The followers of the Sanatan religion worship the Trimurti or the three gods including Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. Among the three gods, Lord Vishu, who is widely known by countless names including Narayana, Hari, and Krishna is believed to be the creator and the preserver of the planet that humans reside in. As per the Hindu scriptures, the creator of the planet, lord Vishu reincarnates in the world of humans every time evil takes charge and spreads havoc and chaos in the land. The creator becomes the preserver and returns to the land of humans as one of them, every time his creations choose the path of destruction. His reincarnations in the human world are called avatars. It is widely believed that Narayan has reincarnated nine times on earth to restore the balance of good and evil. The Hindu scriptures also mention that the last avatar will be born among humans in the 'Kali-yuga' which is the fourth and worst of the four yugas. The current era is believed to be the closest to the description of Kaliyuga which is filled with conflict and sin.
1. Matsya Avatar: The Matsya Avatar was a half-human and half-fish form of Vishu, which is also similar to the descriptions of a merman we read in tales. It is also said in some scriptures that the Matsya avatar was an enormous whole fish. It is believed that Lord Vishu saved the first man and several other living creatures in this form. The Matsya had saved the living from a great flood and kept them from perishing.
2. Kurma Avatar: Kurma Avatar of Vishu was depicted in the scriptures as a half-man and half tortoise, while in others it is described as a whole tortoise. The scripts state that during the 'Samudra Manthan' done between the gods and demons, Mount Mandara was on his tortoise avatar's back. The ocean was churned between the two sides to obtain the 'Amrit' from it and this was made possible because of Vishu's Avatar.
3. Varaha Avatar: Vishnu's Varaha Avatar also has two widely believed forms, one is Vishnu as a boar and the other is Vishnu as a half board and half human. The Varaha avatar was responsible for rescuing Bhudevi from the demon Hiranyaksha and restoring the mother earth (personified as Bhudevi) to her rightful place.
4. Narsimha: The Narsimha was brought to existence to rescue the son of evil king Hiranyakashipiu. While Hiranyakashipiu was an evil king, his son Prahlada was a faithful devotee of Vishnu. Narasimha ended the demonic king to restore peace and order on earth.
5. Vamana: The Vamana Avatar of Vishu is described as a dwarf Brahmin who could grow into giant size. Vamana's avatar ended the reign of the demonic king Mahabali who grew too powerful. Vishu tricked the king in his dwarf form by asking him to provide land for three steps and Bali agreed which led to him offering his head as the third piece of land as the giant Vamana size of Vishnu to keep his word. This led to the evil kind being pushed to the underworld.
6. Parashurama: Lord Vishu's Brahmin (priest) Kshatriya (warrior) avatar Parashurama was described as a sage who carried an axe in his hand. It is believed that the Parashurama came to land to restore the original order of things and end the tyranny inflicted by the corrupted and arrogant Kshatriya caste.
7. Rama: The seventh avatar Lord Rama is one of the most well-known forms of Lord Vishnu. Rama plays the key role in the most acclaimed Hindu epic Ramayana. Lord Rama was born on earth to restore good over evil. The terrorizing reign of king Ravana was brought to an end by Lord Rama and faith in the power of good was restored.
8. Krishna: Lord Krishna is yet another significant avatar of Lord Vishnu responsible for restoring faith in good and ending the growing power of the demons on land. Lord Krishna was depicted as a man with divinity and immense knowledge. He kills his evil uncle king Kansa and also played a crucial role in the epic of Mahabharata.
9. Buddha: The ninth avatar Gautam Buddha was a man who had left his family and all material possession to seek enlightenment. Buddha was responsible was the birth of Buddhism. Buddha had appeared in the 5th century BCE. Some scriptures also mention the ninth avatar to be Balarama, instead of Buddha.
10. Kalki: The tenth and the final avatar is yet to reincarnate as per the scriptures. According to the scriptures, the Kalki or the 10th avatar of Vishu will come on earth during the Kali-yuga. Kalki is depicted as a warrior with a sword riding a white horse. It is believed that Kalki would restore the good and end all the evil practices of the modern world which includes conflicts and the evil deads by unrighteous individuals.
