Dashavatars & Yugas

Bhagwan Vishnu is the protector of all that exists. His purpose is to return to Earth during times of turmoil in order to right the scales between good and evil.

- Satya yuga was the first era, and it was at this time that the first four avatars manifested.

- Treta yuga was the second yuga, and it included the appearance of three more avatars.

- Dawapara yuga, the third, saw the appearance of two new avatars.

- The next yuga, Kali Yuga, in which the final Avatar of Lord Vishnu, Kalki, will come.

1. Matsya (Fish) Avatar

The fish-like avatar Matsya was Vishnu's first incarnation.

In the Matsya avatar, Lord Vishnu is said to have rescued the first man, Vaivasvata Manu, and the seven sages during the great Flood (huge cyclone), bringing a sample of every plant and animal species to the renewed earth on his boat.

Matsya can be pictured either as a gigantic fish or, more anthropomorphically, with a human torso joined to a fish's tail.

2. Kurma (Tortoise) Avatar

The word "Kurma" refers to a turtle; hence "Kurmavatara" literally translates to "incarnation of Lord Vishnu as a turtle." That was Lord Vishnu's second incarnation at that time.

During this incarnation, Lord Vishnu worked alongside gods and demons to extract nectar from the milky sea by churning it with his stick.

Lord Vishnu took additional precautions to prevent the devils from obtaining the nectar.

3. Varaha (Boar) Avatar

Varaha, the boar-like avatar, was Vishnu's third incarnation.

Lord Vishnu arrived as Varaha to rescue the earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi) from the demon Hiranyaksha, who had taken her and hidden her in the primordial waters.

After killing the demon, Varaha lifted the Earth out of the water using his tusks, bringing Bhudevi back to her rightful place in the cosmos.

4. Narasimha (Half-man/half-lion) Avatar

The fourth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, Narasimha, was a hybrid of humans and lions.

Hiranyakashipu, the rakshasa (devil), was awarded a great boon from Lord Brahma, making it impossible for him to be killed by man or animal, indoors or outdoors, during the day or night, on Earth or among the stars, with a weapon that was either alive or inanimate.

Lord Vishnu took on a human form but a lion's head and talons during his incarnation. The rakshasa was lying on his thighs at dusk on the threshold of his courtyard when he was disemboweled with his claws.

5. Vamana (Dwarf) Avatar

Lord Vishnu's fifth incarnation, or avatar, was a short man named Vamana. This is the first time an avatar has looked like a human and been seen with an umbrella made of wood.

Vamana Avatar Vishnu came down from heaven to restore Indra's rule over the heavens. Vamana went against the advice of his mentor Sukracharya and got three paces of land from King Mahabali.

Vamana then showed himself and grew to monstrous proportions, allowing him to walk effortlessly over all three dimensions.

With the first, he descended to Earth, and with the second, he descended to the Underworld. Due to his inability to keep his word, King Mahabali sacrificed his own head in order to appease the gods.

Vamana then put his foot down, granting the monarch eternal life in exchange for his modesty.

6. Parashurama (Warrior with an Axe) Avatar

Parashurama was Lord Vishnu's sixth incarnation. Parashuram, the son of Jamadagni and Renuka, was given an axe by Lord Shiva in exchange for his penance.

In Hinduism, he was the first Brahmin and Kshatriya (a warrior-saint) to share the responsibilities of both castes.

The father of Parashurama was able to feed King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army with the celestial cow Kamadhenu when the king and his army visited the saint in his ashram.

Jamadagni denied the king's request for the cow. The king infuriated, seized it, and subsequently leveled the ashram. The king was assassinated in his palace, and Parashurama single-handedly defeated his army.

The sons of Kartavirya took their revenge on Jamadagni and killed him.

Twenty-one times, Parashurama swore vengeance on every Kshatriya on the planet, and his blood filled five lakes. His grandfather, rishi Rucheeka, finally made an appearance and forced him to stop.

It is believed that Parashuram is still alive and performing penance on Mahendragiri mountain despite being an immortal Chiranjivi.

7. Rama (Prince/King of Ayodhya) Avatar

Rama was Vishnu's seventh incarnation. In Hinduism, the incarnation of Lord Rama is venerated as the archetypal brave male. The Ramayana, which tells his story, is a sacred text in Hinduism.

Ravana, the demon king of Sri Lanka, kidnapped Rama's wife, Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, when he was exiled from his own country for 14 years with his brother Lakshman and the God Hanuman.

After killing the demon king, he went to Ashoka Vatika (or vanam) in Lanka to rescue Sita.

8. Krishna (Philosopher & Guide) Avatar

Lord Vishnu took on the form of Krishna for the ninth time. Lord Krishna was Devaki and Vasudev's ninth child.

In the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism, he is considered an avatar, or incarnation, of a deity. He made an appearance with his older sibling Balarama. The majority populace sees Balarama as an incarnation of Vishnu.

Yet, in Sri Vaishnava lists, Balarama is included as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, while Buddha is absent, and Krishna is placed eighth.

9. Buddha  

Around 500 BC, the wealthy prince Siddhartha, disillusioned by war and strife, gives up his wealth to become a hermit. After meditating upon the answers to his questions about life, he attains enlightenment and preaches an alternative path to the evils of Hinduism. The Buddha incarnation, however, receives little attention in Hindu practice. It was possibly created to put Buddhism into a subordinate position to Hinduism by bringing the religion under the same umbrella.

10. Kalki (Eternity/White Horse) Avatar

According to Hinduism, the god Vishnu will take the form of Kalki, which literally translates to "destroyer of evil," as his tenth incarnation at the end of the Kali Yuga.

According to the Purana scriptures, when the time comes for Kalki to return, he will do so mounted atop a white horse and brandishing a flaming sword.

As per Hindu eschatology, he will be the one to announce the end of time, and then he will usher in the Satya Yuga that follows.