Introduction
Picture a universe that has been balanced in such a manner that there's even a duty left for the gods to perform!
Lord Vishnu is known to be the Preserver. Within the Hindu trinity of gods — the Creator Brahma, the Preserver Vishnu, and the Destroyer Shiva, it is the eternal duty of Lord Vishnu to keep the cosmic balance intact — neither creating anything new nor destroying anything, but only preserving it.
And each time the cosmic balance starts to sway towards the dark side so much that the very existence of light becomes under threat, Lord Vishnu descends from the celestial realm into the physical plane of the mortal world.
Not just to give commands from up above, but as the complete, tangible manifestation of the Preserver himself!
Avatar — which comes from the Sanskrit word Avatara meaning "descent" — is precisely this — a descent of Vishnu in various forms into the world as many times as required.
Over the period of cosmic time, Vishnu descended ten times taking ten different forms, each for a unique reason.
It is the tale of the Dashavatar, and there is only one real reason for each of the ten avatars!
One Real Reason Behind the Avatars
Let us make it clear right away:
Each one of the ten descents by Vishnu — regardless of whether he chose to descend as a fish or a mighty king — were due to the same eternal principle stated in the Bhagavad Gita by none other than Lord Krishna himself:
"Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata... tadatmanam srjamy aham"
"Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises... I manifest myself."
Dharma is righteousness, and whenever righteousness starts to decline, Lord Vishnu has to descend in order to restore balance once again.
Each avatar of Vishnu is nothing else but his response to a particular crisis in dharma in the world. And these ten avatars together form the full story of humanity from its origin to its end!
10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu
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Matsya — The Fish
Era: Satya Yuga
Crisis: Vedas stolen by demons, impending drowning of the world
The very first incarnation of Vishnu took place when a demon stole the sacred Vedas of Brahma — and thus made the very foundation of dharma disappear. To restore balance, Lord Vishnu descended as Matsya — a giant fish, entered the ocean, defeated the demon and retrieved the sacred texts.
He also rescued Manu, the first human, as well as all living beings from the great flood, which is known in Hinduism as a counterpart to the Great Deluge.
Lesson: Sometimes the smallest form can bear a great burden indeed! Dharma is preserved from the very beginning!
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Kurma — The Tortoise
Era: Satya Yuga
Crisis: Gods and demons need the elixir of immortality, and they cannot churn out the cosmic ocean
When the deities performed Samudra Manthan, or Churning of the Ocean, they needed the huge Mount Mandara as a stirring rod. However, it kept sinking to the bottom of the cosmic ocean.
Vishnu appeared as a tortoise and supported the mountain on his back, enabling the creation of Amrita — the elixir of immortality, Lakshmi — the goddess of fortune, as well as other deities.
Lesson: At times, dharma is about being the pillar of support, though no one may acknowledge you!
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Varaha — The Boar
Era: Satya Yuga
Crisis: Earth kidnapped by a demon
Hiranyaksha, a demon, grabbed Bhudevi, the Goddess Earth, and dragged her into the depths of the cosmic ocean, nearly drowning the entire planet.
To restore righteousness and preserve life, Vishnu appeared as Varaha, a cosmic boar, dove into the ocean, fought the demon, killed him, and brought Bhudevi back to her place.
Lesson: No matter how great an evil is, righteousness shall triumph! -
Narasimha — The Man-Lion
Era: Satya Yuga
Crisis: Devotee persecuted by his father, who believes himself to be the god incarnate
Hiranyakashipu, the brother of Hiranyaksha, obtained a boon from Brahma — he cannot be killed on earth or in heaven, by men or animals, during daytime and nighttime, etc.
However, having become a tyrant, he started persecuting his son Prahlada who was devoted to Vishnu. Therefore, Lord Vishnu descended in the form of Narasimha — a man-lion hybrid and killed him at the doorway of the palace at dusk by using only his claws!
Lesson: No matter how tricky a demon may be, dharma will always win anyway!
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Vamana — The Dwarf
Era: Treta Yuga
Crisis: Demon king Bali conquered the three worlds through virtue itself
Here is the most philosophically fascinating avatar of Vishnu because the evil one was not a villain in a traditional sense — but a very righteous ruler who ruled through virtue and managed to conquer the whole of creation and displace the gods.
