1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

fish turtle pig .5 man dwarf Rama Krishna

Gautama Buddha

Kalki

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ,

fish turtle pig .5 man dwarf Rama Krishna

Gautama Buddha

Kalki

1 Matsya 2 Kurma 3 Varaha 4 Narasingh

10 Kalki 8 Krishn 6 Parasuram 5 Vamana 7 Ram 9 Budh

1 Matsya (fish incarnation)

Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat Before the latest creation of the present universe, the four Vedas remained drowned in the waters. It was necessary to get hold of them to instruct Brahma about the work of creation. Vishnu was therefore appointed to bring up the Vedas from the deep. He took the form of a fish (matsya), descended into the waters and brought up these sacred books

According to the Matsya Purana, the king of pre-ancient Dravida and a devotee of Vishnu, Satyavrata who later was known as Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and pleaded with him to save its life. He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew. He then moved it to a tank, a river and then finally the ocean but to no avail. The fish then revealed himself to be Vishnu and told him that a deluge would occur within seven days that would destroy all life. Therefore, Satyavrata was instructed to take "all medicinal herbs, all the varieties of seeds, and accompanied by the seven saints [4] along with the serpent Vasuki and other animals. Lord Matsya is generally represented as a four-armed figure with the upper torso of a man and the lower of a fish.

2 Kurma (tortoise-avatar)

Koorma (the tortoise) Avatar

In Kurma avatar, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and took the newly created earth on his back in order to render stability to the trembling globe. It is believed that even to this day the earth is supported on the back of this tortoise.

Tortoise that supports the churn of the ocean to obtain treasures dissolved in the ocean of milk. One of the ten avatars of Vishnu that appeared in the Satya Yuga.

3 Varaha (boar(pig)-avatar)
In periodical destruction of the world, once the earth sunk into the deep waters. Lord Vishnu, the great preserver, taking the form of a boar (Varaha), descended into the waters and drew up the earth with the help of his tusks.

He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth (Prithvi) and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won.

4 Narasingh(half-man/half-lion)

This special form was adopted by Lord Vishnu to kill a demoniac ruler Hiranyakashyap, who had pleased the Lord Brahma with his religious offerings. Lord Brahma had given him the blessings that no known man or animal born in the natural process could kill him, that he could not die in the day or in the night, on earth or in heavens, either by fire, water or by any weapon. It was to kill such a tyrant and to remove him from the earth that Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Narasingh which was neither man nor animal, came out of a broken pillar, laid hold of the demon king by its teeth, put him up on his thighs and tore him up in the middle by his claws. It was evening time (twilight) - neither day nor night.

5 Vamana (human form dwarf-avatar)

The fourth lineal descendant of Hiranyakashyap, named Bali, through his devotion and penance defeated Indra, the god of firmament, humbled other gods and extended his authority over the three worlds. All the gods appealed to Lord Vishnu for protection and He became manifest in His Dwarf Avatar of Vaman for the purpose of restraining Bali. Once when this king was making a great religious offering, Lord Vishnu in the form of Vaman appeared before him in the company of other brahmins. Bali was extremely pleased to see a holy man with such a diminutive form and promised to give him whatever he should ask. Lord Vishnu asked only for as much land as he could measure by three steps. Bali laughingly agreed to grant the boon of three steps. Lord Vishnu as dwarf stepped over heaven in first stride and earth in the second stride. Then out of respect to Bali's kindness and his grandfather Prahlad's great virtues, Lord Vishnu stopped short and left him in pathal, the subterranean region. Bali's capital was Mahabalipuram.

6 Parasuram
Parsu is the name of an axe-like weapon adopted by this incarnation. Parasuram was a brahmin who manifested himself at the close of the satya-yug. This appearance was for the purpose of defeating the tyranny of the power-drunk kshatriyas. When the kshatriya kings of the earth and their ministers became very corrupt and tyrannical, the goddess Prithvi (Mother Earth) went to Lord Vishnu and prayed for relief. Lord Vishnu answered the prayer and appeared on the earth as a descendant of the great sage Brigu. Parasuram avenged the gruesome murder of his father by a kshatriya king and freed the earth of oppression perpetrated by the rulers by clearing the earth of kshatriyas.

7 Ram

8 Krishn Abode Mantra Weapon Discus (Sudarshana Chakra) Radha, Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Satya, Lakshmana, Kalindi, Bhadra, Mitravinda and 16100 wives Garuda Vrindavan, Gokul, Dwarka

Consort

Mount

9 Budh Siddh rtha Gautama

10 Kalki The tenth and the last avatar of Vishnu, Kalki, is yet to appear. Kalki will appear at the end of the Kalyuga. This avatar will appear seated on a white horse with a drawn sword blazing like a comet. He shall come finally to destroy the wicked, to restart the new creation and to restore the purity of conduct in people's lives