The Ten Enchantments: Divine Tales of Lord Vishnu's Avatars
The Ten Enchantments: Divine Tales of Lord Vishnu's Avatars
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Vishnu commonly known as Narayan, Hari and Govinda is one of the Trimurti. He is the preserver and protector of universe who restores the balance of good and evil and is Supreme Being in the Vaishnav tradition. His wife Laxmi is said to be the goddess of wealth and fortune. According to scriptures Vishnu has blue or dark complexion which represents Cosmo. To preserve world Vishnu set his foot on earth nine times and will also come for the tenth time at the end of Kalyug and so is named as Dashavtar. 

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  • MATSYA – Matsya refers to fish and is the first avatar of Vishnu. Vishnu took Matsya avatar in Satyug to save everyone from massive flood. The story behind this goes as to in Satyug when a man named Mana was performing rituals on the banks of a river. While scooping in water from the river to offer to the Sun God, he accidently caught a tiny fish in the palm of his hand. While he was about to release the fish back into the water the fish asked him to not do the same as the bigger fishes in the river might end up eating her. Mana being pitty on the fish took it with himself. But it took him no time that this was not a normal fish. thr fish then took Vishnu’s avatar and told Mana that in 7 days there will be a huge flood which will kill every living being so he should make a boat and take his wife, all the saptarishis and seeds to re-grow organisms with him. And in this was Vishnu saved word in the form of a fish.

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  • KURMA – Kurma avatar refers to turtle, To save Devas from danavas. It is said that once the devas or demigods lost their immortality due to a curse by the short tempered sage Durvasa. All the devas then went to Vishnu for the help. Vishnu asked them to churn the ocean of milk. However, this task wasn't something the Devas could do by themselves. Vishnu said that they would need the help of the Asuras to accomplish this task. Upon the news of the co-operation between the Devas and Asuras, Vishnu told them what exactly to do. They used Vasuki, the giant serpent, as a rope. Wrapping Vasuki round the mountain, the demons took hold of his head. and the demigods took his tail and began churning the ocean. They tried to churn, but the mountain sank into the ocean and they began to despair. Vishnu then took the form of a gigantic tortoise, Kurma, and supported the mountain on his back. In the form of a giant tortoise, Kurma balanced the opposing forces of the demons and the demigods. The demons and the demigods started to churn again, back and forth. Kurma felt as though they were scratching an itch on his back and this gave him pleasure. As they continued churning many wonderful things came out of the ocean, but at last they got what they wanted -the Nectar of Immortality. Both groups wanted the Amrit and a quarrel developed. Vishnu came to the help of the devas to help them get the nectar for themselves. Lord Vishnu took the form of an apsara, a beautiful women named Mohini, and seduced the asuras into letting her distribute the nectar and also to abide by her order of distribution. As soon as the devas were served, Mohini disappeared thus deceiving the asuras and making them totally weak. Seeing that they had lost the Amrit, the Asuras attacked the Devas and after a terrible battle the Asuras were defeated.​​​​​​

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  • VARAHA - It is the third avatar of Vishnu where he took the form of wild pig. Once a demon Hiranyaksha dug earth so deep that Mother, Earth lost her inner balance and fell from her position in space. Plunging to the depths she came to rest in the primeval waters which lie at the very bottom of the universe. Vishnu saw the distress of the earth planet as she was lying in the dark ocean. So, Vishnu took the form of a gigantic boar, Varaha, and entered the universe to rescue the earth from the deep. Although a boar is normally considered to be an ugly animal, Varaha was most beautiful. All the demigods and sages sung his glories as he dived into the ocean to rescue earth. Meanwhile Hiranyaksha roamed about restlessly looking for someone with whom to do battle. As Varaha was picking up the earth on his tusks, the angry demon came upon him and eagerly challenged him to fight. There was a great battle, fought for the sake of the Earth, in which the demon finally lost his life. Varaha picked up the earth with his two tusks and carefully restored her to her proper position in space. He also retrieved the Vedas from the Asura and brought it back to the safe custody of the Lord Brahma. 

