Knowledge of Lord Vishnu Avatar and its purposes

In Hindu Ethics there is a belief that the God, Supreme power will help the living beings in all respects at the time of crisis. To ensure this Lord Vishnu/Narayan taken avatars in many forms. Why Lord Vishnu? Because He is the Gors and need of Bakthi consciousness in Public.
Human being is the super most living being out of eighty four lakhs of jananam in the earth. They are egg-born,seed-born,sweat-born and womb-born each have 21 lakhs of births. The destiny of each birth is according to the Karma done in the said birth or earlier birth/s. He is the Section Head to protect the living beings. Under Him dhoothas or Disciples entrusted to spread the avatao one could escape from the benefit of karma whether good or bad. They will have the rebirth according to the karma did in the past births. Only Human birth, which is in the top of all 84 lakh births7 in which a human given with the power of realization whether it is good karma or bad karma and whether we can do it or not etc., This distinguish cannot be done in any birth. We can see a small but simple example, when we see a ugly item or gutter water on the road we, human, normally cross it or go by side of it but a dog or buffalo walks through that without minding.
To cross over this human birth we have no option to do honest things and always in the thinking of Paramatma, the God. Our Atma is a part and parcel of Paramatma and to reach Him we have to do the needful by differentiate good and bad karmas.
To ensure this Lord Vishnu took avatar of Rama, Krishna and lived in the earth as human beings to eradicate Duratmas like Ravana and Duriyodhana etc., They also got suffered in several ways as they also took in the Human beings and they did so to just make ourselves to realize that if we do bad karmas we have to suffer like this.

In Hindu mythology three important powers are perceived as the preserver and protector of the humanity. These are Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva). It is believed and is mentioned in the Hindu scriptures that whenever there are evil powers present on Earth and threaten the entire humanity, then Lord Vishnu comes in form of a particular incarnation and Avatar and kills the evil spirits on Earth and brings back the good times. So, basically he is the protector of the humanity. These incarnations are known as Avatars, which means different forms to achieve the same goal of destroying the bad elements. As per our scriptures and especially the Dashavatar description it is mentioned that there were ten Avatars out of which nine have already there in the past and one last is yet to come. Surprisingly, these Avatars somehow match with the geological and animal life forms through the ages since the formation of Earth. Anyway each Avatar was made as per the particular need of the time and its purpose was fixed. Some scholars believe that the concept of Avatars was to re-establish the Dharma, the way of Hindu life. The stories woven around them is very fascinating and are parts of our cultural heritage. The ten Avatars are as follows -

1. Matsya Avatar - This belongs to the unfortunate time when the Earth was engulfed with water due to massive flooding. Matsya means fish and this Avatar form of Lord Vishnu forewarned the people as per its experience and asked them to be alive by remaining safe in a boat.

2. Kurma (tortoise) Avatar - This Avatar was adopted by Lord Vishnu for churning of seas for precious stones.

3. Varaha Avatar - The story goes that the demon Hiranyakashyap dragged the Earth in the seas. In the aftermath of this conflict the Varaha (a form of boar) took it out from there and gave it back to the people.

4. Narasimha (The Man-Lion) Avatar - As per the depiction in the religious books there was a demon king known as Hiranyakashyap who obtained a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed by any animal or human being. After getting this grant he became very powerful and started to torture the people here and there. It is interesting to note that his son Prahlada was the devotee of Lord Vishnu and one day when the demon wanted to teach lesson to Prahlada, Lord Vishnu emerged from a pillar in form of a man-lion and killed the demon.

5. Vamana Avatar - This is mentioned in the Rig Veda that when the demon king Bali became very powerful then the existence of Gods themselves became a matter of concern and then Lord Vishnu took the form of a Vamana and went to Bali and asked some land in donation. Bali obliged him considering him a simple Brahmin asking some little thing and asked how much he required. Vamana asked for there steps only and in doing that completely engulfed the whole Earth and sent the Bali to hell.

6. Parasurama Avatar - In this form it is described that Lord Vishnu came in the disguise of a Brahman with an axe in his hand to make the proper order in the Hindu society as some Kshatriya kings did havoc and played with the social order of that time.

