Dasavatara - The 10 Avatars of Vishnu

1. Matsya (the fish)

2. Koorma (the tortoise)

3. Varaha (the boar)

4. Narasimha (the human-lion)

5. Vamana (the dwarf)

6. Parasurama (the angry man, Rama with an axe)

7. Lord Rama (the perfect man, king of Ayodha)

8. Lord Krishna (the divine statesman)

9. Balarama (elder brother of Krishna) / in many versions of the mythology, the ninth

incarnation is mentioned as Lord Buddha.

10. Kalki (the mighty worrior) { The last Avatar is yet to appear}

Matsya Avatar - The Fish Incarnation

The Matsya Avatar or the Fish Incarnation is the first of the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The

Matsya avatar never made it into independent status for worship. It has no temples and no

significant independent representations in art and literature. Yet it remains significant for

many reasons. It is the very first incarnation and establishes a prototype for all the various

incarnations of god that follow. Secondly, it shares with the rest of the world a generic belief

that at one time the planet was threatened with a great flood and a savior in a boat preserved

all life forms. Thirdly it establishes the concept of Manus for each Great Age as defined in

Hindu Mythology. The Manu is a proto-Adam, responsible for overseeing the first hesitant

stages of all life forms in the new cycle of creation and he lives for the entire cycle as some

sort of cosmic warden. The Manu and his wife become the First Parents for each cycle. In the

Fish Incarnation Vishnu chose a great and pious king named Satyavrata to become the next

Manu. And finally the task of this avatar was the most important of all, nothing less than the

recovery of the lost Vedas. Taken all together then, the Matsya Avatar is not as

inconspicuous an event as is mistakenly presumed.

One Cycle of Creation, equivalent to one day for Brahma, was about to be completed and

Brahma himself about to fall asleep. When he does so all creation is dissolved except the

Vedas, which are eternal, and outside the cycle of creation and dissolution. They lodge safely

inside Brahma's body while he slumbers and are given back to the universe in the next cycle

of creation. Unfortunately, Brahma yawned and the Vedas flowed out of his lips. He was too

sleepy to notice this catastrophe, but a cunning demon named Hayagriva had been hanging

around, determined to become eternal by any means necessary. This was his main chance and

he gulped the Vedas down. Without the scriptures Creation would be impossible. But, Vishnu

was watching this as well and decided to act.

As Vishnu was wondering what was to be done, he noticed Satyavrata, who was making the

ritual offering of water to God. Vishnu immediately assumed the form of a Fish. As

Satyavrata scooped water from the flowing river, he spied a tiny fish in the water he had

scooped. When he tried to put it back into the river, the Fish entreated the king not to do so as

it would be eaten up by the big fish in the river. Satyavrata took the Fish into his water urn

and went back to his hermitage. Overnight, the Fish grew too big to be in the urn.

The next morning when the king looked it up, the Fish requested to be removed to a larger

vessel. Satyavrata did so but soon the fish became too big for the larger vessel as well.

Addressing the king, the Fish said that he should find a suitable living space for it. Satyavrata

then emptied the vessel into a large pond along with the Fish. But, in no time the Fish grew as

large as the pond and filled it. Then the Fish exhorted the king to take it to a large and deep

lake. Although Satyavrata took it to several lakes, one larger than the other, the Fish kept

growing and bigger and bigger. It went on asking for larger and larger living space.

Satyavrata got vexed and decided to put it into the ocean. When he reached the ocean, the

Fish addressed him thus: "O! King, do not put me into the ocean, I am sure to be swallowed

by the gigantic creature there." Satyavrata became suspicious now. In a flash, he realised that

it was Lord Vishnu in the form of Fish. Satyavrata immediately prostrated himself before the

Fish and prayed to be told why God had appeared in the form of Fish. The Lord told his

devotee, "Just a week from now, the ocean will rise and inundate the entire Universe. At that

time you will see a spacious boat approaching you. Do collect all the seeds, plants and

animals required for the next spell of creation and get into the boat and wait for me. Take

Vasuki, the kind of Serpents, with you. The seven Sages will also be with you".

The Fish left for fulfilling its mission. Hayagriva saw the gigantic fish approaching him and

was overtaken by fear. He held the Vedas tightly in his mouth. But soon the Divine Fish slew

him and recovered the Vedas and restored them to Brahma for him to resume the function of

Creation at the appropriate time.

As foretold by the Divine Fish, an incessant deluge followed and on the turbulent waters, a

boat appeared. Satyavrata, the seven Sages and all the living creatures found haven in the

boat. The Fish in the colour of gold and now with a horn came by and ordered that the boat

be tied to its horn using Vasuki as a rope. While the boat floated safely on the rising and

enveloping waters, Vishnu gave the Satyavrata the knowledge he would require for his role

as Manu in the next cycle.

Kurma Avatar

In the aftermath of a curse by Sage Durvasa, Devas and and their king, INDRA, had become

inglorious and powerless. It was as though they had been abandoned by Gods. They remained

engulfed in darkness.

Their eternal foes, ASURAS, were quick to seize the opportunity and conquer the emaciated

Devas. Indra was dethroned and driven out along with his subjects. Feeling helpless and

utterly humiliated, they went to BRAHMA, the Creator, and sought his help, explaining their

predicament. Brahma took them to the abode of VISHNU, since it is the latter who preserves

the order of the universe. Indra and Devas surrendered to VISHNU and prayed for their

redemption.

Lord VISHNU told them that the only way out for them was to secure the NECTAR of

IMMORTALITY: and for that, they would have to strive immensely and (a) cast all kinds of

plants, herbs, grassed and creepers into the Ocean of Milk, and (b) churn the ocean using

Mount MANDARA as a churn-staff and VASUKI, the king of the serpents, as the rope for

turning it. But how to shift the Mount, was the big question. VISHNU suggested that they

make peace with their cousins and enemies and enlist their cooperation and help, and achieve

their purpose. At the same time HE cautioned them not to covet any of the things that come

out of the ocean and not to get angry even if those things were forcibly taken posession of by

the ASURAS. HE assured them, however, that he would see to it that the ASURAS did not

enjoy any portion of the NECTAR, no matter how much they toiled.

While BRAHMA returned to his own abode, INDRA and the Devas made their journey to the

court of Bali, king of the ASURAS. On seeing INDRA and the Devas approaching them,

King Bali's followers were furious and about to attack and capture them. However, Bali

counselled patience suggesting that they might after all be coming with a proposal which

might benefit the Asuras as well. Accordingly, King Bali received Indra and the Devas with

due honours. INDRA told the King why they had come to him and requested him to extend

his help for the venture from which all of them could benefit.

Bali and his Chiefs agreed to the proposal. Asuras and Devas made peace between

themselves. Indra and Bali rallied their forces and began the task of lifting Mount Mandara.

Uprooting the mount, they set out carrying it to the seashore. Even before they had carried it

halfway, the forces found themselves unable to carry it any longer; and soon the mount came

crashing on them. Large numbers of Devas and Asuras lay dead under it. Indra was

heartbroken. While he was still thinking of appealing to Lord Vishnu, God appeared on the

spot on his Vahana - Garuda - and by His mere glance revived the dead; and placing Mount

Mandara on Garuda's back, He flew to the seashore, where the Devas and Asuras too

followed. After the mount was safely brought down, Lord Vishnu asked Garuda to withdraw

from the scene, lest VASUKI should keep himself away for fear of his natural enemy

( Garuda ). When he saw that Garuda was no longer there, VASUKI, arrived on the scene

obeying the summons of VISHNU. The Lord assured the Serpent King that he too would get

a share of the Nectar and that the rugged surface of the mount would not hurt him. Vasuki, in

tune with his role, allowed himself to be wound around MANDARA as the churning rope.

Devas and Asuras were very joyous and began churning the ocean with Mandara and Vasuki

in place. But their joy was shortlived. Mount Mandara had no support and so sank into the

ocean within a shortwhile. The mightiest of Devas and Asuras could not hold it.

