Understanding the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu or the Dashavataras hold great significance in Hinduism as each incarnation embodies the divine intervention necessary to restore Dharma, or the cosmic law of righteousness.
During periods of turmoil caused by the ascendancy of demonic forces, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself again and again as an Avatar to defeat demons and re-establish the cosmic order.
In total, Lord Vishnu had manifested nine times so far, with the promised tenth Avatar, Kalki yet to arrive.
Let’s look into the details of the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu
No | Avatara | Form/Representation | Yuga |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Matsya | Fish | Satya Yuga |
2 | Kurma | Tortoise | Satya Yuga |
3 | Varaha | Boar | Satya Yuga |
4 | Narasimha | Half-man/Half-lion | Satya Yuga |
5 | Vamana | Dwarf | Treta Yuga |
6 | Parasurama | Warrior with an axe | Treta Yuga |
7 | Rama | Perfect Man | Treta Yuga |
8 | Krishna/Balarama | Philosopher | Dvapara Yuga |
9 | Buddha/Krishna | Preacher of Peace | Kali Yuga (Dvapara for Krishna) |
10 | Kalki | Remover of Adharma | Kali Yuga |
1. Matsya Avatar (Fish)

The First Avatar of Lord Vishnu is the Matsya, or the Fish.
Lord Vishnu took the Matsya avatar to save the Manu, humanity and other beings from the Maha pralaya, a great flood that can destroy life on Earth.
The story goes like this: one day, as a part of his daily routine, King Vaivasvata Manu performed Argya, an offering of water to the deity in the river.
In the process, he took water from the river in his cupped hands and found a tiny fish.
To the King’s surprise, the fish spoke, asking him not to leave it in the water filled with predators, and requested a better place.
He smiled, kept it in a Kamandal (pot) and continued his daily work.
The next day, the fish became big and asked for a bigger vessel, and further, the fish kept growing.
Understanding that the fish was none other than Lord Vishnu, Manu released the fish into an ocean and prayed.
Lord Vishnu appeared before Manu and said that this yuga was approaching its end fast and a great flood would soon wipe off everything.
The Lord then gives Manu the responsibility to collect all creatures in the world and keep them safe in a great boat built by the Gods.
Manu prepared everything for that day. In the great flood, Vishnu appeared as a big fish with a horn that directed all the beings safely for a new yuga.
The Other story about the Matsya Avatar is related to a demon named Hayagriva, who stole the Vedas and resided in the deep ocean.
Unable to obtain Vedas from the demon Hayagriva, Gods approached Vishnu for help. Vishnu then took the form of a fish, defeated the demon and brought back the Vedas and handled them to Brahma.
2. Kurma Avatar (Tortoise)

The second among the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu is the Kurma Avatar, the tortoise.
Lord Vishnu took this Avatar during the time of Samudra Manthana, the churning of the ocean to obtain the elixir of immortality called Amrita.
Once, Gods and demons came to an agreement to churn the ocean of milk to obtain the elixir of immortality.
For churning, they used the Mandara Mountain as a churning shaft and the great snake Vasuki as a thread. However, the Mountain started to sink.
Vishnu took the Kurma avatar as a huge tortoise to keep it in its position. He then went to the bottom of the ocean and held up the base of the Mountain on its shell to obtain the elixir.
3. Varaha Avatar (Boar)

The Third Avatar is the Varaha or Boar. Lord Vishnu took this form to rescue the Earth, which was submerged by the demon king Hiranyaksha.
Once, Hiranyaksha did a great penance and gained a boon of invincibility. Due to the boons, he stormed around the universe and defeated the devas, occupying the Devaloka, the abode of Gods.
He became bored and dragged the Bhu Devi, the mother Earth, to the bottom of the cosmic ocean.
Then, all the devas, demigods, and Manu turned to Vishnu for help.
Vishnu then took the Varaha avatar in the form of a Boar. It grew enormous and dived to the bottom of the ocean.
It then fought with demon king Hiranyaksha and destroyed him. Varaha then lifted the Earth out of the cosmic ocean on his snout and restored it to its proper place.
4. Narasimha Avatar (Half-man/Half-lion)

