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Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
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Term used in the Vedic myths incorporated into Hindu religion to denote the various incarnations of the gods, particularly Brahma and Vishnu. It is sometimes generalized by commentators to refer to any temporary incarnation of a deity, particularly in the context of syncretizing theories which regard all similar myth-figures as aspects of the same root-image. Such theories underlie a good deal of fantasy, resulting in such "avatar stories" as Edgar Jepson's The Horned Shepherd (1904). The term's use in "Avatar" (1856) by Théophile Gautier and The Avatars: A Futurist Fantasy (1933) by A.E. is more obviously metaphorical. [BS]

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