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The deity Ashura seeks to enter the mortal realm using an avatar. This is meant to fulfill a prophecy, in which he does battle with an ancient demon seeking to conquer earth. However, avatars are only capable of possessing a portion of a God's power, making him much weaker in the mortal realm. Ashura decides to manifest his avatar, which would reproduce asexually. The child resulting from this would be Ashura at full strength, with all his godly abilities and powers. This completes the "Blessed Trinity" of the religion that evolved around the god: These individuals are regarded as separate aspects of Ashura: The first being creator of the universe and ruler in heaven, The third as representative of God in human form and eternal king on the material plane, and the second being God's transitory avatar that was re-absorbed after its mission was complete. All three are worshipped as one being and are meant to retain equal reverence to each other.

As the second being in the Trinity is simply a smaller part of the first aspect and is basically a vessel to create the mortal aspect, it lacks a true, separate identity. The fact that it is a temporary figure in the religion that was subsumed back into the creator makes it seem like the lame duck of the group, lacking any relevance to the mythology. With this in mind, it would end up being overshadowed by the other members in the pantheon. As it has served its purpose, there seems little reason to keep it around and pair it with the others. How can this faith be crafted to make this aspect relevant?

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  • $\begingroup$ How do you mean "reabsorbed" - literally? If so then it's importance is purely mythic. Reabsorbed in what sense? $\endgroup$
    – Escaped dental patient.
    Commented Sep 18, 2021 at 19:32
  • $\begingroup$ Why does the avatar have to be a one time thing? From my admittedly tangential experience with Hinduism, Krishna was a similar entity and he showed up whenever there was a problem. $\endgroup$
    – No Name
    Commented May 21, 2022 at 23:29

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the second being God's transitory avatar that was re-absorbed after its mission was complete

The transitory avatar had the best advice for humans.

This avatar is the least powerful of the three but is the most relatable. It was like us. During its short life it hung out with humans. It worried. It got hungry and lost its temper. It helped people. It got dirty feet.

It had excellent advice for humankind and that advice remains good to the present day. The relatability of the avatar and the usefulness of its story and its words are why it remains, and remains very popular.

There is ample precedent for this sort of thing. As I think you know.

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Well, I'll start of course, by saying that it all depends on the limitations you want to impose on your deities. With that, I'll offer some possibilities that come to mind.

The transitory deity was unable to pass on a trait to the full avatar. This may as a side effect not work right with your religion, as the full avatar is meant to be the literal perfect embodiment of your deity.

The crux of the situation is that if you have someone that is truly perfect, in skill, knowledge, power, and in their character, then it is kind of hard for the transitory deity to have a use. It does of course depend on if you consider the full avatar perfect, if they still have character flaws, such as arrogance.

Perhaps the transitory deity develops skills, knowledge, etc, that are wholly separate from the main deity, and finds a use by utilizing them. Maybe the other gods keep them around out of benevolence, using them for errand running.

It all depends on your vision for your theology, and how you intend to characterize your gods.

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"We praise the Second Avatar, He who gives Ashura Shape, constructor of the Third Avatar and Opener of the Ways."

Not every divine being has a super grandiose and clearly-defined domain. If I understand the trinity system you are using correctly, it being similar to the different forms of Hindu deities, then this avatar is as valid and worthy of worship as the other two, even if it doesn't do a whole lot. Hell, the Hindu faithful still worship Kali, who almost ended the world once and will be a major catalyst for its end according to the faith's eschatology. There is also the example of seemingly completely insignificant deities that still maintained cult followings in many polytheistic faiths, such as Serritor, the Roman god of pulling weeds and using a hoe. And still, His name was invoked during the Cerealia celebrations along with all the other assistants of Ceres. This is to say, the relative lack of grandiosity of this form does not mean it is completely pointless. It is still an aspect of Ashura, and as long as His worship remains widespread, there will surely be an intristic respect given to this form as much as the other two - if not, even a cult worship of this aspect. I could easily see this short-lived phase of Ashura's transition finding a relatability to some, being seen as a symbol of change, means to greater ends, and even possibly allowing His worshippers to find a likeness in their worship of Ashura to this form; though they are relatively brief, they assist in bringing about His authority over the mortal, material world through their actions.

Hope this helps! [:

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