors nor out), and puts the

demon on his thighs (neither earth nor

space). Using his sharp nails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he

disembowels and kills the demon.

5. Vamana

Vamana, the dwarf, appeared in the Treta

Yuga. The fourth lineal descendant of

Hiranyakashyap, named Bali, through his

devotion and penance defeated Indra, the god

of firmament, humbled other gods and

extended his authority over the three worlds.

All the gods appealed to Lord Vishnu for

protection and He became manifest in His

Dwarf Avatar of Vaman for the purpose of

restraining Bali. Once when this king was

making a great religious offering, Lord Vishnu

in the form of Vaman appeared before him in

the company of other Brahmins. Bali was

extremely pleased to see a holy man with such

a diminutive form and promised to give him

whatever he should ask. Lord Vishnu asked

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only for as much land as he could measure by three steps. Bali laughingly agreed to grant

the boon of three steps. Lord Vishnu as dwarf stepped over heaven in first stride and

earth in the second stride. Then he asked Bali where can he put his third step . Bali

realized that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate and his pride was broken. He offered Vamana

to put his third step on his head. Vamana did so and thus blessed Bali marking him as one

of the few immortals blessed by Vishnu. Then out of respect to Bali's kindness and his

grandfather Prahlad's great virtues, he made him the ruler of pathala, the subterranean

region. Bali is believed to have ruled Kerala and Tulunadu. He is still revered there as the

king of prosperity and remembered and called on before the harvesting season.

6. Parasurama

Parashurama, Rama with the axe, appeared in the

Treta Yuga. Parashurama a Brahmin, the sixth

avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is

the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means

axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-

axe. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible

penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the

methods of warfare and other skills. Parashurama is

said to be a "Brahma-Kshatriya" (with the duties

between a Brahmana and a Kshatriya), the first

warrior saint. His mother is descended from the

Kshatriya Suryavanshi clan that ruled Ayodhya and

Lord Rama also belonged to. A haihaya King

Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna - purportedly with

a thousand arms) and his army visited Jamadagni, a

Brahmin sage, who fed his guest and the whole

army with his divine cow Kamadhenu. The king

demanded the magical cow. Jamadagni refused

because he needed the cow for his religious

ceremonies. King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna)

took the cow forcibly and devastated the ashram. Angered at this, Parashurama killed the

king's entire army and, after cutting each one of his thousand arms, the king himself with

his axe. As a revenge, the King's sons killed Jamadagni in Parashurama's absence.

Furious at his father's murder, Parashurama killed all sons of Sahasrajuna and their aides.

His thirst for revenge unquenched, he went on killing every adult Kshatriya on earth, not

once but 21 times, filling five ponds with blood. These are the actions which highlight his

warrior characteristics. Ultimately, his grandfather, Richeek Rishi, appeared and stopped

him.

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7. Rama

Rama, Ramachandra, the prince and king of

Ayodhya, appeared in the Treta Yuga. Rama is

one of the most commonly adored gods in

Hinduism and is known as an ideal man and hero

of the epic Ramayana. Rama defeated and killed

the king of Sri Lanka, Ravana for capturing and

imprisoning his wife Sita in the Ashoka Garden

in Sri Lanka.

8. Krishna

Krishna (meaning 'dark coloured' or 'all attractive')

appeared in the Dwapara Yuga along with his brother

Balarama. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Balarama

is said to have appeared in the Dwapara Yuga (along

with Krishna) as an incarnation of Ananta Shesha.

Krishna is one of the most commonly worshipped deities

in the Hindu faith and is also counted as an avatar of

Vishnu by the majority of Vaishnava movements. As per

the North Indian belief, Krishna is the eighth avatar,

while as per south Indian belief, Balarama is considered

as the eight avatar and Krishna as the ninth. He is also a

significant character in the epic of Mahabharata. Krishna

delivered Bhagwad Gita on battlefield of the Battle of

Kurukshetra to Arjuna. He, like Rama, is also known for

his bravery in destroying evil powers throughout his life.

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He is usually depicted as playing the flute (murali), indicating spread of the melody of

love to people.

