The Dashavatara of Vishnu echo Lord Krishna’s message in the Bhagavad Gita when he says, “Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, and rise of unrighteousness; I incarnate myself to protect the virtuous and to destroy the wicked, from age to age.”
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Dashavatara Of Vishnu
Lord Vishnu has incarnated on earth from time to time, in different forms to re-establish Dharma or righteousness and to give a message of the right way of life. These different forms of Lord Vishnu are known as the Dashavatara of Vishnu.
List of Dashavatara Of Vishnu
Here is the complete list of the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu arranged in order of appearance.
- Matsya Avatara
- Kurma Avatara
- Varaha Avatara
- Narasimha Avatara
- Vaman Avatara
- Parashuram Avatara
- Rama Avatara
- Krishna Avatara
- Buddha Avatara
- Kalki Avatara
Dashavatara Of Vishnu – The Story Of The 10 Avatars
The 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu appeared on earth at different times and in succession. The circumstances around their appearance were different in each of the avatars, however, the reason for their appearance always remained and will remain the same. The destruction of evil forces and the re-establishment of truth and goodness in the world. Here are the stories of each of the 10 avatars of Vishnu.
Matsya Avatar Story – The Great Deluge
The Matsya Avatar was the first of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. In this avatar, Lord Vishnu took a for which was half fish and half man. This avatar appeared during the Satyuga. The entire world was submerged in water, a great flood was destroying the whole human race and all forms of life. To save life on earth, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Matsya (Fish).
When the great deluge arrives, the fish has grown to gigantic proportions and helps Manu, his family, the Vedas, the Saptarishis, and other essentials to safety in the Himalayas. After this, the process of creation begins once again.
Kurma Avatar Story – Churning of The Ocean
The second of the Dashavatara of Vishnu is known as Kurma Avatara. In this avatar, Lord Vishnu assumes the form of a tortoise ( Kurma in Sanskrit). The story of the Kurma avatar is connected to the famous incident from Indian mythology, the churning of the ocean. Both the Gods (Devas) and the Demons (Asuras) join to churn the ocean. They are both after Amrita (Nectar), which will make them immortal.
Mount Mandara is chosen as the churner with which to churn the ocean. The serpent Vasuki is the rope which would be tied around Mount Mandara to churn the ocean. One side of the rope (Vasuki) would be manned by the Devas, while the other side would be manned by the asuras. But the problem was how to keep Mount Mandara, steady while churning the turbulent ocean?
Lord Vishnu came to the help of the Devas and Asuras, he took on the form of a giant Tortoise (Kurma), and descended to the bottom of the ocean. Mound Mandara was placed on the back of Kurma, using it as a pivot, and the churning became steady as Lord Vishu bore its weight. This then is the story of the second avatar of Lord Vishnu as Kurma.
Varaha Avatar Story- The Boar And Bhudevi
The Varaha avatar is the third of the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. In this avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates as a wild boar (Varaha). According to legend, a demon named Hiranyaksha has hidden the earth or Bhudevi, in the cosmic ocean. Lord Vishnu takes the form of Varaha and dives into the cosmic ocean, kills the demon Hiranyaksha and with the help of his tusk, lifts the earth (Bhudevi) and restores it to its rightful place.
Thus Lord Vishnu saves the earth and all life on it. The Varaha Avatar is depicted grandly in many temples as sculptures and bas reliefs. The most magnificent of these is the one at Udayagiri Caves in Madhya Pradesh.
Narasimha Avatar Story – Hiranyakashipu And Prahlad
The Narasimha Avatar is a very famous and popular avatar of Lord Vishnu. Narasimha is the 4th of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. According to legend the demon Hiranyaksha who was killed by Lord Vishnu in his Varaha avatar had a brother named Hiranyakashipu. This demon hated Lord Vishnu and he did rigorous penance and prayed to Lord Brahma. Pleased with Hiranyakashipu’s austere penance, Lord Brahma granted him a boon.
Hiranyakashipu asked that he should not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought about by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal. Grant me that I do not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving created by you. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets.
With the help of this boon, the demon Hiranyakashipu became arrogant and his evildoings increased. He especially was cruel to his son Prahlad, who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He tried to kill Prahlad, many times, but the child Prahlad was miraculously saved every time.
Hiranyakashipu in his arrogance declared that he was the supreme power in the universe and there was no one greater than him. Prahlad, however, continued to sing the praises of Lord Vishnu, saying that only Lord Vishnu was supreme and omnipresent, that is present everywhere. To this, the angry Hiranyakashipu challenged his son and pointing to a pillar, asked if Lord Vishnu was present in the pillar.
Lo and behold! the pillar crumbled and out emerged a strange creature which had the body of a man and the head of a lion. This was the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. Narasimha picked up the helpless Hiranyakashipu in his mighty arms. He then sat on the threshold of the demon’s palace. He placed Hiranyakashipu on his lap, and with his bare nails tore open the demon’s stomach, killing him.
It was twilight when the demon was killed. All the conditions of Brahma’s boon had been met.