Vishnu descended in the form of a dwarf brahmin named Vamana and begged King Bali to grant him only three footsteps of ground. When King Bali consented, Vamana grew and took the entire Earth with the first step and heavens with the second one!
Having asked the king where to put his third step, he put it on King Bali's head and sent him down to the underworld where he now rules.
Lesson: No matter how virtuous an evil king may be, it is necessary to balance it through dharma!
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Parashurama — The Warrior Sage
Era: Treta Yuga
Crisis: Warrior kings oppress people and break the sacred law of righteousness
After the Kshatriyas (warrior kings) became arrogant, tyrannical and oppressive, Vishnu descended in a brahmin avatar of Parashurama with a battle axe and wiped off them one after another.
It is believed that this avatar was the longest-lived among others because he survived until Dwapara and Kali Yugas!
Lesson: Unrighteous power has to be eliminated! -
Rama — The Perfect King
Era: Treta Yuga
Crisis: Ravana, a demon king, threatens the universe
Lord Rama is one of the most revered avatars because he represents a perfect king and personification of dharma in general. Being born in a royal family, he fulfilled the sacred duty of obeying his father by sacrificing his right to the throne for fourteen years of life in the forest!
However, after defeating the demon king Ravana, he was able to get Sita back and become the king of Ayodhya.
Lesson: Dharma does not mean fighting demons. It means leading a righteous life in all spheres of life!
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Krishna — The Divine Teacher
Era: Dwapara Yuga
Crisis: Virtue is embedded into everything: family, kingdoms, even wars themselves
Krishna is known to be the Purna Avatara of Vishnu, or his complete descent into the material world. Instead of fighting demons, he taught humanity the principles of dharma and how to behave in all spheres of life. The result of this teaching is the Bhagavad Gita.
Lesson: Sometimes the greatest battle is going on inside yourself! -
Buddha — The Enlightened One
Era: Kali Yuga
Crisis: Religion turns into rituals, violence in the name of religion
Another avatar of Lord Vishnu is the Buddha himself who was born Gautama Siddhartha but enlightened and became known as the Buddha — the Enlightened One.
He descended to teach people to show compassion, not violence; to be aware rather than blindly follow rituals.
Lesson: Dharma is never in rituals alone! -
Kalki — The Future Avatar
Era: Kali Yuga (yet to come)
Crisis: Complete destruction of dharma at the end of the age
There is one more avatar of Vishnu, though not yet appeared, and that is Kalki, the destroyer of the Kali Yuga. It is said that this avatar would come at the end of this age and bring back the Golden Age.
Lesson: Every ending is followed by a new beginning!
The Real Lesson of Dashavatar
Take a look at all ten avatars together, and there is something interesting in common between them!
Starting from a tiny fish and moving to a man-lion hybrid, passing by a dwarf brahmin, a warrior sage, a royal avatar, an ordinary human being, then a divine one, a state of pure consciousness, and reaching the state of the future yet unknown — this is the process of evolution!
Dashavatar is the map of the evolution of life on this planet depicted thousands of years ago!
Bring the Dashavatar Energies into Your Home
Ten avatars of Vishnu symbolize the whole diversity of protection — from a tiny fish protecting knowledge from drowning to the enlightened one who teaches how to preserve peace and harmony.
Therefore, keeping a statue of Vishnu and/or a Dashavatar panel brings the energy of each of the ten avatars of Vishnu into your home, thereby guaranteeing protection from any troubles, disasters, and calamities!
A handcrafted brass idol of Vishnu is a beautiful piece of art that can decorate your pooja room while bringing the energy of this god!
Explore Our Collection Of Brass Idols: gayatriheritage.com/collections/all
Conclusion
There are numerous reasons why Lord Vishnu took ten avatars. However, only one of them is the real reason: to preserve righteousness on Earth by bringing back cosmic balance!
Vishnu did it again and again and again throughout the entire history of mankind. And he will do the same at the very end of time when a new Satya Yuga, or Golden Age, starts!