7. Lord Rama Avatar - This is one of the major Avatar and is a main deity in Hindu culture. Lord Vishnu took this form to kill the demon Ravana, the king of Lanka, who became too powerful to trouble the people.

8. Lord Krishna Avatar - This is another form which became a great Avatar and had a large number of devotees. He had a crucial role in getting the Mahabharat war concluded in favour of the Pandavas. The present Hare Krishna movement is dedicated to Him only.

9. Balarama Avatar - He is said to be the elder brother of Lord Krishna and is separately worshipped by the devotees.

10. Kalki Avatar - It is the last Avatar but yet to come. As per our scriptures it would appear at the end of the present Kaliyug and help people in getting rid from the unrighteous rulers.

Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are the three important deities of Hindu Religion. Brahma is the creator. Vishnu is the preserver & protector and Siva is the destroyer. Whenever evil forces on this earth start destroying humanity, Lord Vishnu arrive on to this earth in some incarnation and protects humanity. There are almost 24 avatars but among them, 10 are well known and they are known as Dasavataras.
These ten avatars are.
1.Matsya (The Fish)
Matsya is the first of these ten avatars. Vishnu was born as a fish in the Satya Yuga. He rescued the first man in creation from the great flood that covered the world.
2. Kurma (The Tortoise)
The second incarnation of Vishnu was that of Kurma. Angels and Demons were attempting to churn the ocean to get Amrutha which will give immortality. They were using a mountain for churning. The mountain started sinking into the ocean. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of a Kurma and stopped the mountain from sinking by carrying the mountain on his back.
3. Varaha (The Boar)
A powerful demon stole the earth from its place in the sky and carried it to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Then Lord Vishnu incarnated as Varaha. He had a fight with the demon for a thousand years. Then he defeated the demon and rested the earth in her original resting place in the sky. Thus, he brought back the order and balance.
4. Narasimha (The Lion Man)
This was the last of Vishnu's incarnations during Satya Yuga. Hirnya Kasipa, father of Prahalad had received a boon that he could not be killed by man or animal, inside or out, day or night, on earth or the stars, with a weapon either living or non-living. Hence Lord Vishnu incarnated as Narasimha. Narasimha is with the body of a man, and the head and claws of a lion. He killed the demon using his claws under a courtyard threshold of his home at exactly dusk while keeping the demon on his laps. Thus he saved his devotee, Prahalad.
5. Vamana (The Dwarf)
Vamana was the first of Vishnu's incarnations during the Treta Yuga. Bali, a great king grew in power and extend his kingdom over all the three worlds. Lord Vishnu was born as Vamana. He asked the king to give three paces of land. The king agreed. Immediately Vamana grew to the size of this world. He stepped over heaven on his first step, and hell on his second step. The king offered his head as the third step for Vamana to place his foot.
6. Parasurama (The Lumberjack)
Parashurama got his weapon, the axe, from lord Shiva and a boon of immortality also. Once a great king and his army visited Parashurama's father and asked him to give him the incredible cow (Kamdhenu). His father refused. The king took it by force In revenge, Parasurama destroyed the evil king and his entire family and took a vow to destroy every evil warrior on earth. He destroyed 21 generations. After that continued his life in meditation and prayer.
7. Rama:
We all know about this avatar well. Rama behaved like a normal man even though he is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, He killed Ravana and many other demons and helped many saints in their penance.
8. Krishna:
This is the first incarnation in the Dvapara Yuga. We know very well about this avatar. He brought the great Bhagavad Gita to mankind. He supported Pandavas and got killed all the evil forces on this earth at that time.
9. Balarama
He is the brother of Lord Krishna. Very rarely he will be worshipped. But very well known as a very strong person.
Some versions say Buddha as the ninth avatar. But Gowtam Buddha born very late after all the ten avatars are established.
10. Kalki (The Mighty Warrior):
This is the last in ten avatars. Kalki is supposed to appear at the end of Kaliyuga. He will appear riding a white horse and carrying a fiery sword. He will kill all the evil rulers and will establish Dharma again.

