<< Back
Ten Incarnations : About
		Throughout ages, Lord VISHNU, has incarnated in various life forms through different ages in situations where DHARMA was in danger, because of certain evil elements in the world. In mythology, there ten documented instances of incarnation of Lord VISHNU. These incarnations are termed as the "AVATARS" of Lord VISHNU. 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) NARSIMHA - half man-half lion, (5) VAMAN - dwarf man, (6) PARSHURAM - 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 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.

VISHNU IN A FISH FORM:				VISHNU AS A TORTOISE:
		VISHNU'S first incarnation as a FISH (Matsya) indicated the first appearance of life in the aquatic form.				VISHNU'S second incarnation as a TORTOISE (Koorma) represented the amphibian stage.
VISHNU AS A BOAR:				VISHNU AS HALF-MAN-HALF-LION:
		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 AS A DWARF MAN:				VISHNU AS MAN WITH AN AXE:
		VISHNU'S fifth incarnation showed the further march of evolution – the appearance of early homo sapiens, symbolised by the DWARF Vaman.				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.
VISHNU AS A MORAL MAN:				VISHNU AS A PHILOSOPHICAL MAN:
		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
VISHNU AS A SPIRITUAL MAN:				VISHNU AS KALKI:
		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.