There was only one who could do it and it was Lord Vishnu. Assuming the form of a huge

Tortoise(KURMA), the Lord plunged into the ocean and came up with the mountain on his

back. The Lord had come to their rescue again. The Devas and Asuras lost no time to get

back to their job of churning. However much they churned nothing came out of their efforts.

They became weary and depressed. Lord intervened once more and did the churning too.

With the churning in full steam, the concentrate of the impurities of the ocean threw up the

deadly poison, HALAHALA. The poisonous fumes choked the Devas and Asuras. Not

knowing what to do, Devas ran to Lord SHIVA collected it in his palm and swallowed it. As

soon as the poison was removed, the Devas and Asuras resumed churning. As they churned

and churned many precious things came to the surface but not the Nectar.

Suddenly a being emerged with a jar in his arms. It was Dhanwantari with the jar of the

nectar of IMMORTALLITY. The Asuras were quick to surmise that it was Nectar in the jar.

They rushed towards Dhanwantari and snatched the jar from him and started quarrelling for

getting the Nectar first.

Devas watched the Asuras each one of whom was trying to grab the nectar for himself before

everyone else. They were annoyed but kept their cool remembering the Lord's warning that

they should not covet any precious thing coming out of the ocean or become angry over

anything. Lord Vishnu appeared before them and approved their conduct and told them that

He will charm the Asuras with the powers and secure the nectar from them.

The Asuras already stood divided over partaking the Nectar. They now noticed a woman,

who was the most beautiful that they had ever seen, approaching them. They were all struck

by the dazzling beauty of the woman and they turned to enjoying the unrivalled beauty of the

form, the limbs, the features and what not, of this enchanting figure. They didn't however

know that it was none other than Lord Vishnu who had descended before them in that

bewitching form, in the form of MOHINI and He had a purpose in assuming the form.

In a state of infatuation, the Asuras gifted the Jar of Nectar to this beautiful woman and

prayed to her to distribute it among them and bring peace and amity among themselves.

Mohini condescended to do it but on condition that they would not question her actions,

whatever they might be. The Asuras, not knowing who she was and totally under the spell of

her charm, readily agreed to her condition. "Go bathe and assemble yourselves in one row

with your cousins, the Devas in another row." ordered Mohini. When they were all assembled

in two separate rows, Mohini began serving the Nectar to the Devas first. The Asuras were

uneasy but chose to keep quiet as they had promised not to question her actions. By the time

the last of the Devas in their row had been served, Mohini had made sure that there was no

Nectar left to be served to the Asuras. Nectar of immortality would only cause untold harm

and destruction, if granted to aggressive and unscrupulous beings like the Asuras.

Then to the amazement of Asuras, Lord Vishnu assumed his own form and the Asuras

realised that it was Vishnu who had appeared before them as Mohini. They demanded of

Vishnu their share of Nectar; but they got only a smile from him in return. Mounting

GARUDA, Lord Vishnu flew away from them.

The Asuras felt cheated and immediately started attacking the Devas. With God on their side

and with the Nectar inside, the Devas had regained their original splendour and strength and

they were able to conquer the Asuras, who had to flee before the might of Devas. On the

advice of Lord BRAHMA, conveyed through Sage Narada, INDRA called off the hostilities

and returned to his realms with the Devas.

The Lord thus did revive and restore the lost glory of those who were righteous and who

sought refuge in him; and subdue those who were aggressive an unrighteous and who didn't

repose faith in him.

Lord VISHNU in this manner saved his True Devotees from dissolution so as to hand down

divine knowledge and saved the VEDAS from destruction so as ensure CREATION after the

DISSOLUTION.

Varaha Avatar

After PRALAYA, it was the beginning of a new KALPA. BRAHMA, the Creator, was busy

in the work of creation. BHOOMADEVI (Mother Earth) was being tossed about in the

turbulent waves; ultimately she was pushed to the bottom of the ocean. Brahma was troubled.

He had to bring the Earth up, out of the deluge. He meditated on Lord VISHNU. "O Lord,

please come to my rescue and recover Mother Earth" Brahma prayed. As He prayed to the

Lord, a tiny white boar, smaller than his thumb, emerged out on one of his nostrils. Brahma

was amazed and gazed at it. Instantly it grew and grew and became larger than an elephant.

Brahma was wondering whether it was not Lord Vishnu himself in that form. The boar was

yet growing in size and attained a colossal form. Brahma was convinced that it was Lord

Vishnu himself.

With a terrifying mighty roar, the Boar leaped into the air, pierced the clouds and came down

diving into the ocean. It raced to the bottom of the ocean in search of the Earth. Searching

tirelessly, it found Mother Earth at the other end of the ocean-bed. Digging his tusk into the

ocean-bed, the Boar lifted BHOOMIDEVI on to it; and proceeded to rise to the surface.

An ASURA by name HIRANYAKSHA had become mighty and powerful after a rigourous

penence to BRAHMA from whom he had obtained boons. He went about challenging,

threatening and conquering the Devas. Unable to face him, Devas had to go into hiding.

Hiranyakasha, goaded by the arrogance of power, was spoiling for fight. He went up to

VARUNA, lord of the waters and Guardian of Hydrosphere, and in pretended humility,

implored him for a fight. Varuna knew that he was not equal to the Asura in prowess and the

Asura was only mocking at him by acting humble. He controlled his anger and replied the

Asura, " I am too old to fight and I have given up fighting. Not all can be equal to you. Only

Lord Vishnu will be a match for you. Please go to him and engage him in fight."

Coming across Sage Narada the Asura learnt that Vishnu was rising to the surface from the

ocean-bed carrying BHOOMADEVI on his tusk - in the form of a boar - immediately he

charged into the ocean and spotted the Lord in the act of rescuing the earth. "Hey beast, leave

Bhoomadevi alone and come and fight me" shouted the Asura, chasing the animal. The Lord

ignored his taunts as he had to, first of all, take BHOOMADEVI out of the ocean and put her

to safety. As soon as He reached the surface of the ocean, the Lord placed her gently on it and

blessed her. "May you fit into the Divine order" blessed the Lord.

He now turned to Hiranyaksha and responded to his call for a fight. Hiranyaksha became

furious and attacked the animal. The boar cleverly warded off his attack and counter-attacked

with a mace. They were thus engaged in a furious fight, when Brahma appeared on the scene.

"Twilight is approaching and in an hour he will become more powerfull and formidable. So,

slay him quickly and rid us all of his menace" Brahma exhorted the boar. Hearing what

Brahma told the animal, Hiranyaksha, in a fit of fury, hurled his mace at the animal. The

animal caught hold of the mace as if it were a toy. Hiranyaksha now started hitting the animal

on its chest with his powerful fists. The Boar in turn hit the Asura behind his ears.

Hiranyaksha reeled and fell down dead.

Brahma and Devas praised the Lord and sang His eternal glory.

Narasimha - Man-Lion Avatar of

Mahavishnu

Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of God Vishnu, is half-human half-lion and provides a very

fascinating study of the Lord's incarnation in order to alleviate the sufferings of his devotees.

Sage Kashyap had four wives, Diti, Aditi, Vinita and Kudroo. Diti gave birth to demons and

from Aditi were born gods, while from Vinita was born Garud, the carrier of Vishnu and the

last one Kudroo created the hydras. Dithi gave birth to Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu.

Vishnu killed Hiranyaksha as he oppressed the devas. At the death of Hiranyaksha,

Hiranyakashipu was overpowered with grief. His mother Dithi was heart-broken.

Hiranyakashipu also was filled with sorrow and it burnt his own heart like fire. He hated

Vishnu and Vishnu's very name was like poison to him. His blood was boiling with the hatred

of Vishnu.