Vaman Avatar Story – Arrogance of King Bali
The Vamana avatar is the 5th of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Bali was a demon king who had attained many powers by penance and sacrifices with the guidance of the Guru of the Asuras, Shukracharya. He gained so much power, that he challenged the Devas (Gods) to a battle and defeated them. His arrogance grew day by day. A worried Indra, the leader of the Devas approached Lord Vishnu for help.
Bali was doing a sacrifice or Yajna to increase his power even more and as part of the ritual was giving alms to the Brahmins. A short Brahmin boy approached him and asked him for his charity. On being asked what he would like to have, the Brahmin boy, who was none other than Vamana, an incarnation of Vishnu, replied that all he wanted was as much land as three steps of his small legs could measure. Bali readily agreed.
To everyone’s consternation, Vamana started to grow and grow, till he became as large as the earth itself. He took one step and covered the entire earth, saying the earth is now mine. With his second step, he covered Amaravathi, which Bali had taken control of after defeating Indra, and said Amaravathi is mine too. He then asked where he should place his foot after the third step. Bali had realized the true form of Vamana and asked him to place his foot on his head.
Pleased with Bali, Vamana kept his foot on Bali’s head with his third step and pushed him down to Pataal Lok, saying that Bali would henceforth rule over Pataal Lok forever.
Parashurama Avatar – The Arrogance of The Kshatriyas
Parashurama is the sixth of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Parashurama is also said to be a Chiranjeevi, an immortal. It was a time when the power of the Kshatriyas had risen to great heights. Drunk with the power, the Kshatriyas had unleashed a reign of terror on earth. Evil pervaded the earth and it began losing its equilibrium. It was again time for Lord Vishnu to come to earth to set right the balance of the universe.
Lord Vishnu took birth as Parashurama and was born as a son to the sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka. Parashurama. Once a king named Kartavirya Arjun steals a cow named Surabhi who is the daughter of Kamadhenu from the house of Parashurama. When Parashurama learns about it, he is angry and wages war against the army of Kartavirya Arjun and defeats him. Other Kshatriya warriors confront Parashurama and he kills them all.
Parashurama’s weapon is his axe (parashu). After vanquishing the Kshatriyas, Parashurama gives up his weapon and takes up yoga and meditation. Parashurama appears at the beginning of the Ramayana and also in the Mahabharata, he is the Guru who taught Dronacharya, Bhishma, Rukmi, and Karna.
Ram Avatar Story – Ravana’s Nemesis
The seventh avatar of the Dashavatara of Vishnu is the avatar of Ram. Lord Vishnu incarnated as Rama to destroy the arrogance and evil of the demon king of Lanka, Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna. The story of this avatar of Vishnu is well known and described in detail in the epic Ramayana.
Lord Vishnu incarnates as Ram and is born to King Dasharatha and his queen Kaushalya of Ayodhya. Ram and his brothers Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughna, are all together, the essence of Lord Vishnu. Circumstances force Ram to leave Ayodhya and go to the forest with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman for 14 years. In the forest, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana through treachery and taken to his kingdom, Lanka.
Rama with the help of the Vanaras including Hanuman and Sugriva, wages war against Lanka. Ravana and Kumbhakarna are vanquished, and Rama returns to Ayodhya with Sita.
Krishna Avatar Story – The Divine Prophecy
Krishna is one of the popular and loved Hindu deities and the one who gave the message of the Bhagavad Geeta to the world. Krishna is also the 8th of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Krishna was the eighth child of Vasudev and Devaki and was born in prison, where they were imprisoned by Devaki’s brother and Krishna’s maternal uncle Kamsa.
Kamsa was a tyrant and was scared of a divine prophesy that the 8th child of Devaki would take his life. The infant Krishna is miraculously taken across the Yamuna river to Gokul by Vasudev and left in the care of his foster parents Nand and Yashoda. Meanwhile, the furious Kamsa unleashes his terror and orders the death of all infants born at that time, in a bid to locate and kill Krishna. He tries various means to kill the infant Krishna, but to no avail.
Krishna grows up in Gokul and returns to his birthplace, Mathura where he kills Kamsa and frees his parents. Krishna also played an important role in the Mahabharata as the charioteer of Arjun.
Buddha Avatar – The Prince Who Left His Kingdom
Gautam Buddha who established Buddhism and preached the message of peace and love is considered to be the 9th avatar of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Buddha was born Prince Siddharth. However, he was disillusioned with material wealth, seeing the suffering of people, and death. The Prince quietly left his palace, one day, in search of truth and to find the true meaning of life.
Prince Siddharth gained enlightenment underneath a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya and from that day came to be known as Buddha. He spread his message of peace and love far and wide before he attained Mahaparinirvana in Kushinagar.
Kalki Avatar – The Future Avatar
The Kalki avatar is believed to be the future avatar of the Dashavataras of Vishnu. Kalki is yet to come. It is believed that at the end of the Kalu Yuga, when evil has reached its zenith, and there is no place for Dharma or righteousness, Lord Vishnu will incarnate as Kalki. This 10th avatar of Vishnu, named Kalki will ride a white horse, and brandish a sword. He shall re-establish Dharma and destroy the evil forces. He will usher in a new Yuga, the Satya Yuga.
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