A History of Sanskrit Literature c7.48

c7.48

To this feature may be traced the myth of the Brāhmaṇas in which Vishṇu appears in the form of a dwarf as an artifice to recover the earth, now in the possession of demons, by taking his three strides. His character for benevolence was in post-Vedic mythology developed in the doctrine of the Avatārs ("descents" to earth) or incarnations which he assumed for the good of humanity.