When the balance between
good and evil tilts in favor of evil, Vishnu appears upon the earth as one of
the ten Vishnu avatars or dashavatar to restore the balance.
Vishnu is said to have
taken human form on earth on ten different occasions to preserve the world,
each time appearing in the shape of a different creature because it would be
dangerous for people to see him in his full brilliance. During each
incarnation, Vishnu has a specific task to perform. The stories of these
incarnations, the 10 Vishnu avatars or dashavatar are told in the Vishnu Puran and depict the theory of
evolution represented through a story. Of the ten avatars, four are animals.
The avatars gradually progress from a fish or a marine vertebrate, through the
many forms of amphibious and land-based vertebrates, and reach the human stage.
Here, the progression continues as Vishnu first appears as a half-man,
half-lion, then as a short man, a violent man, a peaceful man, a loving man, a
meditative man and a mystical man.
In the form of the Matsya
Avatar (a fish), Vishnu saved the sage Manu and the sacred Vedas from a great
flood. Also in this flood, the gods lost for a time the elixir of their
immortality. Vishnu assumed the form of the Kurma Avatar, a great tortoise, and
dove to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve the potent drink. When the demon
Hiranyaksha cast the earth to the bottom of the cosmic sea, Vishnu became the
Varaha Avatar, the boar. He plunged into the depths, saved the earth and spread
it on top of the waters to float.
Hiranyaksha’s brother,
the tyrant Hiranyakashipu, had obtained a special privilege through which he
could be killed neither by human nor animal, neither inside nor outside of his
home, nor by day nor by night. He lived without fear and wreaked great havoc
wherever he went. To overcome the demon, Vishnu took the form of the Narasimha
Avatar (half human and half lion) and killed Hiranyakashipu on the threshold of
his home at sunset.
The next avatars were all
human in form. The Vamana Avatar appears as a dwarf. The asura-king Bali had
control of the earth, so Vishnu devised a plan to deceive the king. Vishnu took
the form of Vamana, the dwarf, and asked the king if he could have as much
space as he could cover in three steps. Believing that the dwarf could only
cover a small space, Bali agreed. Then Vishnu became a great giant, and strode
across the earth and the heavens.
At another time, the
kshatriyas (the warrior class) threatened to destroy the Earth as they became
intoxicated with power. So Vishnu was born as the brahmin Parashurama to
eliminate the threat. His name was Rama, and his axe Parashu was given to him
by Shiva.
Thus his name became Parashurama. The next avatar is that of Rama, whose story
is told in the Ramayana. After Rama is the Krishna Avatar, who plays the most
significant part in the Mahabharat.
The
Ten Avatars
Traditionally, the ninth
avatar of Vishnu is Gautama the Buddha. The tenth avatar is the only
incarnation of Vishnu that is yet to come. It is believed that this
manifestation of the great god, referred to as Kalki, will appear at the
"end" of the present time, riding a white horse and holding a flaming
sword.
All ten avatars are
recognized in many of the sacred scriptures. By far, the most widely worshiped
of these gods are Rama and Krishna, the seventh and eighth
avatars of Vishnu.
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