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TheConceptofIncarnationofVishnuin
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TheTenIncarnationsofVishnu

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by Jayaram V

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Hindus believe in the

incarnation of God upon
earth.

When

God

incarnates himself upon

earth, it is called avatar.
The

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Bhagavadgita

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adharma (injustice and disorder), God reincarnates Himself

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Dharma. The concept probably originated in the early Vedic

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periodasisevidentfromtheincarnationsofBrahmastatedin
the Vedas. The idea gained further acceptance with the
emergence of Trimurthis in the Hindu pantheon, namely
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as the highest manifestations of
IsvaraBrahman,andVishnuasthepreserveroftheworlds.

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The Vedas, the Puranas, the Epics and the Bhagavadgita

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acknowledgetheincarnationsofVishnuasanessentialand

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important function in creation to ensure the order and

Quotations

regularity of the worlds and keep the chaos and demonic

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forcesundercontrol.
TheepicRamayanaisbasedonthelifestoryofLordRama
who was an incarnation or avatar of Lord Vishnu. In
BhagavatapuranaandtheMahabharatawecomeacrossthe
miraculous life and achievements of Lord Krishna who was
also considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu only.
MostofthePuranasdealwiththeaccountsofcreationofthe
worldsandaparticularincarnationofGod.
AmongtheTrinityonlyLordVishnu,beingthepreserverand
upholderofcreation,incarnates,toensurethatrighteousness
andtheworldorderarewellmaintained.Butwheneverthere
is a disorder that starts troubling the worlds, He descends
directlyintoaphysicalbodyandremovesit.Thereisamain
difference between an incarnation and other manifestations
ofGod.InanincarnationHeretainsHisfullpotentialitiesand
consciousnesswhileassumingthemortalbirthandmaintains
a firm hold over the play of the gunas of Prakriti (Nature).
Some times if the need is not that urgent or acute, He may
either manifest Himself partially in a physical body or may
justmaterializewithoutanyphysicalbody.
The Puranas describe ten main avatars or incarnations of
Lord Vishnu of which His last incarnation is yet to manifest.

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Thetenincarnationsarebrieflydescribedbelow:

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Matsyavatara (The incarnation as a fish): The purpose of

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upanishads.html)

this incarnation was to save Manu (the first born) and the
sevensagesfromadeluge.
Kurmavatara (The incarnation as a tortoise): The purpose

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was to save mount mandara at the time of churning of the

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Varahavatara

(The

incarnationasaboar):The
purpose was to slay a
demon

called

Hiranyakasipu and save

theearthfromfloodwaters
MeluhaKeMritunjay

NagaonKaRahasya

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into

which

it

had

submerged.

Narasimhavatara (The incarnation as part man and part

lion): The purpose was to slay Hiranykasipu who was
subjectinghissonPrahladawhowasagreatdevoteeofLord
Vishnu to great harassment and to prove to the world that
GodwouldbealwayswillingtohelpHisdeardevotees.
Vamanavatara (Incarnation as a dwarf brahmin): The
purpose was to assist and help Indra to retain his lordship
over the heavens by eliminating his rival Bali, the famous
demonkingfromthecompetition.
Parasurama: The purpose was to destroy some warrior
kings (kshatriyas) who were becoming a menace to the
societyandrestorethesocialorder.
Ramavatara: The purpose was to slay demon king Ravana
who had obtained a boon from Lord Shiva to the effect that
nogodordemonoranycreatureinanyoftheworldswould
be able to kill him. He forgets to mention the human beings
while seeking the boon. Ravana captures Sita, the wife of
Rama, who them proceeds with his brother Lakshmana and
withthehelpofinnumerableforesttribes,releasestheworld
andhisownwifefromtheclutchesofRavana.
Balarama:HewastheelderbrotherofSriKrishna.Themain
purpose of this incarnation was to kill the demon king
Dhenuka, the ape Dvivida and change the course of
Yamuna. The plough was his main weapon which is
suggestive of the fact that probably he played a key role in
theintroductionofagricultureamongthepeople.
Srikrishna:Thepurposewastorestoreorderbykillingmany
demonkingswhoweretroublingtheearthandalsohelpthe
PandavasoftheMahabharatafameintheiragainsttheirown
cousinstheKurusheadedbythefamouswarriorandegoistic
king Suyodhana or Duryodhana. His teachings are now
available to us in the form of the BhagavadGita, which
provideinspirationtomillionsofHinduseventoday.

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Kalki: This incarnation is yet to take place. God would

descendupontheearthonawhilehorseprobablyattheend
of Kaliyuga to restore order and destroy evil people whose
numberwouldgraduallyincreaseduringthisphase.
Variations:Theabovetenincarnationsareamongthemost
acceptablelistofVishnu'sincarnations.Somevariationsare
also worth mentioning. According to some accounts the
Great Buddha was also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but
this idea is not acceptable to many Buddhists. Others like
Hamsa,Satvata,Yagna,Dattatreya,Vedavyasaarealsosaid
tobeHisincarnationsonlyandaresometimesincludedinthe
list of the first ten. Among his partial manifestations
(amsavataras) the most important are kapila, Hayagriva,
Dhanvantari, Mohini and Naranarayana who are worth
mentioning.
Incarnations of Brahma and Shiva: We do not hear much
abouttheincarnationsofeitherBrahmaorShiva.Thereason
beingthatamongthethreeitisonlyLordVishnuwhoisthe
preserverandmaintainerofthecreationandwhoseprimary
responsibility it is to maintain law and order. Lord Shiva is
also credited with many manifestations in the mortal world,
buttheyarenotreferredasincarnationsinthestrictestsense
oftheword.
Shakti Incarnations: The incarnation of Lord Vishnu is
mostly concurrent with the incarnation of His consort and
principalShakti,ShriLakshmi,thegoddessofopulenceand
abundance. Thus for each of His incarnation we have
correspondingincarnationofthisgoddess:PadmaorKamala
for Vamana, Dharani for Parasurama, Sita as the consort of
Lord Rama, and Rukmini of Sri Krishna. She is also
worshippedasVarahiandNarasimhiinsomepartsofIndia.
Conclusions from the Incarnation: We can draw many
conclusions from the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. They are
brieflystatedbelow:
1. God is not a mere mute witness, but an active and
dynamic principle maintaining a firm hold on the process of
Hiscreation.
2. The evil somehow has the tendency to prevail over good
fromtimetotimeandcannotbedealtwithonourownwithout
thehelpandassistanceofGod.
3.Justasthereareincarnationsintheexternalworlds,there

canbeincarnationsofGodwithinthehumanconsciousness.
Sometimes God may descend into the lower consciousness
of a being in His full intensity to purify him. But this can
happenonlywhenthereisanintenseaspirationforthedivine
andafeelingofcompletesurrenderbythelowerself.
4. The stories of incarnations help the ordinary mortal to
know how to conduct themselves in their day to day lives.
Just as God incarnates and assumes many forms and roles
tohelpthegoodanddestroytheunrighteous,mantoohasto
assume many roles in his family to help his relations and
ancestors,andinhissocietytohelpthepoorandtheneedy.
5. God is righteous, a wielder of moral law, not a neutral
Beingunconcernedwiththevirtuesofthemankind.
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