Lord Vishnu Dasavatharam Story in English

[JaneSmith105]

This thread is of the most famous legends of Hinduism - the Dasavathar of Lord Vishnu, the supreme God and the Preserver of this earth. The word "Dasavathar" means 10 Incarnations (Das - 10, Avathar - Incarnation).

The 10 Avathars are as listed below:

1. Mathsya
2. Kurma
3. Varaaha
4. Narsimha
5. Vamanaa
6. Parasurama
7. Ram
8. Balaram
9. Krishna
10. Kalki

I will be detailing about each of the Avathars in the comments below, and how the entire process of evolution (credited in the modern world to Charles Darwin) has been elucidated by Hinduism many many millennia ago.

 

[JaneSmith105]

Mathsya Avathar :- The first Avathar of Lord Vishnu was the Mathsya Avathar, where he takes the form of a fish
Legend has it that when the evil asura king Hayagriva's tyrannies reached an unbearable limit, the Lord took the form of a small fish and entered the kundalam (water bowl) of the pious King Satyavrata (Manu). The king took the fish into his shelter, but was amazed to see it grow abnormally. He shifted it to a larger vessel, then to a pond, but finally decided that only the ocean could accomadate it. It was then that the Lord revealed his true form.

The Lord said that the time had come for the next cycle of creation. He directed Manu to assemble one example of all species on earth, and along with the seven great sages (Saptrishi) and the king of serpants, Vasuki. There would be a huge flood within a week, enough to engulf the earth, but the Lord would steer them through it.

As promised, there was a massive flood, and the Lord killed Hayagriva. Then, he sent of huge boat to Manu, who boarded it along with the various species of plants ans animals that he had collected. Vasuki served as a rope to tie the boat to the fish's horn. Thus, Lord Vishnu eliminated evil and paved the way for a new cycle of life form to flourish on the earth.

It has been proved by science that the earliest life forms on earth were aquatic. Thus, with this 1st Avathar of Lord Fishnu, the process of human evolution begins...

Kurma Avatar :- There was a time when our earth was under tormoil. The Asuras had got the upper hand and were threatening to take over the earth by vanquishing the Devas.

When the Devas, lead by Lord Indra went to Lord Vishnu to find a way out of this situation, the Lord suggested that they churn the divine ocean. By doing so, they would get the pot of nectar (Amrit), drinking which, they would become invincible and defeat the Asuras. But the Devas knew that they alone could never churn the ocean, and had to take the help of the Asuras.

They decided to offer half the nectar to the Asuras in return for their help in churning the ocean as a bait. The gullible Asuras readily agreed. The ocean was churned with the help of Mount Mandera as the churner, and the Devas and Asuras pulled the mountain with the King of the serpants, Vasuki, as a rope.

It became evident that the churning was impossible as the mountain kept sinking. At this moment, Lord Vishnu intervened. By assuming the form of a huge tortoise, he went under the ocean supported the mountain on his back.

Various items appeared as a result of the ocean being churned, including the deadly poison Halahala, the divine cow Kamadhenu, the divine tree Kalpavriksha, etc. Finally, the divine physician Dhanvantari appeared with the pot of Amrit.

A fight ensued about who will get the nectar first. Again, Lord Vishnu intervened. By becoming a beautiful Apsara Mohini, he suggested that half of the nectar be distributed among the Devas first, while the Asuras would have the remaining half. The Asuras fell for her charm, and the Devas started getting the nectar from Mohini.

Meanwhile, 1 of the Asuras realised that they would never have the nectar. He changed his form and lined up with the Devas. Lord Surya (Sun) and Lord Chandra (Moon) informed this to Lord Vishnu, who tried to kill him with his Sudarshan Chakra. Thus, both parts of his body remained alive despite their being separated, as he had drunk the nectar partially. The head is called Rahu, while the body is referred to as Ketu, and it is believed that the eclipses occur when Rahu-Ketu take their revenge on the sun and moon (more on that in a later post).

So, it is observed that in the previous incarnation (Mathsya), the Lord became a Fish, while in this avatar, he is a Tortoise. Thus, from an aquatic creature, the next stage of an amphibian has been achieved. This is what the modern evolution theory proposes.

Mathsya (Fish-Aquatic) -> Kurma (Tortoise-Amphibian)


Varaha Avatar :- Varaha Avatar, in which Lord Vishnu takes the form of a boar.The asura Hiranyaksh's drastic growth was becoming a cause of worry for the Devas. He had received a boon from Brahma, and was now busy proving his dominance over the 3 worlds.

