Sanatan
Dharma and Hindus firmly believe in incarnation and it is mentioned in Hindu
scriptures that when there is disorder in the world Bhagwan Vishnu will
incarnate himself to restore order for the welfare of the world. In all there
are ten avatars of Vishnu.
Matsya (The Fish):
When the earth was overwhelmed with a
universal flood, Lord Vishnu took the form of a fish and saved the first man
(Manu), his family and seven sages (rishis) in a boat fastened to a horn on his
head. The sacred Vedas were also saved.
Kurma (The Tortoise):
Lord Vishnu took the form of a tortoise in
order to retrieve ambrosia (amritha) from the cosmic flood. This amritha was
essential for the gods to preserve their youth. On the back of Kurma the gods
placed Mount Mandara and tied the divine snake Vasuki around the mountain. With
snake acting as the rope to twirlthe mountain, the ocean was churned, whence
the ambrosia appeared.
Varaha (The Boar):
When the demon Hiranyaksha cast the earth into
the depths of cosmic ocean,Lord Vishnu adorned the form of a wild boar and slew
the demon. Using his tusk, he then raised the earth to safety.
Narasimha (The Man-Lion):
The demon Hiranyakashipu, obtained a boon from
Brahma after intense asceticism (tapas) ensuring that he could not be killed either by
day or night,
by god, man or
beast. He persecuted the gods and men as well as his pious son Prahlada. When
the young son called for the Lord’s help, Lord Vishnu burst out of a pillar, in
a form half man and half lion at sunset and killed the demon Hiranyakashipu.
Vamana (The Dwarf):
Here the
demon Bali Chakravarthy commences a course of asceticism (tapas) to obtain
supernatural powers. When he was a menace to the gods, Lord Vishnu appeared as
a dwarf, asking Bali for alms. Bali granted Vamana three paces of ground as
requested. Vamana transformed himself into a giant and covered the earth with
one step, the heavens with another. Though a demon, Bali was an honorable one
and never went back on his word once granted. Seeing that there was no place
for the third step, Bali, accepting defeat and to save his honor, knelt in
front of god and asked him to place the third step on his own head. He was thus
destroyed and the gods were rescued.
Parashurama (Rama with the Axe):
Born as a son to a Brahmin Jamadagni, Parashurama
killed the wicked King Kartavirya who robbed Jamadagni. Kartavirya’s sons later
killed Jamadagni, after which an
enraged, axe wielding, Parashurama destroyed all the males of the Kshatriya
class for twenty-one successive generations. He is also credited to have
rescued the lands of Kerala and South Kanara from the sea and reclaimed
them. Parashurama is frequently referred
to in the literature, but rarely worshipped.
Lord Rama:
Lord Vishnu
incarnated himself as Rama to save the world from the oppressions of demon
Ravana, king of Lanka, who also abducted his wife Sita. Rama is a benevolent,
brave and a faithful husband. He formed a complete family unit with his
faithful wife, Sita and three loyal brothers, Lakshmana, Bharatha and
Shatrughna. He also is shown as a loving father to his twin boys Lava and Kusha.
The monkey-god Hanumat is his loyal friend and helper. His glorious story is
depicted in the epic Ramayana, written by sage Valmiki in a set of seven books.
Shri Krishna:
Born to Vaudeva and Devaki of the Yadava tribe,
he grew up
as the child of Nandji
and Yashoda. Krishna’s life can be studied in
three stages. As a child he performed many miracles, slew demons like Puthani
and also played numerous pranks on his doting mother,such as stealing butter
from the vessel etc. When confronted by Yashoda and asked to open his mouth she
saw the impression of the whole universe in the infant’s mouth. As an
adolescent Krishna was seen as a flute-playing gawala , enticing the village
girls to come and dance to the tunes. His favorite was the beautiful Radha. Later
Krishna married Rukmini, the daughter of king of Vidarbha and made her his queen
and it is said that Shri Krisha had 16,000 wives. Krishna’s greatest
manifestation was as a charioteer to Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers (Kuru
Dynasty of Hasthinapura), as depicted in the epic Mahabharata. Here he preached
the great sermon of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna also had an older brother called
Balarama (also called Halayudha-meaning armed with a plough), who was also
worshipped for sometime in the past. Some consider Balarama as another avatar
of Vishnu (later supplanted by Buddha).
Buddha:
According to
most theologians Buddha became god in order to ensure damnation of the wicked
by making them deny the sacred Vedas. However Jayadeva’s Gita Govnda states
that Vishnu became Buddha out of compassion to animals and to put an end to
their bloody sacrifice.
Kalki:
Kalki is the incarnation yet to come. At the end of the present Dark Age,
Vishnu will appear on a white horse Devadatha, and destroy the world. A clear indication that human beings will bring an end to the life on earth. The numerous natural calamities created by human beings and the stock of nuclear weapons stored illustrates this. After complete annihilation, Lord Vishnu alone floats on a pipal life-perhaps the last remaining life form. Thousands of years after the complete annihilation, life will begin again in water