Next is the half-man and half-lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu called Narasimha. It is the most dynamic form among the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu.
Vishnu took this Avatar to protect his devotee Prahlada and to defeat the asura king Hiranyakashipu.
The Asura king Hiranyakashipu, who was the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, ruled the Asura Kingdom before him.
During his time, he undertook a great penance and got a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed by humans, animals, during day or night, and so on.
He then overthrew Indra from the abode of gods and drove gods out of heaven. He then took all the Lokas under his control.
Hiranyakasipu had a son named Prahlada, a very devout worshipper of Vishnu, whom his father hated the most. Knowing this, the demon King felt sad and employed two teachers to change his child’s mind.
On seeing no change, Hiranyakasipu also tried numerous other ways to stop the worship of Vishnu, but there was no change in the behaviour of Prahlada.
Instead, the child insisted that only Lord Vishnu is the supreme deity and wished for his father to recognize the Truth.
This angered his father, who then said you are unfit to be as my progeny and ordered the warriors to harm Prahlada.
No matter what method they tried, Lord Vishnu protected Prahlada. They reported this back to the King in his court.
Irritated and losing his patience, Hiranyakasipu told his son to call Vishnu. Prahla replied he is everywhere, Father. Enraged, Hiranyakasipu took his mace and beat the pillar, saying, is Vishnu here, show me.
Right then, Lord Vishnu emerged from the pillar in half-man and half-demon form as Narasimha and disembowelled the demon for his blasphemy.
5. Vamana Avatar (Dwarf)

Lord Vishnu had incarnated as a dwarf in the Vamana avatar which is the fifth Avatar
, to subdue the demon king Bali. In order to recover the heavens for the gods.
Demon King Bali, the son of Virochana and the grant son of Prahlada, conquered the Devaloka and assumed the Kingship.
To celebrate the victory of his reign, Bali conducted a great yagna called Viswajeet Yagna, during which he even gained more power.
Indra and other gods went to Vishnu seeking help to regain the heavens.
Vishnu agreed and incarnated as a dwarf and went to Bali.
Looking at the charm of the young boy, Bali was impressed and respected him with the necessary austerities. Bali then offered Vaman to give whatever he wished.
Vamana replied that I don’t need much except three paces of Land.
Bali’s Guru Shukracharya understood that the one who came was Lord Vishnu, the enemy of Asuras. He then informed Bali about this and said to reject his wish.
However, Bali insisted on keeping up his promise.
Lord Vishnu, in the form of Vamana, grew in size and covered the Earth with his first step. With his second step, he covers the sky and the heavens. He then asked Bali about the third step’s place.
Bali then showed his own head as the place for him. Vishnu then placed his third step on Bali’s head, crushing him to patala.
Later, Indra’s dominion is returned to restore the cosmic order.
6. Parasurama Avatar ( Warrior with an Axe)

The incarnation of Parasurama was undertaken by Lord Vishnu to re-establish the social order that has been disturbed by few Kshatriya Kings, whose rule is unjust and constantly at war.
This Avatar is to remove the oppressive and tyrannical kings from power.
Vishnu was born as Prasurama or The Rama with an axe to sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka.
Prasurama did several penances to Lord Shiva and obtained several powers and an axe.
One Day, King Kartavirya Arjuna came to the hermitage of Jamadagni while roaming in the forests. They asked for food and drink. Renuka and Jamadagni received King with courtesy.
They then served all the members along with the King very well.
The feast surprised the King, who understood that the sage could provide food for everyone abundantly because of the Divine cow Kamadhenu.
They then asked them to give that cow, but the sage refused. The arrogant King took that cow by force and left the hermitage.
Parasurama, who went for another work, returned home. On hearing the acts of the King, Parasurama challenged the King to battle, defeated the King, and returned the cow to his hermitage.
Alongside, Parasurama also led several attacks on the arrogant Kshatriya kings.
7. Rama Avatar (Perfect Man)