When Brahma was sleeping, the asura took away Vedas and all the sacred texts along with the Mother Earth (Bhoodevi), to the bottom of the ocean. All the devas went to Lord Vishnu to request his help in getting the earth back. It was then that the Lord assumed the form of a boar, to lift Bhoodevi out of the seas.

In the meantime, Hiranyaksh challenged the God of the Oceans, Varuna, to a combat. Varuna, citing old age, recommended Lord Vishnu as the only worthful opponent to the Asura, knowing very well that he would meet his nemesis. So Hiranyaksha went to challenge the boar, wo was busy restoring Bhoodevi. After placing her, the Lord killed Hiranyaksha, thus ridding the world of his evil-doings.

So, in the Varaha Avatar, Lord Vishnu assumes the form of a Boar, which is a mammal. If we refer to the previous Avatars:

Mathsya (Fish-Aquatic) -> Kurma (Tortoise-Amphibian) -> Varaha (Boar-Mammal)

Thus, the concept of evolution is elucidated. In the avatar, Lord Vishnu will be mid-way in the evolution process, as he will take the form of the half-animal, half-man God, Narsimha.

Narsimha Avatar :- the next Incarnation of Lord Vishnu - the Narsimha Avatar.
Legend has it that the evil Asura king Hiranyakashyap wanted to become the master of the universe. He thus did a severe penance, and pleased with him, Lord Brahma decided to give him a boon. The Asura asked for invincibility, but Brahma said that that was beyond his power. So,Brahma gave him an alternative - that he could not be killed either on land or in air, in the day or in the night, by man nor an animal, and neither outside nor inside any building.

Armed with this boon of near-invincibility, the Asura began to cause havoc among the 3 worlds. Soon, he seized power from Indra, and as usual, all the Devas sought help from Lord Vishnu.

Also, as fate would have it, Hiranyakashyap's son, Prahalad, was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, much to his father's agony, who had by then proclaimed himself as God. To destroy his son's faith, Hiranyakashyap asked him where his Vishnu was. When Prahalad replied everywhere, the Asura king slammed a pillar to show him that God was not there. But to his amazement, Lord Vishnu emerged out of the pillar taking a very unique form.

The being, Narsimha, was having the head of a lion and the body of a human being (Nar=Man, Simha=Lion). He took the Asura king right at the palace gate (neither inside/outside building) and placed him in his lap (neither in air/land). As it was twilight and the Lord was neither a man nor an animal, all the conditions for the death of Hiranyakashyap were satisfied. Thus, the Lord killed the evil Asura with his claws, and brought an end to his rule.

Thus, the Avatars till now have been:

Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narsimha (half animal - half man).

Thus, looking at the Avatar from the scientific point of view, the Lord is on his way to become a full-fledged human being, and has started evolving from the animal stage.

 

[JaneSmith105]

Vamana Avatar :- Lord Vishnu's 5th Avatar, that of a Dwarf - Vamana. Lord Bali was a pious and generous Asure King, known for his grand Yagnas and gifts to Brahmanas thereafter. Incidentally, his grandfather, Prahalada, was the young devotee of Lord Vishnu during the Narasimha Avatar. As his prowess grew, he became a threat to the Devas. After a while, Lord Indra was forced to abdicate the heaven becuase of him. This upset Indra's mother, Aditi. She, along with Rishi Kashyap, her husband, prayed to Lord Vishnu to restore the glory of the Devas.

As usual, Lord Vishnu intervened. He was born as a son to Aditi, and then, taking the form of a Pygmy or Dwarf priest, he went to King Bali's Yagna. There, when it was time to distribute gifts to the Brahmans, Lord Vishnu asked for land enough to cover 3 paces of his walk. Amazed by the humble request, King Bali readily agreed to fulfil Vamana's wish. Meanwhile, the Asura Guru, Shukracharya, undeerstood that the pygmy was no normal being, but was Lord Vishnu himself. Though he warned his protigy, being the righteous person that he was, King Bali refused to go back on his word.

Almost suddenly, the dwarf priest grew so large in size that the earth was dwarfed by him! taking his first step, he covered the complete earth. Then, with the next step, he covered the heavens. Now, looking down on Bali, he told him that there was no space left to put his third foot. Bali, humbled by then, asked the Lord to place his foot on his head, so that he may attain salvation, a suggestion which Lord Vishnu accepted.