Hiranyakashipu, King of the Rakshasas, retired to the mountain Mandara and began tapas -

the severe order of penance. Brahma was pleased with his devotion. He appeared to

Hiranyakashipu and said, 'Hiranyakashipu, arise. I am pleased with your devotion. I have

never seen such a severe meditation before. Ask for whatever you desire.' Hiranyakashipu

replied, "Great Lord, if you will grant my prayer, this is what I seek: Let not death come to

me from any creature created by you; let me not meet with death either in the house or

outside it; let not my death occur either during the day or at night; no weapon should cause

my death; I should not die either on land or in the sky."

After this blessing the demon crossed all bounds in oppression and dethroned Indra, the king

of heavens. The very gods were filled with fear. Indra, along with the other gods, appeared

before Brahma and prayed for deliverance. Brahma was very much worried and replied that

the demon had become powerful due to the blessings bestowed by him and he could not

destroy him. He also advised Indra to go to Vishnu, which they did. The gods went to Vishnu

and retold their story of sufferings and said that due to boons given by Brahma the demon

had been indulging in all sorts of oppression. Vishnu promised to destroy him in due course

of time.

Hiranyakashipu had a son named Prahalad. Right from his very

childhood Prahalad was attracted towards Vishnu and the other gods.

Prahalad had not obeyed the orders of his father not to worship Vishnu.

His father tried to destroy his son in a fit of anger; tying a stone to

Prahalad's body, he was thrown into the river but Vishnu himself stopped

him from drowning. Hiranyakashipu later tried to get Prahalad trampled

under the feet of an elephant but the elephant lifted Prahalad lovingly by

the help of his trunk and put him on its back. He then built a house and

put Prahalad into it and set the same to fire; even this could not harm

Prahalad. The father even tried to poison the son, but to no avail.

At last the king thundered at the boy, "You, curse of the family! Have you not yet given up

your evil thoughts? The three worlds tremble at my glance. But you, my son, how do you

dare to disobey me? You are very young; some one must have misled you and encouraged

you. Otherwise you would not have had such evil ideas and such courage. Tell me who has

shown you such an evil path." The earth shook as the king roared at the boy. But Prahalad

calmly replied, "Dear father, it was Hari who gave me this courage. He is stronger than

anyone else. You and I, the universe, even Brahma are nothing before his strength. He is the

real Lord of the Universe."

All the gods were under the thumb of the mighty Hiranyakashipu; and here was a mere boy

of five giving him advice. The king of the Rakshasas was mad with anger. He shouted in rage:

"Unlucky fool, your death is near. I am the Lord of all the worlds, the only master. Is there

another? Where is he? Show him to me." "He is everywhere," young Prahlad's answer came

without a moment's delay. The king could no longer control himself through anger. He hit a

pillar with his mace. "Wicked fellow, is he everywhere? You mad boy, why should he not

appear to me in this pillar? I am going to kill you this very moment. You have been praising

Hari as the Lord of the Universe. Let him come to your help if he can." So saying he drew out

his sword and pounced upon the little boy. There was a terrible deafening noise as if the

universe itself split into two. Even the very brave Hiranyakashipu stared from his place at the

terrible noise. The courtiers shook with fear and stood like statues of stone. As the stunned

men watched, the pillar split into two.

There was Sri Hari, in the form of Narasimha. He had the head of a lion

and the body of a man. (Nara = Man : Simham = Lion). The eyes of this

terrible figure were dazzling and they looked like molten gold. The hair

on the head and the moustache and the beard stood straight and erect. The

sharp and pointed jaws chattered harshly; the tongue quivered like a

sword and was sharp as a dagger. His eyebrows were close knit. The ears

were raised and stood erect. The mouth gaped like a mountain cave. The

two nostrils looked like wells turned upside down. The body was huge

and mountain-like. It seemed to touch the skies and to stop the very

clouds. It had countless arms. The body was covered with a white

substance like silver. The very sight of the sharp claws made one tremble.

This terrible form split the pillar and came out. Hiranyakashipu's courtiers had crowded the

hall; but not one dared to look at him, not to speak of ever approaching him. Narasimha

caught Hiranyakashipu with a loud roar and carried him to the threshold of the hall. He sat on

the threshold with the Rakshasa in his lap. Then he dug his nails deep into his body and tore it

open. He took out the entrails and wore them round his neck. Thus the wicked asura was

finally killed at the hands of the man-lion, Vishnu. All the asura bodyguards who fell on

Narasimha in fierce rage were crushed into a lump of flesh in the winking of an eye. After the

enemies were destroyed, Narahari (Vishnu) sat on the throne of the Rakshasa King, glaring at

those around him. The gods showered flowers from heaven. The Gandharva sang divine

music and the Apsaras, the dancers of heaven, danced in joy. The entire

earth rejoiced.

The gods praised Vishnu's ways. "Hiranyakashipu got boons from Lord

Brahma; and Narasimha has respected all the promises. For it is now

twilight, which is neither day nor night; the place is neither outside the

house nor inside it, it is the threshold. Again he was killed neither on land

nor in the sky, but on the lap of the god; he was killed neither by weapons

nor by missiles but torn by nails; no one created by Brahma has killed

him nor was he born in the wombs by ordinary course; it is Vishnu, in the

form of Narasimha, who slew him. O wonder of wonders!" so they sang

the praise of the Lord. But the terrible anger of Narasimha did not

diminish. Even Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu's wife, was afraid to go near him.

Lord Shiva assumed the form of a Sarabam, characterised by both an animal and human form

with four hands, eight legs, two wings, a beak of that of a falcon and fierce flaming eyes, to

mollify the angry Narasimha. The two wings were Kali and Durga. Shiva embraced

Narasimha in a tight hold and cooled his temper by fanning his two wings till Narasimha

gradually calmed down and assumed the yoga posture. Thus Narasimha became Yoga

Narasimhar and Lord Shiva as Sarabam is wordshipped as Sarabeswarar. The little boy

Prahalad touched the feet of Narasimha with his head in deep devotion. At the tender touch of

Prahalad the Lord was pleased. He grew calm and anger gave way to kindness. Vishnu gave

his blessings to Prahalad - the true devotee.

Vaman Avatar

Bali, the King of the Daityas or Asuras i.e. demons in the Treta-Yuga, or the second epoch of

the Cosmos, reached the zenith of power and fame. He owed his tremendous success and

prosperity in life to his observance of an austere and virtuous lifestyle. He performed a lot of

ritual sacrifices or Yajna to consolidate his sway over the three worlds of the universe,

namely Heaven, Earth and Underworld.

The Devas or gods were pretty alarmed by this growing command of Bali, over the three

worlds. They resorted the sanctuary of Protection, MahaVishnu.

Vishnu camouflaged himself in the diminutive form of a dwarf, and visited Bali, on the

occasion of his last Yajna. He approached the generous Bali, venerated also as Mahabali, for

alms. He revealed before Bali, his deep desire. He told that he wished that King Mahabali

would gift him as much land as he could cover with his three steps. Bali delightfully agreed

to the request.

Sukracharya, the wise and visionary Guru or Teacher of the Daityas, could identify Vamana

as Vishnu. He advised Bali not to concede to the Vamana`s wish, but Bali suspected nothing.

He was probably, relaxed, thinking of the small amount of land that the little foot-size of the

Vamana could cover.

Vamana assumed an awesome colossal stature, before the stunned Mahabali. With one-step

he astrode the whole earth and in the second he, encompassed the heavens. King Mahabali,

then recognized the Transcendental Being of Vishnu, disguised as Vamana. There was no

place left where Vamana can put his third step. The pious and truthful Mahabali, kept his

promise. He bowed down before the Omnipotent Power and offered his head, for putting the

third step. Vishnu was immensely pleased with the goodness of Mahabali. He educated Bali

about the demerits of pride and arrogance, which forbids man from optimum progress. He

allowed Mahabali to take shelter in the Paradise of the sacred abode, where lived the pure

Prahlada. MahaVishnu further blessed Mahabali, that he would be the ruler of the earth in the

following age or Yuga.

