Avatar: Forms of Vishnu

If this book-catalog is absolutely gorgeous, it is certainly due to the talented team (in majority women) behind its release — from managing editor Faith Chisholm to designer Maria Smit to photographer Jenni Carter, who aptly showcased the rich iconographic selection put forward by the editors -, but also to the topic itself — through all its avatars, Vishnu remains certainly the most inspiring and seductively complex of all the deities worshipped in Ancient India and Southeast Asia. 

With all due respect, we could also posit that Vishnu — and the two iconic avatars Rama and Krishna - is the most ​‘post-modern’ of Indic gods: preserver of the cosmic world but mostly benevolent, gender fluid — beautifully embodied by the ravishing Mohini, who would prevent catastrophic developments as the outcome of the churning of the Ocean of Milk; and isn’t possible to see in Sita herself a manifestation of Vishnu?  -, close to Nature as ​‘his’ avatars of choice can be Kurma the tortoise or (especially in Khmer iconography) the horse-headed Vājimukha, eco-conscious — in Khmer iconography, again, the lotus, one of Vishnu’s classical attributes, is often substituted with the symbol of Bhumi [Bhu Devi, ​‘Mother Earth’] -, utterly ​‘transformable’ and ​‘transformative’. Co-editor Chaitanya Sambrani has called this amazing profusion of forms and characters a ​“procession of diversity” (“A Procession of Diversity: The Avatars of Vishnu in Art”, Orientations 57 – 4, June 2026: 45 – 51.)

1) India, Karnataka, Vijayanagar dynasty (1336 – 1565), ​‘Sita’. 1400s, bronze, lost-wax casting, 68 x 21.5 x 19 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1991. [reproduced courtesey of AGNSW].

2) India, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat style. ​‘Jatayu hinders the abduction of Sita’, 1870s. watercolour and silver paint on paper, 40.5cm x 27.5 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of Dr Jim Masselos 2026. [reproduced courtesy of AGNSW].

This great versatility is particularly obvious in the art of Ancient Cambodia, as author Seang Sokha remarked in his contribution: 

According to Kamaleswar Bhattacharya (1928 – 2014), a specialist in Khmer epigraphy, the
Pancharatra doctrine of the Vaishnava sect was introduced into Cambodia around the fifth
century. Within this theological framework, as many as thirty-nine avatars of Vishnu are
enumerated. Among these numerous manifestations, however, the concept of the Dashāvatara (Ten Avatars) emerged as the most widely recognised in Cambodia. These include Matsya (the fish), Kurma (the tortoise), Varāha (the boar), Narasimha (the man-lion), Vāmana (the dwarf), Parashurāma (the destroyer), Rāma (the hero of the Ramayana), Krishna (the cowherd), Buddha, and Vājimukha (the man-horse). Not all of these are equally represented in Khmer art. Matsya, the first incarnation, is not seen in Khmer sculpture or reliefs, while Buddha, the ninth avatar, likewise remains difficult to identify in Khmer art, and Parashurāma appears to have had very limited following in Cambodia, with only a single pre-Angkorian example known. In sculpture in the round, however, a remarkable diversity of these avatars is represented, particularly within the pre-Angkorian and Bayon artistic traditions. [Seang Sokha, ​“When the god descends: Vishnu’s avatars and Khmer sovereignty”, in Avatars: Forms of Vishnu, Sydney, AGNSW, 2026, p. 124]

Several authors such as O.W. Wolters, Paul Lavy and Ian Mabbett have studied the poetic and iconographic allusions to Vishnu’s ​“descents” on earth in order to restore dharma (the righteous path) in the classical Khmer worldview. The ultimate chakravartin, ​‘universal ruler”. The Sydney exhibition echoes that through the National Museum of Cambodia’s loan of the magnificent Vishnu statue from Phnom Kulen (9th century). In that respect, Seang Soka remarks:

This capacity to embody both divine and worldly authority made Vishnu enduringly popular in ancient Cambodia. Because Vishnu is the god who descends when the world falters, he offered Khmer rulers a ready-made model of kingship – a theology of salvation translated into royal imagery. In Khmer art and inscriptions, the avatars of Vishnu became metaphors of rulership. From Varāha the boar lifting the earth to Vāmana the dwarf measuring the worlds, each form mapped divine intervention onto royal power. This theology of descent evolved into a visual language of sovereignty across Khmer art and history. [Seang Sokha, ​“When the god descends…”, p. 119]

Cambodia, Phnom Kulen, Prasat Damrei Krap — Angkor period (802‑1431), Kulen style.
Vishnu, early 800s. Sandstone, 145 × 62 cm. National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. (Ka.1620).

Cambodia, Battambang, Tuol Baset — Pre-Angkor period (c100 – 800). ​‘Lintel depicting Vishnu reclining on the serpent Ananta Shesha (Anantashayin) and the birth of Brahma’, mid 600s. Sandstone, 63 × 158 × 28 cm. Battambang Provincial Museum, transferred from National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art/​Art Resource, NY. 