So, we say that in this Avatar, Lord Vishnu has evolved from an animal into a human being, albeit in the dwarfed stage. A brief summary of the Avatars is listed below:

Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narasimha (half animal - half man) -> Vamana (pygmy-human)

This is supported by the modern theory that man has evolved from animals, and it is known that early man was short in stature.

Parasurama Avatar :- Moving on Lord Vishnu's 6th Avatar, that of the warrior Parasurama. There are many legends surrounding Lord Parasurama that extend through several ages, especially becuase he is considered an immortal being.


Parasurama was the great-grandson of Maharishi Bhragu. He was a Brahmin who was blessed to be born with Kshatriya qualities. His all arts of warfare was learnt by him directly from Lord Shiva after performing tough penance.


His father, Jamdagni, once hosted the Haihaya King Sahasrarjun (Arjun with 1000 hands), when he fed him and his army with the help of the divine cow Kamadhenu. Awestruck by its qualities, the king demanded the cow from the Rishi. When he would not part with it, Sahasrarjun snatched the cow and destroyed the ashram. When he came to know about this, Parashurama killed the king, because of which Sahasrarjun's sons killed Jamdagni.


When Parasurama returned to his ashram, he found his mother crying. She explained how her husband had been brutally murdered while he was meditating, and beat her chest 21 times in anguish. Seething with anger, Parasurama promised to rid the earth of the tyrannical Kshatriya Kings 21 times. After completing his vow and thus becoming the king of the world, he donated the earth to Brahmins.


In the Ramayan, Parasurama appears during Sita's Swayamvar, after hearing the earth-shattering noise created when Lord Ram (Vishnu's 7th Avatar - more on that later) break's Lord Shiva's bow. As a boon, Lord Ram asks for Lord Parasurama's agression, thus ridding him of it.


In the Mahabharat, Parasuram is the instructor/mentor of Bhisma, Drona and Karna. He curses Karna to forget all his military knowledge at a crucial point so that the Pandavas win the war and the world is saved.


Now for the science part of all this. We see that this avatar resembles an early man, who is brutal and warrior-like, lives a nomadic life and is barbaric in nature. He has developed from the pygmy sized-human (Vamana) form to a normal human being. Thus, this rightly fits into the evolution process, the chain-link of which is detailed below:


Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narasimha (half animal - half man) -> Vamana (pygmy-human) -> Parasurama (early man)

The next avatar is that of Lord Ram, the gentle and genial king who is most righteous and works towards the well-being of his subjects.


Ram Avatar - Lord Vishnu's 7th Avatar on planet earth, that of Lord Ram. King Dasrath of Ayodhya was childless, with all 3 of his wives not being blessed. Then he performed a Yagna, through which he obtained a magic potion that, when drunk by his wives, would help them bear children. The eldest of the 4 sons born to him was Ram. The 3rd son, Lakshman, is said to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu's Seshanag (snake on which he rests in the milky ocean). That is why he is portrayed as a hot-tempered person, ready to give his life for his elder brother.

Lord Ram was a genial person and an obedient son, who displayed qualities of valour in his early days. He won the hand of Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, in a Swayamvar (contest), where he strung the bow of Lord Shiva, and also broke it. It is here when Lord Parasurama, the 6th Avatar of Lord Vishnu, confronts Lord Ram, but is humbled by the Lord's prowess.

When Lord Ram is to be crowned the new King of Ayodhya, Dasratha's 2nd wife, Kaikeyi is misguided by her servant Manthra into thinking that her son, Bharat, will become powerless. So she takes advantage of an old promise by her husband, and orders Lord Ram to be sent to Vanvaas (living in the jungle) for 14 years. Lord Ram does not question her decision, but simply takes the blessing of his parents and starts his journey. Sita and Lakshman insist on accompanying him. Incidentally, 14 years is also the term of a life sentence in modern day India.

One day in the forest, Soorpanakha, sister of Lanka's king Ravana, fell in love with Lord Ram. But her advances were nipped in the bud by Lakshman, who cut her nose. This angered Ravana, who, in the disguise of a a Brahmin beggar, kidnapped Sita. Then, Lord Ram meets Hanuman, who becomes his loyal devotee, and together with the monkey-king Sugriva, launches an attack on Lanka to get back his wife. The above photo shows Lord Ram flanked by Sita and Lakshman, and he is seen blessing Hanuman.

