10 Vishnu Avatar In Hinduism With Pictures : Into Hinduism

10 Vishnu Avatar In Hinduism With Pictures:

Avatar is a belief in Hinduism that means when a deity appears on earth or take birth in material form or guru.
Hindus believe that supreme god Vishnu has taken 9 avatars time to time on earth in material form/body to save "Dharma" or righteousness. He is believed to have 10 avatars in a cycle of 4 yugas in Hindu cosmology.

As per Hindus, we are living now in Kalyuga, in which Visnu avatar "Kalki" will appear at the end of yuga to fight against wrong. He will restore cosmic order and "Dharma" which will mark the start of "Satyuga". His 10 avatars have been commonly given term as Dashavatara(दशावतार). (Dasa means 10)

In Bhagavad Geeta, Lord Krishna also said that whenever there will be a decline of dharma, he will come and protect the world, restore and establish moral values, knowledge, and dharma.

The interesting thing is when you look at the Vishnu Avatar taking material forms, Vishnu symbolizes the evolution of human history. He is not depicted as a human from the beginning but as gradually.
Vishnu's ten main avatars as an ascending order can be interpreted as simple life-forms to more complex life-forms. This also goes the same with science and the modern theory of evolution.
If you look at past 9 avatars, the order goes like -

Fish (Paleozoic era))
Tortoise(Mesozoic era)
Boar (Cenozoic era)
Lion-Head-Man (Cenozoic era)
Dwarf man(Step towards Human)
Sage (a hero, but imperfect human form)
"Ideal man"( physically perfect, his friend Hanuman) is a monkey endowed with speech)
Farmer
Love/compassion characteristics of man.

In some of the ideas, Buddha (Founder of Buddhism ) is considered as 9th Avatar and Krishna as 8th Avatar.

The essence of this lies in the fact that every single being who is conscious has "Krishna".

Avatars-

#1 MATSYA

Source - Ravi Varma Press [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Matsya avatar protected Manu and the seven sages at the time of Deluge.

# 2 KURMA

Source - [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Kurma appeared at a time of crisis to restore and maintain the cosmic equilibrium. He is depicted as either a tortoise or more commonly as half man-half tortoise

#3 VARAHA

Source -Brooklyn Museum [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Vishnu took the avatar of "a boar" to rescue goddess earth. He slewed the Varaha slew the demon Hiranyaksha and retrieved the Earth from the ocean by lifting her on his tusks and then restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe

#4 NARASIMHA-The-Man-Lion Incarnation

Source Anonymous Unknown author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Vishnu incarnated in the form of a part lion and a part man to destroy evil and end religious persecution and calamity on Earth and restored Dharma.

# 5 VAMANA-The Dwarf Incarnation

Source - [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

When cosmic balance shuffled and Asura king Mahabali acquired disproportionate power over the universe. Vishnu incarnated as a dwarf to restore the cosmic balance.

#6 PARASHURAMA

source-Rajasekhar1961 [CC BY-SA 4.0 ]], via Wikimedia Commons

Parashurama was born as Brahman but carried traits of a Kshatriya and is therefore regarded as a Brahmin-Kshatriya. His traits included aggression, warfare, serenity, prudence, and patience.

#7 RAMA

source Rajasekhar1961 [CC BY-SA 3.0 ]via Wikimedia Commons

Rama is one of his most popular incarnations along with Krishna. In Rama-centric ideas of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being. He represents and personifies the characteristics of an ideal person. He is also called "Maryada Purushottam" means best of upholder of dharma.

#8 BALRAM

source-[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons via Wikimedia Commons

Bal means strength. He was the elder brother of Lord Krishna. Plough was his weapon and he is very popular among farmers and considered as the deity who used farm equipment as weapons when needed.

# 9 KRISHNA

source

He is the epitome of compassion, tenderness, and love in Hinduism His birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Janmashtami. He is a central character in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, One of Hindu Most important religious texts.

#10 KALKI

source Raja Ravi Varma [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

He is believed to appear at the end of Kalyuga to restore humanity and moral values.
In Puranas, He is said to be riding on a white horse with his a fiery sword to fight against wrongs.
He will restart a new cycle of time.

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Dasha Avatar by Amar Chitra Katha

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10 Vishnu Avatar In Hinduism With Pictures : Into Hinduism