Avatar

I looked up the word Avatar on Wikipedia and got these quotes for you.

For the upcoming film, see Avatar (2009 film). For other uses, see Avatar (disambiguation).
The ten avatars of Vishnu (clockwise, from upper left corner): Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama & Narasimha, and Krishna (centre)

Avatar or Avatara (Devanagari अवतार, IAST avatāra, the Sanskrit for "descent" [viz., from heaven to earth, from the verbal root tṝ "to cross over"]), in Hinduism, usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes, often translated into English as incarnation.

Avatars that are of importance are mainly those of the Supreme Being which are plenary and marked with superhuman qualities. Other types of descents are limited expansions of Ishvara, and some that are descents of lesser empowered divinities. The term is used primarily in Hinduism for descents of Vishnu whom Vaishnava Hindus (one of the largest branches of Hinduism)[1] worship as the Supreme God, a distinctive feature of Vaishnavism. While Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's avatars specifically, the avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of Shiva or Ganesha and upon examination relevant passages are directly imitative of the Vaishnava avatara lists.[2] end quote from wikipedia.

So, if I got this right Gods incarnate on Earth to help the humans and all beings here as Avatars. Under this definition both Jesus and Krishna would be Avatars and possibly Guatama Buddha as well. However, for this to be accurate they would have to be incarnations of one of the 10 Avatars of Vishnu. I have often wondered whether the names Krishna and Christos are related as they are similar to speak.

How this term relates to the movie (Avatar) coming up next week we will all find out when we actually see the movie.