Lord Vishnu is the eagle-riding Hindu god with four arms and a pale blue complexion. He is one of the three most important gods in Hinduism, together called the Trimurti. His role as the Preserver is to sustain the universe created by Brahma and maintain order in it. Vishnu does this by incarnating himself into the world in various avatars, Through these avatars, evil is defeated and dharma is restored.

Lord Vishnu is shown in blue color as he is infinite and immeasurable like the sky and surrounded by the infinite cosmic ocean and the color blue represents his infinite force. He is infinite. He is the controller of the whole universe.
Lord Vishnu's Wife - Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

How many avatars and reason for taking such avatars:
There are 24 avatars taken by Lord Vishnu. The avatars that came to the world to kill evil and re-establish dharma and well known are 10 avatars. The Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu is commonly known as Dashavatar. Two of Vishnu's most famous avatars are Krishna and Rama. Vishnu is the Protector and preserver of the universe. In order to protect the universe and dharma, he descended on earth in ten different forms or Dashavatar. The purpose of such avatars is to completely destroy evil and restore dharma.

The Story behind Ten avatars:

1st Avatar - Matsya (The Fish):
Matsya is the first avatar of Vishnu. He is the half fish, a half-human form of Vishnu,i.e.an aquatic animal who can survive only in water. He is said to be the avatar that rescued the first man, as well as other creatures of the earth, from a great flood. Matsya gave warning about the coming of the flood and ordered all the grains and living creatures to be preserved in a boat.

2nd Avatar - Kurma (The Tortoise):
Vishnu's second avatar took the shape of a human-tortoise called Kurma. During the fight between God and giants for milk(Amirtham), a mountain began to sink and Kurma then supported the mountain on his back, saving it. The main purpose to take the form of a tortoise is to support the churning stick on his back.

3rd Avatar - Varaha (The Boar):
Vishnu's third avatar took the shape of a human-boar called Varaha. In this form, Vishnu had a human body with the head of a boar. This birth was taken to rescue Bhoomidevi from a very powerful demon called Hiranyaksha who dragged the Earth to the bottom of the cosmic sea. Varaha went into battle with the demon for a thousand years(1000 years). After the enemy was defeated, Varaha lifted the earth out of the water with his tusks and rescued Bhoomi Devi and restored its order and balance.

4th Avatar - Narasimha (The Man-Lion):
Narasimha, the lion, is Vishnu's fourth avatar. He was half man and half lion. Narasimha defeated another powerful demon called Hiranyakashipu. He was particularly powerful because he received a boon, or magic power, from Brahma that made him invincible. He was unable to be killed or harmed by any means.
Hiranyakshipu began to cause trouble both in heaven and on earth. One day, He found his son Prahlada, praying to Vishnu and he was so upset. One day, when the demon challenged Prahlada, Vishnu emerged in the form of a man-lion known as Narasimha appeared, killed the demon through a loophole in the boon, and protected Prahlada.

5th Avatar - Vamana (The Dwarf):
The above first four avatars of Vishnu were all in human-animal form and took place during the period called Satya Yuga, or the first age of the Earth. Vishnu's fifth avatar, Vamana is the first of the avatars that took human form and lived during the Treta Yuga or the second age of the Earth.
Vamana (the dwarf) appears when the demon king Bali ruled the universe and the gods lost their power. One day, Vamana visited the court of Bali and begged for as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing at the dwarf, Bali granted the wish.
The dwarf then appeared as the form of a giant. He took the whole earth with the first step and the entire middle world with the second step, and then Bali's head with his third step.
Bali kept his promise to Vamana and gave him all the land in the universe. Bali was then sent to rule the underworld, thereby maintaining order and balance once again.

6th Avatar - Parasurama (The Angry Man):
Vishnu's sixth Avatar is Parasurama. He appears as a priest(Brahman), an angry man with an ax whose role was to kill bad kings, restoring the social order that had been corrupted by the Kshatriya caste and protecting humanity from danger. Parasurama received his ax from Shiva, along with the boon or gift of immortality.
King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army demanded a divine cow from Parasurama's father and when he refused they took the cow by force and destroyed the family's ashram. In revenge, Parasurama killed the king and his army. This act by Parasurama was then retaliated by the king's sons when they killed Parasurama's father.
Parasurama then vowed to kill evil Kshatriyas for 21 generations, after which he stopped and meditated for the rest of his immortality.

