Avatar, Avatāra
sk अवतार avatāra lit. "descent", "persistence", "form".
Avatāra in Sanskrit refers to "descending into a form", or "incarnation" - "avatar" in modern Indo-European languages.
Initially used specifically for the incarnations of Mahāviṣṇu, it is also one of the names of Krishna.
In the Purana, there are three kinds of incarnations of a deity - avatāra (full supranatural power), āveśa (power limited to the present time) and aṃśāvatāra (partial incarnation).
In modern English, an "avatar" is "a graphical or physical manifestation of a person, idea, or deity." [Merriam-Webster Dictionary].
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