Parasurama (the angry man, Rama with an axe)

Parashuram Avatar is the sixth Incarnation of the Dasavatars of Vishnu. Since his childhood,

he used to move around with his formidable weapon, Parashu, meaning axe. Therefore he

was called Parashurama.

The history of Parashurama made for an engaging read. Parashurama appeared on earth to

cleanse it of the tyrannical torment of the corrupt warrior class or Kshatriya clan. Parashuram

was born to Jamadadgni Muni or monk and his chaste wife Renuka. The angry, Kshatriya -

like warrior stance of Parashurama, was inherited from Jamadagni. Jamadagni was the son of

Princess Satyavati, the daughter of King Gandhi of Chandravamsha and the great sage,

Rucheeka. Both Satyavati and his mother, the wife of King Gandhi, deeply desired for the

birth of a male child, to perpetuete the lineage. Rucheeka, gifted both of them a magical

herbal concoction for child-conception. But Satyavati`s mother thinking Satyavati`s potion as

more effective, did the blunder of interchanging the potion. Subsequently, the functions of the

potions were reversed. Jamadagni, imbued with royal temper and bravery was born to

Rucheeka, instead of a peace-loving hermit.

Parashurama is noteworthy among the Dasavatars for his

irascibility. Once, King Kaartaveerya-arjuna and his troops

ventured out on an expedition in the forest. They went weary, after

the day`s toil, and came down to the ashram or haven of the sage

Jamadagni, which was in vicinity. The sage treated the guests with

a royal feast. When the impressed king asked him about the secret

behind the preparation of such delicacy, Jamadagni revealed that all

the credit goes to the Divine Cow, Kamdhenu. Lord Indra, the king

of gods, offered Kamdhenu, to him. Kamdhenu had the power to

confer any favour instantly. Allured, with the facilities given by the

divine cow, the greedy king unduly demanded Kamdhenu. But

Jamadagni refused him on the valid ground, that since the Cow was

a gift from Indra, he had no right to donate it to someone else. But the obstinate and arrogant

king paid no heed to Jamadagni`s requests. Under his order, the royal soldiers snatched away

Kamdhenu, to their capital at Mahishmati.

On his return from the forest, when Parashurama heard of the miscreant, committed by the

voracious king, Kaartaveerya-arjuna, he blasted in fuming fury. He left out with his deadly

axe, and bows and arrows, to punish the depraved king.

What ensued was a bloody battle between Kartaveerya`s army and Parashurama.

Parashurama in his wrath chopped of the opponents. Finally, he severed the thousand-arms

(as was blessed by Lord Dattareya for his penance) of the heroic king, Kaartyaveera-arjuna

and slaughtered him. With his head upright in the pride of this outstanding victory,

Parashurama returned to the ashram with Kamdhenu.

Once Renuka, was fascinated by the beautiful lovemaking of Gandharva or Nymph

Chitraratha with his wives in water, while she went to the river to fetch water. Her

momentary lapse into the enchantment, made her return home late, Jamadagni, the visionary

had already known the reason of her late-coming and he, was terribly agitated. He asked his

four sons to kill their mother, Renuka as punishment. But they stood bewildered at the

thought of such a horrible act. Only Parashuram, the fifth had the courage. He obeyed his

father`s order and killed his mother as well as his four brothers. When Jamadagni, calmed

down, and asked for boon in lieu of his marvelous devotion to his father, Parashuram

entreated Jamadagni to restore life in the dead bodies. Jamadagni resurrected all. This prayer

shows the love that Parashuram had for his dear ones.

Parashurama, along with his brothers, once went out on a mission. The enemy, sons of

Kaartaveerya-arjuna, waiting eagerly for revenge grabbed the opportunity. Despite the

several pleadings from Renuka, who begged before the Kshatriyas to spare her husband`s life,

the royal army beheaded the meditating Jamadagni. The adversaries took the head of the sage

to Mahishmati. Meanwhile the five sons of Jamadagni were retiring to ashram. They

witnessed the traumatized and wailing Renuka, lying in a pool of blood.

Parashurama hurried to Mahishmati to destroy the villainous sinners. Parashurama

massacared the princes and brought back his father`s head to the ashram. There the sons

sincerely performed the death-ceremony rituals in honor of the departed soul of Jamadagni.

Nothing could mollify the fire of anger that was burning inside the depressed and relentless

soul of Parashurama, sad with his father`s ghastly murder in the hands of the Kshatriyas.

Twenty-one times he fought with the warrior class, and smashed with his axe, any and every

coercive and vitiated Kshatriya. He established Dharma or righteousness on earth, with the

fortification of the pure and the elimination of evil.

At the end of all sabotage, Parashurama, felt penitent for the bloodshed, and decided to purify

himself through penance at the foot of Mahendra Mountain. But since he had given away all

the land that he possesed to pious people during religious sacrifices, his settling down on any

land for hermitage meant taking back that land, which would amount to a breach of gift-

giving custom. Therefore in earnest appeal he threw his axe into the sea and requested the

Sea-god Varuna, to grant him land equal to the stretch that his axe could encompass. He

threw it from Gokarnama and it fell on Kanyakumari. According to his craving, the gratified

Varuna gave way to the emergence of a land. This came to be known as "Parashurama

Srishti". This land is but the present-day Kerala. It has been a traditional belief that prosperity

would rule the land and no disease or natural calamity would invade its peace.

Parashurama had an encounter with the next incarnation of Vishnu, Lord Rama, when he

heard of the phenomenal breaking of the bow, before Rama`s wedding to his consort Sita.

Parashurama is a Chiranjeevan or an immortal being like Asvathama of the epic,

Mahabharata. He will continue to dwell on earth till the advent of Kalki Avatar in the Kali

Yug . He would be the spiritual tutor for Kalki , in his way of devastating evil under Shiva`s

grace.

Lord Rama (the perfect man, king of Ayodha)

Ram is the 7th incarnation of Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayana epic. The

Ramayan is the very soul of India. It is a complete guide to God-realization, the path to which

lies in righteousness. The ideals of man are beautifully portrayed in it. Everyone should

emulate those ideals and grow into ideal human beings and ideal

citizens.

Ram took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the

demon King Ravana (Ravan). Ravana had practiced austerities in

order to propitiate Shiva and Brahma, who had granted him immunity

from being killed by gods, gandharvas or demons. One of the gods

had to take on a human form in order to be able to defeat Ravana.

Ram was born as the first son of Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya. Ram's

mother was Kausilya. Ram had three brothers : Bharata (Bharat) born

from the second wife Kaikeyi, and Lakshmana (Lakshman) and

Shatrughna born from the third wife Sumitra.

One day Saint Vishwamitra visited Ayodhya and asked Dashratha to send Ram and

Lakshmana with him because the Yakshini (demon) Tarka - with her two sons Mareech and

Subahu - were terrifying him and the other saints at his ashram. They were not letting them

worship and meditate. Ram went with Lakshmana and Vishwamitra to kill Tarka. On the way

to Saint Vishwamitra's ashram there was a dense forest. When they entered the forest Tarka

came to kill them but Ram killed her and her son Subahu with a weapon given to him by

Vishwamitra. Ram also shot an arrow at Mareech and threw him

100 yojan far away.

Later Ram went with Saint Vishwamitr to Mithila where the wise

King Janak ruled. King Janak had organized a svayamvaraa (an

acient custom wherein the bride chose her husband of her own

accord from amongst a number of suitors). It was announced that

whosoever will bend the bow of Lord Shiva will marry King Janak's

daughter Sita. Sita was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the consort of

Lord Vishnu. But none of the suitors was able to lift Lord Shiva's

bow, except Ram. Ram lifted the bow with his one hand and bended

it so hard that it even broke.

So Ram got married to Sita, and his brothers got happily

married to Sita's sisters. After returning and living happily in Ayodhya the old King

Dashrath decided that it was time to give his kingdom to his beloved son Ram.