9. Buddha

Buddha: (See also: Buddha as an Avatar

of Vishnu) With the departure of

Krishna, Kali Yuga sets in, in this age,

the true devotion to Vedas was replaced

by empty rituals. To enlighten the world

in such times, Vishnu descended the

earth as Buddha, the enlightened one.

10. Kalki

Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of

foulness"), who is expected to appear at the end of

Kali Yuga, the time period in which we currently

live. The tenth and the last avatar of Vishnu, Kalki,

is yet to appear. Kalki will appear at the end of the

Kalyuga. This avatar will appear seated on a white

horse with a drawn sword blazing like a comet. He

shall come finally to destroy the wicked, to restart

the new creation and to restore the purity of conduct

in people's lives.

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Dasavatara

The word 'Avatara' literally it means God's descent to earth. In Bhagawat Gita Sri

Krishna says:

paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge The above verses mean that God makes His appearance on Earth in the form of either an

animal or a human being, to save the world from some catastrophe or evil or simply to do

some good for the universe or to convey some significant message to mankind.

Thus, avatara means divine incarnation. According to Hindu belief Lord Vishnu has had

nine avataras and a tenth avatara is anticipated in future. These ten avataras are referred

to as dasa ( ten) avataras. Their names and significance are as follows:

Name Identity Notes

Matsya Avatara Fish Saved Manu and all forms of plant and animal life

from severe floods

Kurma Avatara Tortoise Back of the tortoise was used as a support for the

churning rod (Mt Mandara) when devas and asuras

churned the ocean of milk (from which kamadenu and

amruta came out)

Varaha Avatara Boar To rescue the Earth from the depths of water. The

demon Hiranyaksha had dragged the Earth down

underwater.

Narasimha Avatara Man Lion To kill Hiranyakasipu (a demon king) and save his

son (bhakta) Prahalada j

Vamana Avatara Dwarf

(short) man

To get rid of Bali Chakravarri (emperor) who had

dethroned Indra.

Parasurama

Avatara

Rama with axe To free the world from the troublesome warrior

Kings.

Rama Avatara

avatara

Rama To kill Ravana. the ten headed demon king of Lanka

(Ramayana)

Krishna Avatara Krishna To get rid of evil persons such as Kamsa, Jarasandha,

and Shishupala; and to give the message of

Bhagawat Gita (Mahabharata)

Buddha Avatara Buddha To preach ahimsa (non-violence).

Kalki Avatara Man on horse Would appear at the end of the current Yuga

(Kaliyuga), to destroy evil and to restore dharma.

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Find the first five avatars.

S K I N G B A L I V I S H N U

A P R A H L A D A K T E N B K

P T O R T O I S E U I E O D V

T H M A N D A R A R V Z A E P

A R A S M Y T V G M M F E R C

R E N I V A R A H A J X S M C

I E L M A T S Y A N K S Y M I

S G I H M B C C Y U S A E V B

H H O A A O A D O O D X Y U V

I Y N E N A E P W N X R N J H

S K D W A R F I S H L W M R F

H I R A N Y A K A S I P U G Z

Boar Manlion Three Dwarf Manu Tortoise

Fish Matsya Vamana Hiranyakasipu Narasimha

Varaha King Bali Prahlada Vishnu Kurma

Saptha Rishis Mandara Ten

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Names of Krishna

J P S R I D A R A J D D A A A

A A H M I S A R A N U Y D V H

N D A L A P O G B Q X O N E T

A M A Y H S A G E M P G A D U

R A I G H N A J N A R I N J H

D N P U N D A R I K A M A S C

H A H A N A H S R A D U S A A

A B T H O M R W A R Y K T V D

N H S D A A A U H A U U A A H

A A K U N D B D D D M N V H I

Y G F R A N Q H H N N D I S T

A S R I N I V A S A A A R E Y

R Y T N T V S V I R V [ S K A

A A R A H O N A M U L A Y E E

N P C P A G S R I P A T H I E

Achyuta Adilya Ananda Anantha Anirudha Gopala

Govinda Hari Jagannatha Janardhana Keshava Madhava

Manohara Megashyama Mukunda Narasimha Narayana Niranjan

Padmanabha Panduranga Pradyumna Pundarika Purandara Sridhara

Srinivasa Sripathi Srivatsa Sudarshana Vasudeva Yogi

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Rajesh was writing the names of different Hindu gods and the avataras. Can you help him

spell them correctly?

