Lord Vishnu 10 Avatars | Story behind 10 Avatars | Purposes

 

Lord Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi with Seshnag in Vaikundam

Lord Vishnu is the eagle-riding Hindu god with a pale blue complexion. He is one of the three most important gods in Hinduism, together called the Trimurti. He is one of three supreme Hindu deities, along with Brahma and Shiva. Vishnu is the preserver and protector of the universe. His role as the Preserver is to sustain the universe created by Brahma and maintain order in it. Vishnu does this by incarnating himself into the world in various avatars, Through these avatars, evil is defeated and dharma is restored.

Lord Vishnu is shown in blue color as he is infinite and immeasurable like the sky and surrounded by the infinite cosmic ocean and the color blue represents his infinite force. He is infinite. He is the controller of the whole universe.

Lord Vishnu’s wife - Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

Other names - Hari, Narayana, Thirumal, Perumal, etc.

Weapon - Sudharsana Chakra and Mace

Avatar and its purpose:

There are 24 avatars taken by Lord Vishnu, among the well known are 10 avatars. The Ten Incarnations or avatar of Lord Vishnu is commonly known as Dashavatar. Two of Vishnu’s most famous avatars are Krishna and Rama. Vishnu is the Protector and preserver of the universe. In order to protect the universe and dharma, he descended on earth in ten different forms or Dashavatar. The purpose of such avatars is to completely destroy evil and restore dharma.

 

Ten avatars of Lord Vishnu:

1st Avatar: Matsya (The Fish)

Matsya is the first avatar of Vishnu. He is the half fish, a half-human form of Vishnu (i.e an aquatic animal) who can survive only in water. He is said to be the avatar that rescued the first man, as well as other creatures of the earth, from a great flood. Matsya gave warning about the coming of the flood and ordered all the grains and living creatures to be preserved in a boat.

2nd Avatar: Kurma (The Tortoise)

Vishnu’s second avatar took the shape of a human-tortoise called Kurma (the tortoise). During the fight between God and Giants for milk(Amirtham), churning from the snake, a mountain began to sink and Kurma then supported the mountain on his back and saved it.

The main purpose to take the form of a tortoise is to support the mountain on his back to churn milk(Amirtham) from the snake. 

After the Kurma avatar, Giants got the milk (Amirtham) luckily and devas got poison from the snake while churning. In order to take milk from Giants, Lord Vishnu has taken another avatar called Mohini avatar, and theft the milk from Giants and given it to the devas. 

3rd Avatar: Varaha (The Boar)

Vishnu’s third avatar called "Varaha" (shape of a human-boar). In this avatar, Vishnu had a human body with the head of a boar. This birth was taken to rescue "Bhoomidevi" from a very powerful demon called Hiranyaksha, who dragged the Earth to the bottom of the cosmic sea. Varaha went into battle with the demon for a thousand years. After the enemy was defeated, Varaha lifted the earth out of the water with his tusks and rescued Bhoomi Devi and restored order and balance.

 

4th Avatar: Narasimha (The Man-Lion)

Narasimha, the lion is Vishnu’s fourth avatar. He was half man and half lion. Narasimha defeated a powerful demon called Hiranyakashipu. He was particularly powerful because he received a boon, or magic power, from Brahma that made him invincible. He was unable to be killed or harmed by any humans or animals or any other things. So, Lord Vishnu took half-man and half-lion avatar to kill Hiranyakashipu.

Before this avatar, Hiranyakshipu began to cause trouble both in heaven and on earth. One day, He found his son Prahlada, praying to Vishnu and he was so upset. One day, when the demon challenged Prahlada, Vishnu emerged in the form of a man-lion known as Narasimha appeared, killed the demon through a loophole in the boon, and protected Prahlada. 

 

5th Avatar: Vamana (The Dwarf)

The above first four avatars of Vishnu were all in human-animal form and took place during the period called Satya Yuga, or the first age of the Earth. Vishnu’s 5th avatar, Vamana is the first of the avatars that took human form and lived during the Treta Yuga or the second age of the Earth. 

Vamana (the dwarf) appears when the demon king Bali ruled the universe and the gods lost their power. One day, Vamana visited the court of Bali and begged for as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing at the dwarf, Bali granted the wish.

The dwarf then appeared as the form of a giant(a big shape or big figure) and  took the whole earth with the first step and the entire middle world with the second step, and then Bali’s head with his third step.

Bali kept his promise to Vamana and gave him all the land in the universe. And then, Bali was then sent to rule the underworld, thereby maintaining order and balance once again.

6th Avatar: Parasurama (The Angry Man)

Vishnu’s sixth Avatar is Parasurama. In this avatar, he appears as a priest(Brahman), an angry man with an ax whose role was to kill bad kings, restoring the social order that had been corrupted by the Kshatriya caste and protecting humanity from danger. Parasurama received his ax from Shiva, along with the boon or gift of immortality.

King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army demanded a divine cow from Parasurama’s father and when he refused they took the cow by force and destroyed the family’s ashram. In revenge, Parasurama killed the king and his army. This act by Parasurama was then retaliated by the king’s sons when they killed Parasurama’s father. The revenge by Parasurama was continued after he killed King's son.

Parasurama then vowed to kill evil Kshatriyas for 21 generations, after which he stopped and meditated for the rest of his immortality. 

7th Avatar: Lord Rama (The Perfect Man)

Rama or Ramachandra, Vishnu’s 7th avatar, is one of Hinduism’s most well-known figures. He appeared in the story of the Ramayana. Rama is often depicted with blue skin, standing with a bow and arrow.

Rama was a prince in the kingdom of Ayodhya who was exiled for 14 years. During his exile, he killed the evil King Ravana to end his terrorizing rule, and to free his wife Sita, whom Ravana had kidnapped.

The famous Indian festival, Diwali, is, in fact, a celebration of Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

 

8th Avatar: Lord Krishna (The Divine Statesman)

Krishna is Vishnu’s most famous avatar and is usually depicted in the form of a child with blue skin playing the flute. He was the first avatar born in the Dwapara Yuga, the third age. There are many stories surrounding Krishna, usually centered on his defeat of many evil kings and demons. He is known to end the reign of his uncle Kamsa. During the childhood age of Krishna, Kamsa has known his death will be made by Krishna. So, Kamsa made several attempts to kill Krishna, but he escaped. After Krishna grew up and returned to the kingdom, Kamsa was eventually killed by Krishna. 

His role as the advisor of Pandavas and the guide of Arjuna in Mahabharata. The story of the Bhagavad Gita was said to be spoken by Krishna to Arjuna during the battlefield.

9th Avatar: Balarama(Krishna’s elder brother)

Balarama was the elder brother of Krishna in Mahabharata. He is the avatar of Sheshanaga (or Adishesha), took avatar to help with Vishnu's Krishna avatar. In visual representations, he is usually shown with pale skin in contrast to Krishna's blue skin. He is known for his strength, for carrying mace and plow and he was Duryodhana and Bhima’s guru in teaching the ‘Gada’ (the weapon). Balarama is rarely worshiped independently, but stories always focus on his prodigious strength. He shares many adventures with Krishna. Balarama is also known as “God of agriculture”. 

10th Avatar: Kalki (The Mighty Warrior)

Vishnu’s 10th avatar, Kalki, is the last incarnation of the god and is believed to be still yet to come. Kalki is only expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the current time period. He is commonly portrayed riding a white horse while carrying a blazing sword. The purpose of his is coming will be to defeat unrighteous rulers and restore peace to the world.

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About Rama:

Rama’s parents - ‎Dasharatha‎ (father) and ‎Kaushalya(mother).

Rama's wife – Sita.

Rama’s Siblings - Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata are the brothers and Shanta is the sister.

Rama’s children – Lava, Kusha (Both are sons).

Weapon - Bow and Arrows.

Birthplace - Ayodhya (Present-day – Uttarpradesh in India).

About Krishna:

Krishna’s Parents - Devaki (mother), Vasudeva (father), Yashoda (foster mother), Nanda (foster father).

Krishna’s Siblings - Balarama (brother), Subhadra (sister), Vindhyavasini (sister) (Vindhyavasini is also known as YogaMaya, or Durga or Adiparashakthi).

(Balarama, brother of Krishna and Lakshmana, brother of Rama are both avatars of Sheshanaga or Adishesha).

Krishna wife – Rukmini.

(Sita, wife of Rama, and Rukmini, the wife of Krishna, are both avatars of Goddess Lakshmi).

Radha is the lover of Krishna and also an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi.

Birthplace - Mathura.

The Janmashtami festival in August celebrates the birth of Krishna.

About Balarama:

Parents – Vasudeva (father), Rohini Devi (mother).

Siblings – Krishna and Subhadra.

Children – Nisatha(Son), Uluka(Son), and Shashirekha or Vatsala(Daughter).

Weapon – Gada and Plow.

Birthplace - Gokul, a village.