Incarnation
May 17, 2007
In Hinduism, to be fortunate enough to bask in the grace of God, it is essential to follow the path of right conduct or righteousness – Dharma. This instills faith in the follower and nothing can deter him from the path of goodness. But not all of us can easily understand and follow all the norms. Throughout various eras whenever there has been annihilation of Dharma, Lord has incarnated in different forms to bring His creation back to normalcy.
The plenary extensions of Vishnu are countless but his ten complete incarnations which we are aware of are:
1) Matsya Avatar (Fish Incarnation):
The Lord saved Manu (The Progenitor Of Mankind) and the Saptarsis (The Seven Sages, Mind-Born Sons Of Brahma) along with their wives during the deluge. Once, while Brahma was reciting the Vedas, a demon named Hayagriva stole the Vedas from the side of Brahma and with them he went to the bottom of the ocean and hid himself. So Vishnu decided to take the form of a fish to recover the stolen Vedas. He appeared in the Satya Yuga.
2) Kurma (The Tortoise):
In the Satya Yuga, he incarnated in this form to support the Mount Mandara which started sinking during the churning of the ocean (Samudramathana) which was done to obtain the ambrosia of immortality.
3) Varaha Avatar (The Boar Incarnation):
The Lord killed the demon Hiranyaksa and saved the earth from being submerged in water in the Satya Yuga. Symbolically this represents that the earth was sinking in the ocean of sin and the Lord had to incarnate to save mankind.
4) Narasimha Avatar (A Combination Of Man And Lion):
Narasimha is the embodiment of valour. When Prahlada, the great devotee of Vishnu was tortured by his father, the demon Hiranyakasipu, Vishnu appeared as Narasimha and killed him. This form incarnated in the Satya Yuga.
5) Vamana (The Dwarf):
Bali granted Vishnu as much land as he could cover in three steps. Vishnu transformed into a giant. With the first and the second steps he covered the earth and heaven and with the third, he pushedBali to the Pathala (Underworld). Hence he is also known as Trivikrama, the one who encompassed the world with three large steps.
6) Parasurama:Vishnu’s sixth Avatara was born as the son of Sage Jamadagni and Renuka in the Treta Yuga. He ended the tyranny among the Kshatriyas led by Kartavirya, who were oppressing the people.
7) Rama:
The epic of Ramayan depicts the story of Rama who incarnated in the Treta Yuga to rescue the world from the demon, Ravana. The knowledge from this epic is imparted by parents and elders even today to help the new generation understand and inculcate such invaluable teachings in their lives.
8 ) Shri Krishna:
He appeared in the Dwarpa Yuga and was the charioteer of Arjun in the battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjun in the midst of this battle where he explained the duty of an individual in his lifetime.
9) Balarama:
Balaram is the elder brother of Sri Krishna. His adventures include the slaying of the ape Dvivida and the demon Dhenuka, shaking the ramparts of Hastinapura (The capital city of the Pandavas. This can be read in the epic of Mahabharata) and dragging the river Yamuna out of its course. Some consider Buddha too as the nineth incarnation.
10) Kalki:
It is believed that Vishnu will descend on the earth at the end of the present age-Kali Yuga. He will ride on a white horse and with his sword; he will destroy the enemies of Dharma.
©Nayna, 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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