This entire episode, as described in the Ramayan, has been supported by several places found in modern day Sri Lanka. These will be detailed in another post later.

After defeating Ravana and making his younger brother Vibhishana king of Lnaka, Lord Rama returns to Ayodhya to a joyous welcome and is crowned King. He then starts his journey of being an able administrator and a righteous King. Even today, Ramrajya is synonymous with "Golden Rule", and Lord Ram is referred to as "Maryada Purshottam", or Ultimate Righteous Person.

So, from this Avatar of Lord Vishnu, that of Lord Ram, we come across a refined, cultured, simple, upright and righteous human being. He belong sto an era when promises were kept and where justice was meted out to everyone. This follows the crude Avatar of Lord Parasurama, and thus the modern evolution process is justified:

Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narasimha (half animal - half man) -> Vamana (pygmy-human) -> Parasurama (early man) -> Ram (righteous man)

This Avatar is followed by Lord Krishna, epitome of the modern day strategist and cunning planner. Till next time,

 

[JaneSmith105]

Krishna Avatar and Balaram Avatar :- Combining Both as thee Avatars of Balaram and Krishna occur simultaneously. The story of Balaram and Krishna forms part of possibly India's biggest epic, the Mahabharat. It is quite a long one, and I will be describing only the parts related to these 2 Avatars of Lord Vishnu. Apart from this, there are innumerous stories where Lord Krishna plays a role. In fact, out of the 10 Avatars, the most significant in modern times is that of Krishna.

Krishna was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev. His maternal uncle (Mama), Kansa heard a prophecy that he would be killed by his sister Devaki's eighth child, and went on a mad spree killing all her first six children. Lord Vishnu, realising the situation, arranged for the 7th child (Balaram) to be transferred into the womb of Rohini (Nanda's 1st wife), and requested Goddess Maya to be substituted for him in Devaki's womb. The 8th child, Krishna, was carried by Vasudev to Gokul, and placed next to Yashoda (Nanda's 2nd wife), to be adopted by them.

Lord Krishna was a very naughty child, and was very fond of butter (he is called Makahnchor - Butter stealer) in his childhood. He was also very naughty, and indulged in all sorts of pranks along with his group of friends, of whom he was the obvious leader. He showed signs of his divineness in his childhood itself, when he felled the demonness Putna, liberated 2 Gandharva princes, and killed the evil serpant, Kaliya. He lifted the huge Govardhan Parvat to protect the people from the heavy rains. One day, when his mother Yashoda caught him eating mud and asked him to open his mouth, he showed her the entire cosmos inside it! Krishna also went on to kill his evil uncle, Kansa, and reinstated Kansa's father as the King of Mathura.

On the other hand, his elder brother Balaram was a very soft-spoken and reserved individual with great intellect and humility. He was called "Dau Bhaiya" by Krishna. It is also believed that Balaram was an incarnation of Shesha Naga, Lord Vishnu's 1000 headed serpant. It is said that Sesha-Nag, who took the form of Lakshman in Ramayan, was unhappy with his projection as an angry person, and so the Lord allowed him to have a better profile in the Mahabharat ! Lord Balaram is always depicted with a plough in his hand, a symbol of his humble village-agrarian background.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Hastinapur was going through testing times. The blind King Dhritarashtra's evil son Duryodhan, eldest of the 101 Kauravas, had defeated his cousins, the Pandavas (5 brothers - Yudhistir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev), children of Dhritarashtra's brother Pandu in a game of Chaupad (ancient Ludo) several times. Lord Krishna saved Draupadi from being humiliated in the court by replenishing her Saree when Duryodhan's brother Dushashan started removing it. The Kauravas sentenced the Pandavas to 14 years in exile, out of which the last year was to be spent in hiding. In this timespan, the former unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the latter several times.

After the said period of 14 years, the Pandavas decided to fight back, and with a small army, challenged the Kauravas, known famously as the Kurukshetra war. It was here that Lord Krishna played a vital role, being the chief strategist on the Pandavas side. He also became the charioteer of Arjun, the ace archer, and guided him throughout the war. When Arjun hesitates in shooting at Bhishma, the great patriarch of the Hastinapur dynasty, Lord Krishna delivers an elaborate address about the rights and wrongs of life, which has come to be called the "Bhagwad Gita", and is Hinduism's holiest book. The above photo shows Lord Krishna showing his Viraat Roop (Full Form of Lord Vishnu) in the middle of the battle.

