Dash Avatar (Ten Incarnations)

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