7th Avatar - Lord Rama (The Perfect Man):
Rama or Ramachandra, Vishnu's 7th avatar, is one of Hinduism's most well-known figures. He appeared in the story of the Ramayana. Rama is often depicted with blue skin, standing with a bow and arrow. Rama was a prince in the kingdom of Ayodhya who was exiled for 14 years. During his exile, he killed the evil King Ravana to end his terrorizing rule, and to free his wife Sita, whom Ravana had kidnapped.
The famous Indian festival, Diwali, is in fact a celebration of Rama's victory over the demon Ravana, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

More information about Rama:
Rama's wife – Sita.
Rama's Siblings - Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna are the brothers and Shanta is a sister.
Rama's children – Lava(Son), Kusha(Son).
Rama's parents - Dasharatha (father) and Kaushalya(mother).
Weapon - Bow and Arrows.
Rama was born in Ayodhya.

8th Avatar - Lord Krishna (The Divine Statesman):
Krishna is Vishnu's most famous avatar and is usually depicted in the form of a child with blue skin playing the flute. He was the first avatar born in the Dwapara Yuga, the third age. There are many stories surrounding Krishna, usually centered on his defeat of many evil kings and demons. He is known to end the reign of his uncle Kansa.
His role as the advisor of Pandavas and the guide of Arjuna in Mahabharata. The story of the Bhagavad Gita was said to be spoken by Krishna to Arjuna during the battlefield.

More information about Krishna:
Krishna wife – Rukmini.
(Sita, wife of Rama, and Rukmini, wife of Krishna, are both avatars of Goddess Lakshmi).
Radha is the lover of Krishna and also an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi.
Weapon –Sudarshana Chakra.
Krishna born in Mathura.
The Janmashtami festival in August celebrates the birth of Krishna.
Krishna's Parents - Devaki (mother), Vasudeva (father), Yashoda (foster mother), Nanda (foster father).
Krishna's Siblings - Balarama (brother), Subhadra (sister), Vindhyavasini (sister) (Vindhyavasini is also known as YogaMaya, or Durga or Adiparashakthi).
(Balarama, brother of Krishna and Lakshmana, brother of Rama are both avatars of Sheshanaga or Adishesha).

9th Avatar - Balarama(Krishna's elder brother):
Balarama appears in Mahabharata as the elder brother of Krishna. He is the avatar of Sheshanaga or Adishesha. In visual representations, he is usually shown with pale skin in contrast to Krishna's blue skin. He is known for his strength, for carrying mace and plow and he was Duryodhana and Bhima's guru in teaching the 'Gada' (the weapon). Balarama is rarely worshiped independently, but stories always focus on his prodigious strength. He shares many adventures with Krishna, which includes bringing a tyrannical ruler Kansa to justice. Balarama is also known as "God of agriculture".

More information about Balarama:
Weapon – Gada and Plow.
Children – Nisatha(Son), Uluka(Son), and Shashirekha or Vatsala(Daughter).
Parents – Vasudeva (father), Rohini Devi (mother).
Siblings – Krishna and Subhadra.
Balarama born in a village called Gokul.

10th Avatar - Kalki (The Mighty Warrior):
Vishnu's 10th avatar, Kalki, is the last incarnation of the god and is believed to be still yet to come. Kalki is only expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the current time period. He is commonly portrayed riding a white horse while carrying a blazing sword. The purpose of his is coming will be to defeat unrighteous rulers and restore peace to the world.

The incarnation of Lord Vishnu is mentioned in Hinduism
All the incarnations of Lord Vishnu are worshiped, among them the incarnation of Lord Rama and Shri Krishna is worshiped by many people and we get information about them from Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
Their 10 avatars are

1. Matsya Avatar:
According to the Puranas, Lord Vishnu had taken a matsyavatar to save the world from the Holocaust. Its story goes like this - King Satyavrat was born in the beginning of the era. King Satyavrat was giving Jalanjali a bath in the river one day. Suddenly a small fish came to his Anjali. When he saw it, I thought I would put it back in the ocean, but that fish said - Do not put me in the ocean, otherwise big fish will eat me. Then King Satyavrat kept the fish in his kamandal. When the fish became bigger, the king kept it in his lake, then on seeing it, the fish became bigger.

