There are ten commonly known avatars of Vishnu. The Bhagavata Purana lists twenty-two and states that there are many more.
It is generally accepted in Hinduism that Vishnu is that manifestation of the Supreme God who is responsible for the preservation of the universe and for maintaining the balance between good and evil. For this purpose he descends on earth from time to time. These manifestations are known as ` or incarnations. There are ten main avatars, which have been described in detail in the article “The Ten Incarnations”. But according to the Bhagavata Purana these are not the only incarnations of Vishnu. In Canto 1 Chapter 3 the Purana provides a complete list of the twenty-two avatars of Vishnu. The ones included in the Ten Incarnations are shown in italics.
1. The four Kumars.
2. The Varaha or Boar.
3. Narada.
4. The sages Nara and Narayan.
5. The sage Kapila.
6. Dattatreya.
7. Yagna.
8. King Rishabha.
9. King Prithu.
10. The Matsya or Fish.
11. The Kurma or Tortoise.
12. Dhanavantri.
13. Mohini.
14. The Narasimha or Man-Lion
15. The Vamana or Dwarf.
16. Parashurama.
17. Sage Veda Vyasa.
18. Rama.
19. Balarama.
20. Krishna.
21. Buddha.
22. Kalki.
After listing these incarnations the Bhagavata Purana states that these are not all the avatars of Vishnu. There are innumerable avatars much like the innumerable rivulets flowing from an inexhaustible lake. Anyone who is an epitome of virtue can be considered to be an avatar of Vishnu.
The stories behind some of the above avatars are discussed below.
Nara and Narayan were the sons of the brahmin Vahvricha and Ahimsa. They set up a hermitage in the Himalayas at Vadrikashram, where they devoted their life to meditation. Indra was afraid that they were meditating to secure a boon and that they might become so powerful that they might displace Indra from the throne of heaven. So he sent Kama, the demi-God of love and Rambha, his favorite apsara, to Vadrikashram. His instructions to Kama were to make the sages fall in love with Rambha and she would take care of the rest. The sages saw Kama and Rambha enter the ashram and invited them to sit down. While Nara inquired after their journey, Narayan took a wild flower and rubbed it on his thigh. From the flower emerged the most beautiful woman that the world had ever seen. Even the demi-God of love immediately fell in love with her. She was named Urvashi because she emerged from Narayan’s “uru” or thigh. Indra did not bother the sages again. Today the place where they meditated is known as Badrinath and is one of the holiest shrines for Hindus. This narrative is taken from the Vamana Purana.
Atri was one of the sages created by Brahma. Atri and his wife Anasuya desired that each of the manifestations of the Supreme God be born as their sons. Hence Brahma took birth as the Soma, the Moon demi-God. Shiva took birth as the sage Durvasa. And Vishnu took birth as Dattatreya. Once the demi-Gods were defeated by the demon king, Jambha. The demi-Gods then came to Dattatreya for advice. Dattatreya told them to engage in another battle with Jambha but to ensure that it took place near his ashram. Indra challenged Jambha and then retreated to Dattatreya’s hermitage with Jambha in full pursuit. There the demons saw Dattatreya’s wife Lakshmi, an incarnation of Vishnu’s consort. The demons had never seen a more beautiful woman, so they gave up the battle and put Lakshmi in a palanquin and carried her on their shoulders. Dattatreya explained to the demi-Gods that when someone puts Lakshmi above his head, Lakshmi leaves him. Hence this is the right time to attack the demons. The demi-Gods did that and slew Jambha and regained their kingdom and power. This narrative is taken from the Markandeya Purana.
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