Note: there are several stunning pieces on loan from Cambodia at the ​“Avatar: Forms of Vishnu” exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia [20 June – 5 October 2026], including an impressive, mid-10th century lintel (possibly from Prasat Bassac, from the Svay Rieng Provincial Museum) depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Australian museums and art galleries have also contributed important artworks, some from Cambodia. 

Khmer art aficionados may have expected some development on Harihara, the fusional combination of Vishnu and Shiva once so beloved in Cambodia that one Angkorian capital city was given the name Hariharalaya, but the book and exhibition had a large span to cover, including representations of Vishnu, Rama and Krishna in pre-modern and modern Indian art. Caroline Widmer, for instance, studied the iconography of the Ramayana with Mughal miniatures originally owned Hamida Banu Begum (1527−1604), a remarkable display of ​“cross-cultural imagery.” (p. 210 – 5). In her essay ​“Adoring Krishna: the power of surrender in devotion”, Carol Cains explores the artistic and philosophical significance of bhakti (loving devotion
to a personal deity), an emotion so present in Southeast Asian (and particularly Khmer) early art. And several contemporary artists — Gitanjali Das, Kalyan Joshi, Jumaadi, Desmond Lazaro, Kalam Patua, Nalini Malani, Pushpamala N, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Sumakshi Singh, Satyanarayan Suthar ‑have contributed their own visions of Vishnu’s avatars. 

India, Rajasthan, Bundi, ​‘Krishna spying on the gopis bathing’, late 1700s, opaque watercolour and gold and silver, paint on wasli paper, 23.2 x 14.1 cm image; 37 x 27.4 cm sheet, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 1980. [reproduced courtesy of AGNSW].

Pushpamala N, ​‘Nightmare/​odalisque’ 2026, from the series ​‘Apaharana/​Abduction’, archival inkjet prints, 81.2 × 121.9 cm, courtesy of the artist © Pushpamala N [reproduced courtesy of AGNSW].

If Vishnu symbolizes ​“accretion and synthesis in Indian tradition”, to quote Chaitanya Sambrani, we could add ​“syncretism”, as it escapes most of the rigidity of the Brahmanic dharma. There is even a messianic dimension in ​‘Mahavishnu’ that might appeal to monotheistic believers:

The stories of Vishnu’s avatars and their artistic representations have for many centuries formed bridges between the daily lives of believers and esoteric philosophical systems. Through their diversity, different avatars can be invoked as ishtadevata (personal deity) even as believers conduct their lives in light of eternal contests between devas and asuras, light and darkness, dharma and adharma. The all encompassing nature of Vishnu is crystallised in the Vishvarūpa – an image that gathers every form into a single cosmic body, spanning the earth and sky, breathing forth the world into being, and devouring it into ultimate dissolution. From this vision of totality, the cycle of descent moves towards its cataclysmic close: the coming of Kalki, Vishnu’s final avatar, is prophesised to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, our present age of crisis. [Chaitanya Sambrani, ​“Vishnu’s dimensions:
accretion and synthesis in Indian tradition”, in Avatar: Forms of Vishnu, op. cit., p. 36]

By its scope through time periods and artistic expression forms, the 2026 Sydney exhibition calls to mind ​“Beyond Bollywood: Exploring 2000 Years of Dance in Art from Temples to Royal Courts to Modern Movie Classics” held at San Francisco Asian Art Museum in 2023. With a more focused theme, the present one allows for more in-depth perspectives combining art history and comparative exploration of social and cultural contexts. Co-curator and co-editor Melanie Eastburn closes her own contribution [“ Golden and radiant as the sun: female presence and
the avatars of Vishnu”] with the following lines: 

From the quiet of pralaya [1] to the coming of Kalki, the female divine appears not as an adjunct to Vishnu but as the vital force that enables his power. His ability to restore balance depends on the radiant presence of the goddess in her many forms – Lakshmi as spiritual abundance, Bhu Devi as fertile earth, and the myriad embodiments that complement his numerous avatars. Whether rescuing the world, inspiring devotion, or wielding illusion as Mohini, her energy is the constant that drives every cosmic turn. It is this enduring, adaptable female power that initiates, supports and completes each great cycle of the universe. [p. 80]

In these times of unrelenting clamors of war, we might want to listen to the little tune of Vishnu’s flute.

India, Kota style, ​‘Krishna’s fluting summons the entranced gopis for autumn moon festival (Sharad Purnima)’ . Circa 1840, shrine hanging (pichhavai) [detail]; opaque watercolour, gold and silver on cotton, 291.8 x 311 cm, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 2005 [reproduced courtesy of AGNSW]. 

[1] In the Glossary, the editors defined pralaya as ​“the periodic dissolution or suspension of the universe at the end of a cosmic cycle; during pralaya, all creation is withdrawn into Vishnu, where it remains in a latent state until the next creation.

More on the Exhibition

Read Meng Seavmey’s report at AGNSW for Cambodianess, ​“Khmer Vishnu Masterpieces Take Centre Stage in Landmark Sydney Exhibition”, 23 June 2026.