One of the most revered is the Rama Avatar. Rama born as the Prince of Ayodhya is the seventh among the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu.
The Rama avatar is an embodiment of righteousness and is taken by lord Vishnu to destroy the King of Lanka, Ravana. This Avatar also stands as an example for an ideal man and a ruler.
Ramayana, one of the great epics of Hinduism, tells the story of Rama.
He is born as a prince of Ayodhya to King Dasaratha and his first wife, Kausalya. Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, is married to Rama
Later, Dasartha thought of crowning Rama as the King of Ayodhya. However, his second wife, Kaikeyi demanded Dasaratha to fulfill the boon she had gotten before.
She asked to make his son Bharata the King of Ayodhya and to send Rama into exile for thirteen years.
Due to unexpected changes, Rama went into exile.
Rama’s exile journey is also accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana.
During their Journey, Ravana, the King of Lanka, abducted Sita and took her to Lanka.
Rama and Lakshmana then traced the Sita’s journey. He also allied and won the aid of Hanuman, Sugriva and their monkey armies.
Rama then started a war against Ravana and killed the demon King Ravan in the battle.
After the battle, Rama and Sita returned home, where Rama was crowned the King of Ayodhya.
8. Krishna Avatar (Philosopher)

Next is Krishna, one of the most popular deities in Hinduism as well among the Dashavataras.
Lord Vishnu took the form of Krishna Avatar to destroy the Kamsa and also to aid the Pandavas in their victory over the Kauravas.
Lord Krishna is an embodiment of love and divine joy that destroys all sorrow and pain.
He is the key figure in the epics Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.
Here goes his story
Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva, however, Yasoda and Nanda had fostered him because of the difficult situations created by his uncle, Kamsa.
One day, a voice echoed from the skies, telling King Kamsa that the eighth child of Devaki would be the one to take his life.
Listening to this, Kamsa went to his sister to kill her, but Vasudeva asked to spare her, and he would give him all the children born.
Kamsa spared his sister’s life, but he imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva keeping them guarded.
He destroyed six of their children, but Vasudeva managed to save the seventh child, Balarama, an incarnation of Lord Adishesha, by claiming that Devaki had miscarried.
The eighth child is the Avatar of Vishnu, Krishna was born. On that day, guards fell asleep, and gates opened, and a voice commanded Vasudeva to take the child to Nanda and exchange the child.
Knowing that something had happened, Kamsa went on a rampage to destroy all the children born.
However, Nanda managed to take the child away where Krishna and Balarama grew up as brothers.
During his childhood, Krishna destroyed several demons and saved the lives of common people.
Later, Kamsa identified the real Krishna. His attempts to kill Krishna were unsuccessful.
One day, Kamsa, acting good, invited the brothers to an annual athletic event in Mathura, where the two wrestlers and a few of his army are kept to attack Krishna.
However, Krishna destroyed all his plans attacked and killed the Demon Kamsa.
The other story is related to Mahabharata, where Krishna aided the Pandavas side in the removal of Kauravas.
He also advised Arjuna about his duties on the battlefield and manifested himself as the supreme being.
9. Buddha Avatar (Preacher of Peace)

Among Dashavataras, next is the Buddha avatar that Lord Vishnu took to show the path of enlightenment. This Avatar also spreads the knowledge on how to live a life with compassion and nonviolence that is free of suffering and pain.
Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born as Prince Gautama. One incident in his life where he saw the pain and suffering of people made Gautama take the path of an esthetic in search of ultimate Truth.
After Prince Gautama observed the pain and suffering of the people, he chose to follow the path of an ascetic in his quest for ultimate Truth, eventually becoming Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
He had meditated under a peepal tree, received enlightenment and came to be called Buddha from then.
In Hindu scriptures, Buddha, as a preacher who leads the asuras and heretics away from Vedas and other Holy scriptures.
However, several Hindus don’t agree that Buddha is one of the Avatars; instead, they believe the eighth Avatar is Balarama and the ninth one is Krishna.
10. Kalki Avatar (Remover of Adharma)

The Kalki Avatar is the tenth and the last one among the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu. This Avatar is yet to be manifested. Lord Vishnu will assume this form at the end of the Kali-yuga or the cosmic cycle.
Many anticipate that Kalki will defeat evil and adharma, initiating the revival of Satya Yuga.
This Avatar of Vishnu will appear in human form, riding a white horse and holding a blazing sword as per the Puranas.