The king understood that this is not an ordinary creature. The king pleaded with the fish to come in real form. Hearing the king's prayer, the lord Vishnu appeared, and said that this is my mermaid. God told Satyavrat - listen King Satyavrat! There will be a catastrophe seven days from today. Then a huge boat will come to you with my inspiration. Take the subtle body of sapta sages, medicines, seeds and creatures and sit in it, when your boat starts to waver, then I will come to you as a fish. At that time you tie that boat with my horn by Vasuki Nag. At that time, I will answer you by asking questions, so that my glory, which is known as Parbrahma, will be revealed in your heart. Then, when the time came, the fishery god Vishnu preached philosophy to King Satyavrat, who is famous as Matsya Purana.

2. Kurma Avatar:
According to religious texts, Lord Vishnu had helped in churning the sea by taking the avatar of Kurma (turtle). The Kurma avatar of Lord Vishnu is also called the Kachhap avatar. Its story is as follows- Once Maharishi Durvasa cursed Indra, the king of the gods, to dehumanize him. When Indra went to Lord Vishnu, he asked him to churn the ocean. Then Indra agreed to churn the ocean together with the demons and deities as told by Lord Vishnu.

To churn the sea, the Mandarachal mountain was made a churner and Nagraj Vasuki was netted. The gods and the demons, forgetting their differences, uprooted Mandarachal and took him towards the sea, but they could not take him far. Then Lord Vishnu placed Mandarachal on the beach. The gods and demons made Mandarachal into the sea and made Nagaraja Vasuki a leader. But due to no base below Mandarachal, he started drowning in the sea. Seeing this, Lord Vishnu took the form of a giant kurma (turtle) and became the basis of Mandarachal in the sea. Mandarachal started moving fast on the huge back of Lord Kurma and thus the sea churning was completed.

3. Varaha Avatar:
According to religious texts, Lord Vishnu took the second incarnation as Varaha. The story related to the Varaha avatar is as follows - In ancient times when Lord Hiranyaksha carried the earth and hid it in the sea, then Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Varaha from the nose of Brahma. Seeing this form of Lord Vishnu, all the gods and sages praised him. At the urging of everyone, Lord Varaha started searching for the earth. With the help of his snout, he found the earth and by going inside the ocean and placing it on his teeth, he brought the earth out.

When Hiranyaksha demon saw this, he challenged the Varaha form of Lord Vishnu to battle. A fierce battle ensued in both. Finally Lord Varaha killed Hiranyaksha. After this, Lord Varaha pillaged the water with his hooves and set the earth on it.

4. Lord Narasimha:
Lord Vishnu had killed Narasimha incarnation of Hiranyakashipu, the king of the demons. The story of this incarnation is as follows- According to religious texts, Hiranyakashipu, the king of the demons, considered himself stronger than God. He had the gift of dying from man, god, bird, animal, neither in day, nor at night, nor on earth, nor in the sky, nor by weapon, nor by weapon. Whoever worshiped Lord Vishnu during his reign was punished. His son's name was Prahlad. Prahlada was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu since childhood. When Hiranyakashipu came to know about this, he was very angry and tried to convince Prahlada, but even when Prahlada did not believe Hiranyakashipu gave him the death penalty.

Every time he survived the miracle of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu's sister Holika, who had the boon of not burning with fire, sat in a blazing fire with Prahlada. Even then, by the grace of Lord Vishnu Prahlad survived and Holika was burnt. When Hiranyakashipu was about to kill Prahlad himself, Lord Vishnu appeared from the pillar with the incarnation of Narasimha and killed Hiranyakashipu with his nails.

5. Vamana Avatar:
In Satyayuga, Prahlada's grandson, Daityaraj Bali, took control of heaven. All the gods went to Lord Vishnu to avoid this calamity. Then Lord Vishnu said that I myself will be born from the womb of Devmata Aditi and will give you the kingdom of heaven. After some time Lord Vishnu incarnated Vamana.

