The Daśāvatāra — the ten descents
दशावतार
Also written: dashavatara · ten avatars of vishnu · avatar · matsya kurma varaha · kalki · दशावतार
Avatāra means 'a descent' — not an incarnation in the sense of a soul taking birth, but the deliberate coming-down of the divine into form for a stated purpose.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत। अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, then I send forth Myself.
| # | Avatāra | Form | Yuga | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matsya | Fish | Satya | Saves the Vedas and the seed of life from the deluge |
| 2 | Kūrma | Tortoise | Satya | Bears Mandara on his back at the churning of the ocean |
| 3 | Varāha | Boar | Satya | Lifts the earth from the waters |
| 4 | Narasiṁha | Man-lion | Satya | Neither man nor beast, at neither day nor night — the boon that could not be broken, broken |
| 5 | Vāmana | Dwarf brahmin | Tretā | Three steps that measure the worlds; the humbling of Bali |
| 6 | Paraśurāma | Warrior brahmin | Tretā | The correction of a kṣatriya order that had become predatory |
| 7 | Rāma | King | Tretā | Dharma embodied; the ideal of conduct under every pressure |
| 8 | Kṛṣṇa | Cowherd, statesman, teacher | Dvāpara | The Gītā; the turning of the Mahābhārata |
| 9 | Buddha | The awakened | Kali | Compassion and the ending of animal sacrifice — as the Purāṇas themselves record |
| 10 | Kalki | Rider on a white horse | Kali (future) | The close of the age and the turning of the wheel |
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Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.