What are the ten avatāras of Viṣṇu?

Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasiṁha, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Rāma, Balarāma (or Kṛṣṇa), Buddha (in many lists) and Kalki, who is yet to come.

An avatāra is a “descent” — God taking form in the world to protect dharma. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says that whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, he manifests himself, age after age. The ten best-known forms are called the Daśāvatāra.

They are: Matsya the fish, who saves Manu and the Vedas from the flood; Kūrma the tortoise, who supports the mountain at the churning of the ocean; Varāha the boar, who lifts the earth; Narasiṁha, half-man half-lion, who protects Prahlāda; Vāmana the dwarf, who humbles Bali; Paraśurāma; Rāma of Ayodhyā; then Balarāma or Kṛṣṇa (lists differ — where Kṛṣṇa is counted as Viṣṇu himself, Balarāma takes the eighth place); Buddha in many lists, though some regional lists differ; and Kalki, foretold for the end of Kali-yuga.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa also speaks of many more avatāras; the ten are a well-loved summary.

Source: Bhagavad Gītā 4.7–8; Bhāgavata Purāṇa · Also celebrated in Jayadeva’s Gītagovinda

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