There Kaikeyi, the third and youngest wife of the King, claimed the throne for her

son Bharat. A long time before the young Queen had saved the King's life and he

had promised to fulfill her two wishes. Manthara, the crooked and evil-minded

maid-servant of Kaikeyi influenced the queen to claim her wishes now in favor of

her son and to request Dashrath to banish Ram from the kingdom for fourteen years,

and to install Bharat on the throne instead. The King was shocked, his heart was

broken, but he knew that truth is the highest Dharm, and that he had to fulfill his

promise to his wife. So Ram went to exile happily, knowing that to obey and serve

his father was the highest duty of a son. After Ram left to the forest, Dashrath died from the

pangs of separation from his beloved son Ram. Bharat went to the forest to meet his brother

Ram and to request him to come back to Ayodhya. When Ram refused to return, in honor of

the promise to his father, Bharat took Ram's "khadau" (wooden sandals) and placed them

symbolically on Ayodhya's throne. Until his brother returned from the exile Bharat served the

kingdom as a true and honest caretaker of Ram.

Once Surpnakha, the sister of Ravana, passed by the place where Ram was living. She saw

Ram and became impressed by his beauty. She transformed herself into a beautiful lady and

went to Ram and asked him to marry her. When Ram refused and told her he is already

married to Sita, she became angry. Coming back to her original form she ran towards Sita to

kill her. When Lakshman saw that he cut her nose and one ear. Surpnakha then send her

brother Khardushan with fourteen thousand rakshasas to avenge her. But all were killed by

Ram.

Surpnakha now sought vengeance through her older brother

Ravana, but only got his interest by pointing out that the beautiful

Sita would be a fitting wife for him. Ravana lured Ram and

Lakshman away from Sita by sending an enchanted deer of

extreme beauty and then took Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. On the

way, Jatayu, a vulture bird and old friend of Ram's father Dashrath,

fought Ravan but was fatally wounded. He lived only long enough

to tell Ram what had happened upon his return.

In Lanka, Ravana tried to threathen Sita into marrying him, but

was rejected again and again. Meanwhile, Ram made an alliance

with the monkey King Sugreeva, who had been exiled from his

kingdom by his brother Bali. Ram helped Sugreeva to regain his kingdom and in return

Sugreeva raised an army of monkeys and bears, led by Hanuman.

When they reached the sea, Hanuman flew across in Lanka,

Hanuman promised Sita that help would come soon. When he was

then captured by the rakshasas, Ravana ordered them to set fire to

Hanuman's tail, wrapping it with oily rags. But Hanuman increased

the length of his tail so much that there seemed no end to it. He

escaped and used his burning tail to set fire to all of Lanka.

Meanwhile, Ram's army had build a huge bridge between Lanka and

the mainland. They crossed the ocean and attacked Ravana's army.

During the battle, Lakshmana was heavily wounded, but he was

cured by a magic herb which Hanuman flew all the way to the

Himalayas to obtain. Not finding the herb at first, Hanuman brought

the entire mountain just to be sure. Finally, all rakshasa generals were killed and the battle

become a single combat between Ravana and Ram. Finally, Ram killed Ravana with a special

weapon given to him by saint Agastya.

This was a moment of great rejoicing. Ram and Sita were finally crowned King and Queen of

Ayodhya, though people were doubting that Sita had preserved her virtue while being

Ravana's captive, which is another story in itself.

8th Avatar of Vishnu, the Hindu God

Lord Krishna the Divine Cow Herder

Krishna ( Sanskrit for "black" or "dark blue") is an important deity in the Hindu religion. In

some Hindu traditions he is the eighth avatar (approximately "incarnation") of Vishnu, in the

others the ninth, and in yet others he is considered to be the source of all incarnations. The

story of Krishna's life on Earth is an important part of the Indian epic Mahabharata, which

contains astronomical references used by some devout Hindus to date the events before the

end of last Dwapara yuga (also known as copper age) approximately 5100 years ago, 3100

BC. However, while Krishna plays a key role in the Mahabharata, it is in the Shrimad

Bhagavata Purana that thousands of lines are dedicated solely to extolling His life and

philosophy.

His place in Hinduism is complex. He appears under many names, in a multiplicity of stories,

among different cultures, and in different traditions. On rare occasions, these seem to

contradict each other, though there is a well-known and predominantly common core story

that is central to most Indians' knowledge of Krishna.

1 Major aspects

Among his aspects are:

• Krishna the cowherd, known as Govind/Govinda (leader of cows). He is the god of

the pastoralists. He is contrasted in this to his brother Balarama of the cultivators, who

is sometimes called Halayudha, the Lord of the plough.

• Childhood of Krishna is easily identified with Indian country life; concentrating

mainly on cattle rearing and cultivation.

• Krishna the focus of devotion (Hari) (the lover, the all-attractive, the flute player). He

is frequently shown playing the flute (or otherwise called murali, bewitching the gopis

(the cowgirls) of Vrindavana.

• Krishna the child, called (in various Indian languages) Gopaal or Gopala. Stories of

his upbringing in the forest of Vrindavan are a staple of children's tales in India.

• The incarnation of Vishnu and the divine teacher, or Guru. He teaches Arjuna

dharmaThe word dharma ( Sanskrit; "" in the Devanagari script) or dhamma ( Pali) is

used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, Dharmic faiths, namely

Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It occurs first in the

Vedas, and yogaYoga meaning union or yoking in Sanskrit, is the primary focus of

Hinduism's diverse religious activities. Yoga is a science of the body, the mind, the

consciousness and the soul. Yoga is a teaching of wisdom and knowledge which has

been transmitted to ma in the Bhagavad GitaBhagavd Gita (literally: Song of the

Lord , composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE, is part of the epic poem

of Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23 40, and is revered in

Hinduism. It is not limited to followers of the Vaishna, and as such is known as the

greatest Yogin. The Bhagavad Gita (literally: Song of the Lord , composed between

the fifth and second centuries BCE, is part of the epic poem of Mahabharata, located in

the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23 40, and is revered in Hinduism. It is not limited to followers of

the Vaishna is the first true Yoga text in the Yoga tradition.

A number of local traditions and regional deities may have been subsumed into the stories

and person of Krishna.

2 Philosophical texts and literature

Accounts of or ballads about Krishna occur in a large number of philosophical, religious and

poetic works. These works include the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad GitaBhagavd Gita

(literally: Song of the Lord , composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE, is part of

the epic poem of Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23 40, and is revered in

Hinduism. It is not limited to followers of the Vaishna, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita

GovindaThe Gita Govinda or the Song of the Cowherd is a work composed in the 12th

century by Jayadeva Goswami. It describes the relationship betweenKrishna and the gopis

(cowgirls) of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha. This work has been of

gre .

Among the most important areas of stories of Krishna, are those below;

• Krishna the child. These stories lead on to those of him as a boy and teenage youth,

playing with the girls of Vrindavan.

• Govinda Krishna, the cowherd, the focus of the majority of the bhakti traditions of

devotional worship in Hinduism. Included in these traditions is the story of his

beloved Radha. The original stories of Krishna as a boy included his adolescent play

with the Gopis or cowgirls of the village. These were developed to form the basis of

the Gita Govinda in the Bhakti traditions, and numerous other later works. Devotees

of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, or divine play as the central principle of

the universe. This is counterpoint to another avatar of Vishnu: Rama, "He of the

straight and narrow path of maryada, or rules and regulations."

• Krishna the prince, in the Mahabharata. He is ruler of the Yadava s at Mathura and

later at Dwaraka, becames husband of Rukmini, and a friend and ally of the Pandavas.

• Krishna the Supreme personality of Godhead. He is the charioteer and advisor of

Arjuna, who teaches and instructs him in dharma and yoga in the Bhagavad Gita.

