don quichotte illustré max milo
paris

vishnu's avatars

The ten incarnations of Vishnu are a recurrent theme in Vedic history. Vishnu exists outside the materialrealmasthecreator,andheexistswithin every being as the Supersoul. He also enters this world as avatar,one who descends, to restore balancewheneverhispresenceisneeded.His descent is described by Krishna : Whenever there is a decline of religion, and a rise of irreligion, I incarnate myself. To protect the good, to destroy the wicked, and to re-establish religious principles, I appear in every age.

There are said to be more incarnations of Godhead than there are waves in the ocean. It is also said that Vishnu incarnates in all species of life. The ten avatars of Vishnu are of particular interest because He takes progressively more developed forms, from fish, tortoise and boar to half-animal, half-man, and finally human form. That God should incarnate as an animal, even a supernatural one, shows that animals have an important role to play in God's eyes. They are not simply dumb beasts, or livestock meant for satisfying human needs and appetites. They are living expressions of the spirit and of the presence of God.

In his Gita Govinda, an elaborate poem of devotion to Krishna, the poet Jayadeva composed ten verses in praise of Vishnu's avatars. I have included with each verse the story of that incarnation.Thetalesoftheseincarnationshave had a profound influence on Hindu culture.

dashavatara

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manava purana is one of upapuranas | 42 avatars of vishnu.

The Museum of Sacred Art is a Foundation based in Brussels dedicated to promoting Indian and ISKCON (Hare Krishna) SpiritualArt.Ithas12CollectionsofIndianArtistsand12 Collections of ISKCON Artists. Each Collection is an Exhibit in itself and they all have nicely produced catalogues. Besides these 24 Collections/Exhibits/Catalogues MOSA is organising this wonderful exhibit entitled Narasimha and the Avatars which includes more than 60 artists from all the 24 Collections. MOSA is also preparing another exhibit drawn from its Collections entitledShakti : Fair and Fierce-PathBreakingWomenArtistsofIndia.Itincludesover20 ContemporaryArtistsfromtheMOSACollectionsaswellasover 10 Women Embroidery Artists from Kutch and Bihar. MOSApresentsitsCollections/Exhibits/Cataloguesinitsown Galleries in Radhadesh, Belgium, Villa Vrindavan, Italy and ISKCON Tenerife,SpainaswellaswellknownMuseumsandCultural CentersthroughouttheworldwithafocusonEurope.Italso organises Residencies for Artists in Tuscany, Italy and loans Art to MOSA has also produced a major book entitled Forms of Devotion: The Spiritual in Indian Art & a wonderful Documentary directed by Goutam Ghose called Studios of Devotion. It is supported by the Indian Government through the ICCR-Indian Council for Cultural Relations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. MaythevisitorstoMOSAenjoythisamazingexhibitdepictingthe Avatars of Krishna/Vishnu with a focus on Narasimha Avatar. ILLUSTRATIONS BY M. HŒBREGS ©2023

dessin botanique numérique orchidaceæ ophrys

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répertoire des orchidaceæ ophrys du benelux

Le genre Ophrys regroupe des orchidées (famille des Orchidaceae) terrestres euro-méditerranéennes et est répandu du sud de la Scandinavie à l'Afrique du Nord et des îles Canaries à la mer Caspienne.

Plantes présentant 2 ou 3 tubercules, des feuilles en rosette basale et une hampe florale laxiflore et en général pauciflore (1 à 14 fleurs). Les fleurs ont les sépales et les pétales latéraux étalés. Le labelle est sans éperon, plus ou moins entier, muni à la fois d'une pilosité importante et d'une zone glabre appelée macule. C'est sans doute cette pilosité qui a valu son nom au genre, le mot ophrus signifiant en grec « sourcil ». La particularité la plus remarquable dans ce genre est constituée par les relations qui se sont développées avec les insectes et, en particulier, différentes espèces d'abeilles sauvages. Le labelle des Ophrys, en imitant un corps d'hyménoptère (exceptionnellement de coléoptère), provoque de furieuses pseudocopulations de la part des mâles, attirés par des substances émises par les Ophrys qui évoquent des phéromones sexuelles de la femelle correspondante. Suivant les espèces, on a une pollinisation céphalique (le mâle emportant les pollinies collées sur la tête) ou une pollinisation abdominale quand la pseudocopulation se fait dans la position inverse (exceptionnellement en position latérale). Ce mécanisme est très précis et explique la radiation évolutive rencontrée dans ce genre qui compte environ 150 à 300 espèces et sous-espèces d'ophrys sur leur aire de répartition.

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