DASHAVATARA
Vishnu is one of the
members in the trimurti in Hinduism. Vishnu is the preserver
god, which means he protects the universe from being destroyed and keeps it
going, according to this religion, and he has come to earth in ten forms
(called avatars) so far.
The concept of the avatar (or incarnation) within Hinduism is
most often associated with Vishnu. The avatars of Vishnu descend to
empower the good and to destroy evil, thereby restoring Dharma and relieving the
burden of the Earth.
An oft-quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu-
Whenever
righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil,
and for the establishment of righteousness,
I come into being age after age.
— Bhagavad Gita
The Dashavatara is the ten primary avataras of Bhagwan
Vishnu, the god of preservation which has Rigvedic origins. Bhagwan Vishnu is
said to descend in the forms of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word
Dashavatara derives from dasa, meaning ‘ten’, and avtar (avatara), roughly
equivalent to ‘incarnation’. It is the appearance or manifestation of god or
supreme self in an earthly incarnation.
There are two main types of avataras Sakshaty-Avatara
and Avesa-Avatara .When Vishnu descends himself on the earth like Lord Krishna,
Lord Rama, and Lord Narasimha, he is called Sakshaty-Avatara. When Lord Vishnu
indirectly empoers life to represent life him, then living entity is called an
Avesa-Avatara like Naravada Muni, Parashurama , Vyas etc. They are also
classified into sub-categories. Krishna,
Rama, and Narasimha were full avatars (purna avatars), while others were
partial avatars (ansha avatars).
The first Yuga was
called Satya Yuga where the first 4 avatars appeared. The
second Yuga was called Treta Yuga where 3 more avatars
appeared. The third Yuga was called Dawapara Yuga where 2 more
avatars appeared. The last avatar (Kalki) of Lord Vishnu will appear in the
next Yuga which is the current Yuga where we live in – Kali Yuga.
This Yuga will end approximately in another 432,000 years. After eradicating
the evil & ungodly forces from the earth and liberating the righteous with
Kalki avatar, a new Yuga will commence which will be called Kalki Yuga.
All these yugas were clearly recorded in the
Vishnu Purana.
List of
Dashavatara of Vishnu:-
Matsya Avatar - The First
Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu
Matsya was the first avatar of the god Vishnu in the form of
a fish. Matsya is the half fish, a half-human form of Vishnu. In the Matsya avatar, Lord Vishnu described to
have rescued the first man, Vaivasvata Manu, the
seven sages at the time of great Flood (massive cyclone) where he took his boat
to the new world with one of every species of plant and animal.
Matsya is described as a giant fish or humanlike with a half-human
body connected to the rear half of a fish.
Kurma Avatar - The Second Avatar
(incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu
Kurma (Koorma) was the second avatar of the Lord Vishnu in the form of a
tortoise. Kurma is the half tortoise half-man
form of Vishnu .When the devas and asuras (demons) were
churning the Ocean of milk in order to get Amrita ,the mount Mandara they were using as the churning staff started to sink
and God Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to hold the weight of the mountain.
Varaha Avatar - The Third Avatar
(incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu
Varaha was the third avatar of the God Vishnu in the form of a boar. Varaha is the half man and half boar avatar of Vishnu. When the demon Hiranyaksha stole the earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi)
and hid her in the ancient waters, Lord Vishnu appeared as Varaha to rescue
her. Varaha kill the demon and retrieved the Earth from the ocean, lifting it
on his tusks, and restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe.
Narsimha Avatar - The forth Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha
Vishnu
Narasimha was the fourth avatar of the God Vishnu in the form
of a half-man/half-lion. The rakshasa (demon) Hiranyakashipu was granted a powerful blessing from the
lord brahma, not allowing him to be killed by man or animal, inside or out, day
or night, on earth or the stars, with a weapon either living or inanimate.
Lord Vishnu descended as an anthropomorphic incarnation,
with the body of a man and head and claws of a lion. He then draw the rakshasa
at the courtyard threshold of his house, at dusk, with his claws, while he lay
on his thighs.
Vaman Avatar - The fifth Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha
Vishnu
Vamana was the fifth avatar of the Lord Vishnu in the form of
a dwarf man. This is the first avatar to appear as a human, carrying a wooden
umbrella. Lord Vishnu descended as the Vamana avatar to restore the authority
of Indra over the heavens. Vamana went to the king Mahabali to request three paces of land and the king
agreement against his guru Sukracharya's wishes.
Vamana then revealed his true identity and enlarged into huge proportions to walk over the three worlds. He
stepped from heaven to earth with the first step and from earth to the
netherworld with the second step. King Mahabali was unable to fulfill his
promise, offered his head for the third. Vamana then placed his foot and gave
the king immortality for his humility.
Parashurama Avatar - The Sixth Avatar
(incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu
Parashurama was the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Parashuram was son of Jamadagni and Renuka and received an axe after a self-mortification to Lord Shiva. He was the first Brahmin & Kshatriya in Hinduism (i.e., warrior-saint) with duties between a Brahmin and a Kshatriya. King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited the father of Parashurama at his ashram, and the saint was able to feed them with the divine cow Kamadhenu.
The king demanded the cow, but Jamadagni refused. The enraged king
took it by force and destroyed the ashram. Parashurama then killed the king at
his palace and destroyed his army single-handedly. In revenge, the sons of
Kartavirya killed Jamadagni. Parashurama took a vow to kill every Kshatriya on
earth twenty-one
times over, and filled five lakes with their blood. Ultimately, his
grandfather, rishi Rucheeka, appeared before
him and made him stop. Parashuram is considered a Chiranjivi (i.e.,
immortal), and believed to be alive today in penance at Mahendragiri mountain.
Rama Avatar - The Seventh Avatar
(incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu.
Rama was the seventh avatar of God Vishnu. Lord Rama is a commonly worshiped avatar in Hinduism, and is thought of as the ideal heroic man. His story is one of the most widely read scriptures of Hinduism, the Ramayana.
While in
exile from his own kingdom with his brother Lakshman for 14 years and the God
Hanuman, his wife Sita was abducted by the demon king of Sri Lanka, Ravana.
He then traveled to Ashoka Vatika (or
vanam) in Lanka, killed the demon king and saved Sita.
BALARAMA Avatar - The Eighth
Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu.
Balarama was the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava
lists. Balarama is also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha. He was the elder brother of Lord Krishna and is regarded
generally as an avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is also sometimes considered as the
Sankarshana form of Vishnu and the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
Krishna Avatar - The Ninth Avatar
(incarnation) of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu.
Krishna was the ninth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev. He
is widely worshiped deity in Hinduism and an avatar in Vaishnava belief. He is known to end the reign of his tyrannical
maternal uncle Kansa, and for his role as the advisor of the Pandavas and the
charioteer and guide of Arjuna in Mahabharta.
In Hinduism, Kalki (meaning destroyer of evil) will be the tenth avatar
of the god Vishnu, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga. The Purana scriptures foretell that Kalki will be atop a
white horse with a drawn blazing sword. It is said that he will end all evil by
defeating the demon kali and start a new Satyayuga. Last section of Srimad
Bhagavata Purana talks about kali Yuga and its effects.
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