Before the great battle of Kurukshetra (in present day Haryana) starts, Arjuna loses

heart with the prospect of fighting his cousins and other relatives for the kingdom.

Krishna reminds him that He has done everything he could possibly do to avoid the

battle, and that his duty (dharma) is serve Him by fighting .Krishna goes on to show

why the Gita is known as the first Yoga Scripture, and gives a lengthy exegesis on the

means of fulfilling life's goals through the systems of yoga. In it, he describes in detail

the philosophies of Bhakti (devotional), Karma (selfless action), Jnana (self-

transcending knowledge), Astanga (meditational) Yoga and all in the ends connect

one toKrishna whose personal form is the highest realization of Absolute Truth (as

compared to Brahman and Paramatma). He shows Arjuna how to reconcile his

misapprehension about the war with the eternal truths that underlie life through the

Vedic doctrine of Yoga. These form the basis of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Buddha Avatar - Reaction, Assimilation

and Reinvention in the Great Tradition

It is well known that the Buddha is one of the avatars of Vishnu. What is

not so well known is that this avatar is not about the historical personage

known to the Buddhist faith. This is something else altogether, a peculiar

attempt at cooption which took the form of a badly designed myth.

Buddhism was driven out of the land of its birth and rendered almost

extinct there too, but the sheer greatness of the Buddha required a

cultural adjustment, if not downright assimilation. It was an intolerable

humiliation if such greatness was not somehow part of the Great

Tradition and remained forever as a powerful heresy that actually

reduced the mother faith to a minority status for a while. The inclusion

of the Buddha in the avatar cycle was a somewhat confused attempt to include aspects

of spirituality that had seemed to have had bypassed the Hindu Weltanschauung.

The avatar story as it exists in the texts is unique in that it is not a grand narrative as are the

other avatar stories. There is more than a modicum of sheer embarrassment at the nature of

this engulfing invented narrative. The Bhagvata Purana, for instance, has only four

paragraphs devoted to the most important avatar ever known to India after Krishna. It

is not even a myth, for the nature of a myth is that it is rarely real but always true. This is an

afterthought, an alternative explanation for a faith that swept the land and was reabsorbed

only by integrating all its features to the extent that the man who contributed the most to the

process of re-establishing the intellectual dominance and popularity of Hinduism, Adi

Shankara, was called a hidden Budhhist. The Buddha was too important, too influential and

too obviously a genuine spiritual giant to be disregarded - once the faith itself was rendered

sterile. Only by making Buddha an avatar of Vishnu could any

backsliding be prevented.

The stories about Buddha are simple and also, alas, somewhat insulting,

reflecting as they do the medieval degeneracy of intellect in India that

could not rise above such productions. The core narrative usually goes

something like this. Danavas and daityas, demon enemies of the gods,

had gained supremacy over the sacred cities of the earth through their

exemplary moral conduct and control of the fire sacrifices. (Moral

conduct is following the rules of theology, not genuine goodness, which

explains why the demons often had an advantage.) To win back the

supremacy of the gods, Vishnu incarnates on earth as the Buddha and preaches a doctrine that there is no soul, fire sacrifices and other sacred rituals are useless,

the Vedas just priestly scribbling, the caste system a useless contrivance, while the body is

supreme and should be indulged as there is no life after death. Convinced by these

pleasurable doctrines, the demons sin often and mightily, fall from grace, and the old religion

was reinstated with relief by a people who were ostensibly yearning for it all the while. In

some other versions, notably the Skanda Purana, Vishnu resorts to this trickery to get back

the sacred city of Kashi for Shiva, who had been driven from it by the unbearable power of

austerities practiced by the King Divodasa.

In yet another version in the Shiva Purana, the Buddha is an incarnation of the sage Gautama.

This worthy was too saintly and great for his jealous Brahmin neighbors to bear with

equanimity and they conspired to drive him away on a false charge of cow slaughter. The

angry Gautama retaliated by propagating a faith that smashed Brahmanical privileges and

reduced their social influence drastically. This is an attempt to explain away the phenomenon

that was the Buddha, by playing with the similarity in names, for the Buddha's original name

was Siddhartha Gautama. It also grimly concedes a ressal fallout of the Buddhist faith, the

Brahmins came very close indeed to being marginalized forever.

It is worth recording here that the Swami Vivekananda, who was

indulgently tickled by all alternative versions of sacred stories in

India, used to lose his temper when ever he considered what had

been done to the Buddha's life -going so far as to say that the Hindus

were the real demons for making up such scandalous tales about the

greatest religious figure India had for many thousands of years. Such

tales were Hinduism's backhanded compliment to the greatest man to

ever arise from within its body and offer a credible challenge with an

alternative viewpoint of spirituality. The Buddha remained an

inexplicable, perpetually threatening counterpoint to the Great

Tradition until he was covered over by the obscuring mass of the mythology of Vishnu. Most Hindus today are innocently unaware of these developments and really believe, in total

sincerity, that the Tathagatha of the Sangha is identical to the avatar of Vishnu.

v/s

Balrama The elder brother of Sri Krishna

Balrama was the elder brother of Shri Krishna. He was so powerful

that he, single handedly, at a very tender age, killed the great demon, Asuradhenuka,

who had the form of a ass. Another demon tried to carry off Balrama on his shoulders, but the young boy beat out the demon's brain with his fist.

When Shri Krishna went to Mathura, Balrama accompanied him and supported him till

Kamsa was killed by Shri Krishna. He also taught Duryodhan and Bheem, the use of the

mace. His chief weapon is ploughshare (hal) and therefore called Haldhar.

Balrama is believed as the incarnation of the great serpent Sesha Naga on whom Lord

Vishnu reclines. But according to some school of thought Balrama was the incarnation of

Lord Vishnu.

Balrama or Buddha who is the Avatar ?

• It can be observed that no two Avatars are in action simultaneously, with the

exception of Parasurama who is considered as a Chiramjeevi. Even Parasuram has

withdrawn from from action when he realised that Sri Rama is an Avatar of the Lord

Vishnu. So Balrama cannot be an avatar when Sri Krishna is one.

• In Ramayana, brother Lakshman (incarnation of the Serpent King Adishesha) desires

to be born as elder to the Lord and Sri Rama assures him the same in future. So in the

next Avatar as Sri Krishna, Lord has taken birth as the younger brother of Balrama,

who is thus considered as the incarnation of Adisesha (rebirth of Lakshman).

The above points suggest that Balrama is not one of the Dasavtar

Vedas predict Buddha's incarnation?

In the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a list of the avataras, and there is mention of Lord

Buddha's name. This Srimad Bhagavatam was written five thousand years ago, and it

mentions different names for future times. It says that in the future the Lord would appear as

Lord Buddha, his mother's name would be Anjana, and he would appear in Gaya. So Buddha

appeared twenty six hundred years ago, and the Srimad Bhagavatam, which was written five

thousand years ago, mentioned that in the future he would appear.

Kalki Avatar

The tenth Avatar of Lord Vishu is yet to appear on the earth. This avatar named Kalki is

expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the age we are in at present. According to Hindu

Mythology Lord Vishnu will incarnate himself as Kalki, the terminator and will come riding

his white horse and with his blazing sword in hands to punish all evil doers in this world,

destroy this world and recreate a new age again, the new Satya Yuga. Nostradamus also have

predicted about this ‘final judgment’ and end on 3927 AD. There is a lot of hype around the

Mayan Calendar which shows the end date of December 21, 2012.

Kalki Avatar, the last of the Maha Avatars of Vishnu, is yet to appear towards the end of the

Kali Yuga or the Dark Age. The Kali Yuga is the Iron Age. So Kalki will be the Avatar or the

Incarnation in the age of machines.

He is described in the Vishudharmottara Purana as a robust young man, riding on his white

horse, Devadutta and with a shiny sword raised in his hand. While some sketch him as being

four-armed, most of the records focuss on him as a two-armed. The scriptures picturize

Kalki`s emergence "as a blazing Light" when He descends from heaven. This hailing of the

Avatar resembles the Second Coming of Jesus.