Once, when Bali was performing a great yajna, Lord Vaman went to the sacrificial fire and asked for three feet of land from King Bali. Shukracharya, the Guru of King Bali, understood the lila of God and refused to donate to Bali. But Bali still pledged to donate three feet of land to Lord Vamana. Lord Vamana took a huge form and measured the earth in one step and the heaven in the second step. When there was no place left for the third step, Bali sacrificed God Vamana on his head.

6. Shriram avatar:
The demon king Ravana had great terror in Tretayuga. Gods were also afraid of him. For his slaughter, Lord Vishnu was born as a son from the womb of Mother Kaushalya at King Dasharatha. In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu killed many demons and lived his life by following Maryada.

Went to exile at the behest of father. While suffering exile, Raksharaj Raja took away his wife Sita. In search of Sita, Lord reached Lanka, where there was a fierce battle between Lord Rama and Ravana in which Ravana was killed. Thus Lord Vishnu took the Rama avatar and freed the gods.

7. Shri Krishna Avatar:
In Dwaparyug, Lord Vishnu took the Shri Krishna incarnation and destroyed the unrighteous. Lord Krishna was born in a prison. His father's name was Vasudev and mother's name was Devaki. Lord Krishna performed many miracles in this incarnation and annihilated the wicked.

Lord Krishna also killed Kansa. In the war of Mahabharata, became the charioteer of Arjuna and gave the knowledge of Gita to the world. Dharmaraja established Dharma by making Yudhishthira king. This incarnation of Lord Vishnu is considered the best of all incarnations.

8. Parashuram Avatar:
According to Hindu scriptures, Parashurama was one of the major incarnations of Lord Vishnu. There are two stories regarding the birth of Lord Parashurama. According to Harivanshpuran, one of those stories is as follows:

In ancient times, the city of Mahishmati was ruled by the powerful Haiyavanshi Kshatriya Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahastrabahu). He was very arrogant and also tyrannical. Once Agnidev requested him to take food. Then Sahastrabahu came in boasting and said that you can get food from wherever you want, I rule all around. Then Agnidev started burning forests. In a forest, the sage Aapava was doing penance. Agni also burnt his ashram. Enraged by this, the sage cursed Sahastrabahu that Lord Vishnu would be born as Parashurama and destroy not only Sahastrabahu but all the Kshatriyas. Thus Lord Vishnu was born as the fifth son of Maharishi Jamadagri in the Bhargava clan.

9. Buddha avatar:
According to religious texts, Gautama Buddha, the originator of Buddhism, was also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but Lord Buddha, described in the Puranas, is said to have been born in Kikat near Gaya and his father's name is said to be Ajna. This passage is of the Buddhavatar mentioned in the Puranas.

At one time the power of the demons increased greatly. The gods also started running away from their fear. With the wish of the kingdom, the demons asked Devraj Indra that our empire should remain stable, what is the solution for this. Then Indra told with a pure sense that Yajna and Vedic conduct is necessary for stable governance. Then the demons started performing Vedic conduct and Mahayagya, which further increased their power. Then all the gods went to Lord Vishnu. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of Buddha for the benefit of the gods. They had a market in their hands and they walked along the path.

Thus Lord Buddha approached the demons and preached to them that sacrificing yagna is a sin. Yajna causes life violence. Many beings are consumed by the fire of sacrifice. The demons were impressed by the teachings of Lord Buddha. He stopped performing Yajna and Vedic conduct. This reduced his power and the gods attacked him and regained his kingdom.

10. Kalki Avatar:
According to religious texts, Lord Vishnu will incarnate in Kalki form in Kali Yuga. Kalki avatar will be in the jurisdiction of Kali Yuga and Satyuga. This avatar will consist of 64 arts. According to the Puranas, Lord Kalki will be born as a son of an ascetic Brahmin named Vishnuyasha at a place called Shambhal in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh. Riding on a horse named Kalki Devadatta will destroy the sinners from the world and re-establish religion, only then will the beginning of the golden age begin.