The present book is a comprehensive and comparative study of the origin and development of the concept of Avatara in the theological and biographical literature of India: Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali and Bengali. It seeks to understand the incarnated divinity of Chaitanya (1486-1533) and the socio-religious and psychological factors responsible for his apotheosis during his life-time. The study also shows how the concept of Avatara, though un-Vedic in origin, has ...