Finally, when Pandavas win the war, Lord Krishna announces Yudhistir as the new King of Hastinapur. Krishna is said to have left earth for his heavenly abode when a fisherman, mistaking the Lord's foot for a beautiful fish, hit it with an arrow.

Now, coming to the part of how all this fits into our evolution process. First of all, both the brothers are brought up in a rural background. As Balaram is always featured with a plough, it is evident that he represents the farming community, which was the next significant stage of human evolution.

Krishna, on the other hand, is the complete modern-day strategist, who believes in bending rules if that can benefit the situation. Though the Pandavas are reluctant to fight against their brothers, the Kauravas and a host of other people whom they look upon to as mentors (Bhishma, Drona, etc.), Krishna says that to win the war, killing these people is necessary. Yudhistir, who never lies, is made to tell Drona that Ashwatthama has died, without specifying that it was actually an elephant and not his son. Duryodhana, who became all powerful by getting the rays from his mother Gandhari's eyes, was vulnerable only near his thighs. This was exploited by Krishna, who, seeing that Bhim was losing to Duryodhana, indicated him to attack the thighs in the middle of the duel. This is similar to the modern day cut-throat boardroom member, who goes all out in achieving his goal, and where the ends justify the means.

So, the process of evolution till now goes like this:

Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narasimha (half animal - half man) -> Vamana (pygmy-human) -> Parasurama (early man) -> Ram (righteous man) -> Balaram (farmer/villager) -> Krishna (modern day military strategist) The next post will be about the final avatar of Lord Vishnu, Kalki, who is yet to make an appearance on earth. Till next time.

Kalki Avatar :- the last Avatar in the list of Lord Vishnu's Dasavathars, the Kalki Avatar.

The Kalki Avatar is supposed to be the most powerful among all the Dasavathars. What makes it more intriguing is that incarnation has not yet taken place, a fact that adds to its enigma !

The earliest reference to the Kalki Avatar is found in the India's great epic, the Mahabharat. Rishi Markandeya tells Yudhishtir, the seniormost Pandava, that Kalki will be born to Brahmin parents. He would excel in academics, sports and warfare, and thus become a very intelligent and powerful young man.

His arrival is stipulated at a time when the earth is engulfed in crisis because of a tyrannical and powerful ruler. Kalki Bhagwan is said to be mounted on a strikingly beautiful White Horse, and is most often picturised in the foreground of a dark sky. This symbolises his coming at a time when darkness (evil) is the order of the day, and he is the saviour to rid the world of its sufferings. This is similar to the Parashuram avatar, where Lord Vishnu killed the atrocious Kshatriya rulers.

It should be noted that the common thread among all of Lord Vishnu's Avatars is that he always arrives when his devotees/people have been suffering at the hands of an evil/vain ruler. A legend that gives credence to this fact is that once, Lord Vishnu's Dwarpal's (watchmen), Jai and Vijay, insulted a group of sages who had come to pay the Lord a visit. The sages cursed them to be reborn as tyrannical Asura kings on earth, and get Moksha (salvation) only when they are killed at the hands of Lord Vishnu. Thus, whenever Jai and Vijay are reborn as kings, they create such a unbearable state of anarchy that Lord Vishnu takes the form of a saviour and frees them from their earthly bond.

The Kalki Avatar is the most eagerly awaited one, more so because it will signify the cleansing of the world from all its sorrows that have been accumulated for many millennia. He is to arrive at the end of Kalyug, the dark age, and will mark the beginning of the Sat Yug. According to calculations, there are still many years left for that to happen (The Kalyug extends for a period of 432000 years, and it has just started). When we have such advanced military technology today, it will be interesting to see (though we may not, unless we do not manage to attain salvation by then, and are still caught in the rebirth cycle) what kind of weapons Kalki Avatar utilises.

With the Kalki Avatar, the series on Lord Vishnu's Dasavathars has come to an end. As per the below list, the Kalki Avatar perfectly completes the scientific aspect of the Dasavathars. After Lord Krishna, who was a military strategist, there is a long gap until we find the Ultra modern Kalki Avatar, who is the saviour of the earth and annihilator of evil. The complete chain of the Dasavathars is as follows:

Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narasimha (half animal - half man) -> Vamana (pygmy-human) -> Parasurama (early man) -> Ram (righteous man) -> Balaram (farmer/villager) -> Krishna (modern day military strategist) -> Kalki (Ultra Modern/High Tech Warrior)

Via:- Nikhil Mundra