The portraiture of Kalki is imbued with symbolic overtones. Kalki would ride on the horse of

purity and might, and ward off and destroy the prevalent evil with his lashing sword of

Dharma or righteousness. Therefore his name is endowed with deeper meaning. The name

Kalki, literally communicates the meaning, "Annhilator of Ignorance". Vishnu Purana affirms

the resurrection of Dharma that Kalki will usher in: " …And the minds of those who live at

the end of the Kali age, shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal.

The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time, Shall be as the seeds of human

beings, And shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita Age, the Age of

Purity."

The epic, Mahabharata specifically depicts the descent

of Vishnu as the Kalki Avatar. The pious sage,

Markendaya, illuminated Yudhisthir, the first of the

Pandavas, on this precious knowledge. Markendaya

informed that in a certain village called Shambala, Kalki

would evolve. He will be born as a son to a virtuous

Brahmin couple called Vishnuyasha and Sumati, on a

bright fortnight of the lunar month of Vaishakha

[beginning on approximately 21 April and ending on

approximately 21 May on the solar calendar], on the 12th lunar tithi or occasion of

(Dvadashi). The Brahman boy will be endowed with the gifts of intelligence, strength and

valor. He will assemble other Brahmins into a formidable army to squash evil totally.

He will be identified by two of the Nine Immortals or Chiranjeevin currently residing on the

planet. They are characters from the Mahabharata, Parashurama and Ashwatthama.

Parashurama is the sixth Avatar of Vishnu, who replanted the flag of Dharma, by wiping off

the tyrannical Kshatriya clan or warrior class from the face of the earth. Ashwathama , the

son of the Guru or teacher of martial arts of the Pandavas, Dronacharya. Parashurama will

appear to be the spiritual guide of Kalki, by educating him to undergo penance. Parashurama

himself meditated with utmost devotion for 1000years. Lord Shiva then blessed him with a

divine weapon for cleansing vice, as a reward of such penance. He would help Kalki to march

forward, following the same path, achieve the Ratna Maru sword and the heavenly parrot,

Shuka from Shiva and accomplish his task.

He will marry Padma, the Avatar of Vishnu`s consort, Devi Lakshmi and have two children,

sons Jaya and Vijaya . Kalki will also perform the grand Ashwamedha Sacriifice to abolish

all vitiated kings and false prophets, before embarking on the mighty assignment of the final

obliteration of evil and misery in the Kali Yuga. Kalki, as it has been mentioned will usher in

the Krita Age of purity and excellence.After the completion of his work, the human shape of

Kalki, will expose itselfin the four-armed cast of MahaVishnu and return to his celestial

abode of Vaikunth.

Kalki will that redemptive force,that will purge Creation of the disgraceful burden of sins.

Relevance of Dasavatar

Dasavtar concept and the theory of evolution

The Hindu myth of Dasavatar (10 incarnations) describes how Vishnu, the central figure in

the triad of Indian gods, incarnated from time to time to save mankind and the sacred

scriptures of India's ancient civilisation from the evil designs of demons. As in other myths

which make up the vast body of Hindu scriptures, the victory of good over evil is a persistent

theme of all mythologies in the world and Hindu mythology is no exception.

The 9 incarnations of Vishnu, which have taken place so far according to the myth, are (1)

Matsya - fish, (2) Koorma - tortoise, (3) Varaha - boar, (4) Narasimha - half man-half lion, (5)

Vaman - dwarf man, (6) Parashuram - man with an axe, (7) Rama - moral man, (8) Krishna -

philosophical man and (9) Buddha - spiritual man. The 10th incarnation is Kalki or holocaust,

which will come when evil overtakes the whole world in the milennia to come.

The Avatar Evolution stage

Matsya – fish Acquatic form

Koorma – tortoise Amphibian

Varaha – boar Land animals

Narasimha - half man-half lion Transition to human

Vaman - dwarf man Homo sapiens

Parashuram - man with an axe Savages

Rama - moral man Family and social life

Krishna - philosophical man Philosophy and teaching

Buddha – teacher Spiritual life

The scientific theory of evolution states that life on earth began as single-celled organisms

and later developed into multi-celled beings. Moreover, the theory further states that aquatic

creatures came into existence first. Then came amphibians that could exist in water as well as

on land. Land-dependent animals and airborne birds followed the amphibians. Finally, human

beings completed the cosmic drama of creation.

As if to explain this theory of evolution, Indian mythology says that first there was only

primeval water which covered the earth like a flood. Vishnu's first incarnation as a fish

(Matsya) indicated the first appearance of life in the aquatic form. His second incarnation as a

tortoise (Koorma) represented the amphibian stage. The boar (Varaha) manifestation in his

third incarnation stood for the stage of animal life on land.

The transition from animals to humans was beautifully advanced by a concept of half-man-

half-lion (Narasimha) in the fourth incarnation. Vishnu’s fifth incarnation showed the further

march of evolution – the appearance of early homo sapiens, symbolised by the dwarf Vamana.

Then, tall but violent savages wielding weapons walked the earth. Parashuram was that

violent axe-bearing sixth incarnation. Evolution had by now definitely entered the human

stage, and the human form and mind were getting more and more refined, first in the moral

sense and then in the spiritual.

Rama, the seventh incarnation in the human form was an example of rectitude, courage and

morality. Krishna, the eighth incarnation in the human form who originated the Bhagvad Gita,

was the philosopher, the teacher of the world. Gautama, the Buddha, the ninth incarnation,

was closest to nirvana,, moksha or salvation. And Kalki, the tenth incarnation, yet to manifest

itself, would be the ultimate terminator who would finish the evolutionary process in one

mighty holocaust.

KALKI and the Prophecies of NOSTRADAMUS

Nostradamus had predicted the future of human history in a total of 942 quatrains which he

organized into Centuries - groups of 100 quatrains (one Century only had 42 quatrains). A

quatrain is simply a poem with 4 lines. The rhymed quatrains of Nostradamus were written

mainly in French with a bit of Italian, Greek, and Latin thrown in. He intentionally obscured

the quatrains through the use of symbolism and metaphor, as well as by making changes to

proper names by swapping, adding or removing letters. There are hundreds of intrepretations

and transalations of his original work.

He has predicted the end of the World as 3927 AD and this will occur as:

In the words of Nostradamus "The Lord will come back for the final judgement as the the

Just Judge, the damned shall be tossed into the hellfire and the chosen ones will follow

him to heaven". The act of the Lord at the final judgement (as predicted by Nostradamus) is

similar to that of Kalki in the Hindu Mythology and hence the concept of Kalki is that of

the Final Judge.

Mohini - Vishnu's female Avatar

Of all the twenty-two avatars of Vishnu listed by the Bhagvatam, surely none is as delightful

as the Mohini Avatar. It is not even classified as an avatar usually, as the technical

specifications of an avatar require it to be a descent of the Vishnu energy onto the earthly or

Creation plane, to perform a particular task or series of tasks and then merge back into the

primal Vishnu who is every where as his name itself, Vishnu, 'He-who-pervades', indicates.

The avatar is thus a local specialized concentrated energy manifestation of a divine energy

that is everywhere in the universe, engaged in sustaining it. Mohini however seems to be

outside this rule though her manifestations are always concerned with matters of Cosmic

Gravity that require Vishnu's intervention.