1. B R M A H A

2. V N S I H U

3. S I V H A

4. M A S T A Y

5. K R M U A

6. V A A H R A

7. N A S A R I H M A

8. V A A A M N

Draw a picture of Vishnu below.

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Dasavatara Cross Word Puzzle

1

2

3

4

5

6

7 8

9

10

11

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Clues: Across Clues: Down

5. This avatar is to give the message of

Bhagavad Gita

6. Avatar in the form of a big fish

7. Avatar in the form of a dwarf

8. This avatar is to teah ahimsa

11. The last avatar yet to come

12. Avatar as a tortoise

1. Sanskrit word for all the ten avtars

2. Name of avatar Rama with an axe

3. Epic Ramayana’s main character

4. Avatar as half lion and half man

9. Avatar as a boar

10. Name of the Lord who incarnates to

save the world

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Spot atleast six differences in these two pictures and circle them.

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HINDU WORSHIP

Worship of the image or icon of God or Goddess (statue or picture) is the most important

part of Hindu worship This can be done either at home or in the temple.

Hindus have a shrine or personal worship room in their homes called a puja room where

offerings are made and prayers are said. The puja room can be anything from a room, a

small altar or simply pictures or statues of the deity.

Worship involves cleaning the altar, decorating the altar with garland, flowers, rangoli

and lighting a lamp. Then prayer is done either by saying slokas, chanting mantras or

simply repeating the names of favorite gods and goddesses (ista devatas). At the end

water, fruit, flowers and food are offered as to god.

HINDU WORSHIP

Worship of the image or icon of God/Goddess (statue or picture) is the most important

part of Hindu worship. This can be done either at home or in the temple.

Hindus have a shrine or personal worship room in their homes called a puja room where

offerings are made and prayers are said. The puja room can be anything from a room, a

small altar or simply pictures or statues of the deity.

Worship involves cleaning the altar, decorating the altar with garland, flowers, rangoli

and lighting a lamp. Then prayer is done either by saying slokasj chanting mantras or

simply repeating the names of favorite gods and goddesses (istadevatas). At the end

water, fruit, flowers and food are offered as sacrifices/gifts to god.

Puja: Puja is essentially a ritual suggestive of symbolic offering of our lives and activities

to God and enjoying whatever that comes out of it as a gift from Him.

Pushpam (Flowers): It stands for the good in us. We offer the deity the good that has

blossomed in us.

Phalam (Fruits): It is the fruit of our action, which we are supposed to offer to God as a

symbol of our detachment, self-sacrifice and surrender.

Deepam (lighting the lamp): It is the light in us, the very soul that exists in us, which we

offer to the deity as acknowledgement of our surrender and devotion.

Naivedyam: It is our ignorance (avidya), which we offer to the deity. It can also mean the

body and the mind (which stand for the ignorant consciousness in us), which we place in

front of the deity for transformation. When it is blessed by the deity it becomes the

prasad.

Prasad: When we offer our ignorance to God He suffuses it with knowledge and light.

The food that is offered to God is symbolic representation of our ignorance into which at

the end of worship God breathes new life and light making it divine. When we share the

prasad with others, we share with them symbolically the knowledge we so gained during

the worship.

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KOLAM RANGOLI

We draw rangoli in front of the altar every morning to welcome God / Goddess to our

homes. Draw the kolams below.

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Indian way of greeting

The common way of greeting amongst

Indians is by saying 'namaskar' or 'namaste'

while bringing our palms together in front of

our chest and bowing our head. One

interpretation of this is: we are displaying

humility by folding our hands and bowing our

head (hands represent strength and head

represents intellect). Also, we are paying

respect to the other person's 'atma' or soul

which pervades everything. In many Indian

families, when greeting elders, it is customary

to touch their feet - again, as a mark of respect

and seeking the elders' blessings ('asirvad').

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Avatar naming and coloring

Refer activities package.

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Write down the numbers 1 to 10 to show the correct order in which these avatars of

Vishnu took place. Write down the names of avatars and color the pictures.

Number: Number: Number:

Name:

Name: Name:

Number: Number: Number:

Name:

Name: Name:

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Number: Number: Number:

Name:

Name:

Name:

Number:

Name: