The Ten Incarntions

Lord Vishnu is the supreme God in charge of preservation of the universe. From time to time he appears on the earth as some living creature. He divulges the purpose of these incarnations in the Bhagwad Gita, which he recites to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra during his incarnation as Krishna. He says, " Whenever there is decay of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of the righteousness, I am born in every age."

So far nine incarnations of Vishnu are over and the tenth is to follow. These ten incarnations are collectively known as "Dashavatar" or Ten Incarnations.

The first incarnation was that of a Fish and is known as Matsya Avatar. In this incarnation the Fish saved Manu, the son of the Sun and one of each species of animals and birds from the deluge so that life could begin afresh after the waters had subsided. In this incarnation he also retrieved the Vedas or the four holy scriptures from the horse-headed demon, Hayagreeva. The second incarnation was the Kurma Avatar or that of a Tortoise. During the churning of the oceans to elicit the nectar of immortality the mountain Mandara was used as the stirrer. When this began to bore a hole in the earth the Tortoise rested the mountain on its back till the pot of nectar was recovered. Vishnu then took the form of a beautiful maiden, Mohini, and ensured that only the demi-Gods received the nectar. Varaha Avatar or the Boar incarnation was next. The demon Hirnayaksha had dragged the earth to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Varaha killed the demon and freed the earth. Lord Narasimha, half Man and half Lion, appeared next from a pillar to protect his devotee Prahlad from Hiranyakashipu who was bent on slaughtering everyone and everything connected to God. Sage Vamana, the Dwarf was the fifth incarnation. King Bali was performing a sacrifice that would make him invincible. Before he could complete it Vamana appeared and asked for land that he could cover in three steps. The proud king agreed. The dwarf then grew in size and covered the earth in one step, the heavens in the next and placed the third step on King Bali's head and pushed him into the netherworld. Parasurama was the next incarnation. He was a sage who killed the Kshatriyas or warrior class, who had cornered power and were misusing their strength and forces on earth. Lord Rama was the seventh incarnation. He personifies the best of human nature and symbolizes righteousness in thought, speech and action. He is an ideal for all time. In this incarnation he slew Ravana who was the epitome of evil. Lord Krishna the eighth incarnation waged a relentless battle against evil. In his childhood he slew many demons and later guided the Pandavas against their cousins, the Kauravas, in the epic battle of Mahabharat. This battle, along with the killing of Ravana, are the are the landmark victories of good over evil. Lord Buddha was the ninth incarnation. He was born in a royal family but renounced his wealth to lead the life of a mendicant. He spread the message of non-violence and preached that by freeing oneself from desires and attachments to worldly possessions one can achieve enlightenment. The last incarnation Kalki will appear at end of the current epoch, to exterminate in millions all corrupt evil people and will reinforce moral sense and humanitarian views in all good people.

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