Mohini is regarded as coexisting with Vishnu, she is one of his polymorphous analogues. She

is not, strictly speaking, an incarnation but a form that Vishnu assumes at will. This is a vital

difference but then that assumed form does everything the avatar does anyway, so the

distinction is moot. Mohini is not exactly Vishnu's Maya either (see our glossary for details

on the Maya concept) though she certainly makes the fullest use of it. Mohini has been called

the Enchantress, but she does not enchant the mind so much as drive it bereft of reason by

infusing every particle of it with desire - for her! Mohini is supernaturally beautiful, beautiful

in a manner a woman never can be, for they have to be real, but she is a facsimile of the

Creative Feminine and can be starkly, cruelly flawless. In the dramatic tradition of Japan, for

a long time the hero would be played by a female actor as only she could convey the abstract

essence of male heroism, any male attempt being invariably and inevitably flawed by the

common clay of being a man. Mohini is the reverse of that principle, a fantastic version of

femininity, her attraction being precisely that she is not a woman; she seems to be, and in

reality is, a woman like no other. Trying to possess this impossibly beguiling 'woman' is what

drives men mad.

It must be noted here that Vishnu is the archetypal Trickster god of mythology and nothing

would appeal to his humor more than to be a woman who drives reason out of the mind.

Moha, the quality of desire after which Mohini has been named, always has as an

unexpressed component the loss of all ratiocinative facility. It is an abdication of the human

dignity, a turning away from being Manava, Human, itself a word derived from Manas, the

mind, and indicative of man's unique position as a self-aware biological being. Mohini, by

causing Moha, causes man to forsake that particular dignity, and it is always a choice of free

will operating here. The turning away from the operative consciousness to mere desire for

sexual gratification has always excited the peculiar contempt of the Hindus and Mohini is

thus the worst punishment that can be visited upon evil.

It is a Titanic energy however, something primal and ancient, lurking in the seedbeds of

galactic creation, ready to erupt forth just when one feels most smug and complacent about

the many virtues one possesses. It is not merely sexual in context or scope, though that is the

most obvious manifestation of it. Mohini is Yin to Vishnu's Yang, he would not be able to

uphold and protect and preserve Creation if he did not have this terrible force for dissolution

under his control as part of his nature. Vishnu can maintain order precisely because he knows

how to disrupt it - instantly, any time, and as an integral part of himself. However, it is

recognized as being dangerous, which is why there is no temple or even any worship of the

Mohini aspect of Vishnu. The dangers of adoration sliding into lust are too strong, especially

when Sanskrit devotional poetry was so erotically charged to begin with. Mohini is a

dissolutive force, not a preservative one (preserving through dissolution, a typical trickster

concept) and hence not a fit object of worship, though there is awed respect in the concept

itself and is one of the unique contributions of Hindu mythology to the pantheons of the

world. There is also hardly any artistic representation of Mohini available anywhere, except

for the great and gorgeous murals of Kerala palaces and temples. The normal artist did not

have the hardihood to attempt a representation of this elemental force.

In the June of 2004 I came to know that, contrary to expectation and common perception,

there is indeed a temple to Mohini in India in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is at Ryali, a

small township 30 kms near the city of Rajahmundry. The five foot tall black stone image of

Jagan Mohini - the enchantress of the world - is actually the rear side of a Vishnu image in

his form as Keshava, protector of the universe. To emphasize the link with Mohini and the

Coorma Avatar, Vishnu has been depicted holding the Mandhara mountain instead of the

usual lotus in one of his left hands. [See Coorma avatar for details.] There is a sculpture of

the river goddess Ganga, at Vishnu's feet which perpetually drips holy water. The Jagan

Mohini sculpture is not particularly extraordinary except in that it exists in the first place!

Nevertheless, the fact that it is part of a dual image instead of standing alone reinforces the

instinctive wariness about Mohini worship.

The first appearance of Mohini is during the great myth of the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean.

(For details see the Coorma Avatar article.) The demon horde got hold of the Nectar of

Immortality obtained in cooperative effort with the gods and they were refusing to share it. A

fight would have meant serious casualties and an explosive stalemate was broken only by the

appearance of this ravishing creature. She offered to arbitrate, and in the grand tradition of all

Tricksters proceeded to rob the trustful demons (trustful because lustful) blind. She doled out

the nectar to the gods first, making sure that not a drop was left by the time she came to the

demons. They were held in thrall by her personality as well as the hope that if they behaved

she would share her favors with one of them and the others could go hang. Nothing is ever

promised, but the appearance of Mohini always induces such erroneous assumptions. The

poor demons got massacred because they had abdicated their reason.

Next, Mohini appears to save the great god Shiva. That worthy, named the Simpleton God by

his frustrated admirers, had just granted a demon coming out of horrendous penances to

please him, the ability to turn anything he touched into ashes. This got him the epithet of

Bhasmasura, the Ash-demon, and matters would have gone well if the demon had not decided

to test the efficacy of his world conquering boon on Shiva first. One cannot slay somebody

one has just granted a boon to, it is not correct protocol, so Shiva had to choose the better part

of valor and take to this heels, chased by the demon through all the quarters of the universe.

This impossible situation could not be resolved by anybody, for nobody dared to come near

the Ash-demon. Nobody except Mohini. Upon seeing her, Bhasmasura forgot his

conflagration experiments and instantly wanted to marry her. She answered that she was

under a vow that she would marry only the man who could match her in a dance competition.

It says much for the general levels of culture prevalent that the demon was a great dancer too,

as befits a devotee of Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, and felt confident of holding his

own. The great competition began and the infatuated demon gave a very credible account of

himself until the ruthless humor of the Trickster came into play. Mohini began to dance with

various Mudras, positions of the hands, which required her to frequently touch her head. The

poor asura, under the control of moha, did not realize what he was doing and reduced himself

to an ash heap.

This myth has a very delightful sequel. One of the great classical dance forms of Kerala is

called Mohiniattam, the dance of Mohini, though literally it means the Sway of Mohini, and

the pun works exactly the same in the original Malayalam. It is danced only by women, odd

in a culture that used to have only men play female characters in its other great dance form,

Kathakali. This is pure shringara however, the erotic element alone, and the psychic risks for

men to dance that particular aspect of feminity were correctly recognized as being too great

and better left alone. The dance is exceedingly beautiful, and after a while you realize that

there is nothing there a man can really access, except as a spectator, held in the grip of the

creative feminine spiral, which, by no accident, is the commonest motion in the dance form.

Kerala mythology also provided the last great public appearance of Mohini, when she joined

hands with Shiva to give birth to Ayyapan, Kerala's guardian god and the strongest in the

Hindu pantheon. (For details see our Ayyapan article in Gods.) Shiva had his doubts initially

whether this would work, as he was a yogi and self-controlled, as well as being committed to

his wife Parvati. When the Mohini form was before him however, the myths are very clear

that he was bedazzled instantly. There are many wall paintings in Kerala, charged with erotic

intensity, that depict this moment. Parvati is gazing upon the amorous Shiva and Mohini, hot

with jealous anger, yet she is also accepting of the situation, as there is really nothing else to

be done. As to the questions they raise about gender identities and sexual orientations, the

pious Indian response has always been to state these things blandly and never think about

them.

It is also worth noting that the 'Dark side' of the dark blue skinned Vishnu is a white and

dazzlingly beautiful woman form! This is one Shadow that functions only in the open and in

the light, a pretty remarkable concept. But when you are Vishnu the Trickster, what else

would your Shadow be? It is also worth noting that this form is not assumed cavalierly, it is

brought in only at supreme crises in the Cosmos, the consequences of letting Mohini loose

are far worse than the usual angry god rampage category so familiar to Hindu myth. What is

frightening here is that Mohini is mockingly, laughingly, in control and all everybody else

goes out of their minds. She had to be pulled out to overcome the great Yogic control of

Shiva - that is how potent this avatar of Vishnu is, and gives a measure of its strength. That is

another reason Mohini is not worshipped and never will be. Some things are merely to be

respected, not adored, and never interacted with. The lesson Mohini teaches is that of the

drastic and dramatic consequences of losing one's conscious awareness. It is enough that it be

understood and acted upon, there is only danger in worshipping it. Some lessons are needed

but in minuscule doses. Vishnu the Preserver took good care to ensure this avatar would

never gain any popularity.