  • ​NARASIMHA - Narasimha refers to a man-lion avatar of Vishnu. Once there was a demon named Hiranyakashyap who did penance to worship Lord Brahma. Impressed Brahma asked Hiranyakashyap for a wish, anything except immortality. So Hiranyakashyap asked his boon to be that he would not die during the day or the night; on land, at sea or in the sky; inside or outside; by the hands of human or beast; or by any weapon. Brahma granted him his wish. Now, he thought, he was immortal. With blazing eyes he called all his associates together and vowed to kill Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap had a son named Prahlad. Prahlad grew up to be a great devotee and had the blessings of Lord Vishnu and the Gods. His father tried every possible way to turn the boy into a demon like him, but nothing worked. During a particular attempt on Prahlads life, King, Hiranyakashyap called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special cloth that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashyap asked her to sit on a bonfire with Prahlad, by tricking the boy to sit on her lap. However, as the fire roared, the garment flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Holika burnt to death, Prahlad came out unharmed. At that moment a fearful sound came from the pillar, as if the universe itself was about to split apart. The pillar burst asunder and a terrifying form emerged from it- with the head of a lion and the body of a man. Narasimha picked up the demon and killed him by his nails.

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  • VAMANA – Vamana is the fifth avatar of Vishnu. There was once a demon Bali. Despite being an Asura, King Bali was a devotee of Vishnu like his grandfather Prahalad. He had become so powerful that he had acquired all of Prithvi Lok - The Earth. Bali was ready to conquer the heaven. Indra feared that the Devas were becoming incapable of defeating the Asuras under the leadership of Bali. He feared if Bali conquered the SwargaLok, the Devas would be forced to leave their abode. Therefore, the Devas reached to Vishnu for help. Vishnu then took his third Avatar of Brahmana Vamana. One day the Brahmana Vamana reached the court of King Bali requesting for charity or alms. It was a custom in the court of Bali that no Brahman would leave his place empty handed. So the King was more than willing to offer the Brahmana anything he desired. Upon questioning his needs, Vamana said that he wanted land measuring up to three steps of his tiny feet. But Bali urged the Brahman that he was capable of giving him more and insisted that he asked enough that he would never have to anything ever again. "If | were not satisfied with just three paces of land, then i would not be satisfied even with the whole universe.” responded Vamana. Bali asked Vamana to measure his three-foot sized land and it would be given to him. He grew and grew until he filled the whole universe. He then lifted his foot to measure three steps. In one step he measured the whole Earth under his feet. In his second step he covered the Heaven. Vamana in his gigantic form asked Bali that he had covered the Earth and Heaven in two strides. Now there was nothing left in the universe that could satisfy his demand of the third foot of land. But since Bali had promised him three-foot of land, it was his duty to fulfill his promise. Bali was defeated. The King then asked Vamana to put his third step on his head, Vishnu pleased by the devotion and sincerity of Bali makes Bali the king of Hell. 

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  • PARSHURAM – Parshuram is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Not just that he is also one of the Chiranjeevis. It is said that the world was once overburdened with Kings and soldiers; This created a lot of fight and disturbances in the world. Parashuram chose the life of a warrior, to fight and destroy the abuse of the Kshatriyas who at the time were misusing their powers to hurt the innocent. Although he was born in a Brahmana family, he called himself a Kshatriya-Brahaman. Kartavirya a powerful king, once went to Jamadagni's home when he was out, and after a meal. stole the Kamadhenu cow, which used to give endless quantity of milk. Jamadgni was enraged and he went and killed the king and brought Kamadhenu back. On hearing this the son of the king came back and killed Jamdagni. Parasurama was enraged at this and went and avenged the death of his father by killing the King's son. It is said that he killed Kshatriya race misusing their powers over twenty-one battles. The wealth and land that he owned upon winning the battles was donated to the Brahmanas and poor people. Parashuram then renounced fighting and went to the Himalayas to perform penances.

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  • RAMA – Rama or Ram is one of the major deity in Hinduism. Rama is simply described as a man who displays perfect moral and social behavior and is also the symbol of victory of right over the evil. He is also known as Maryadapurshottam Ram. He was son of king Dashratha. Though being the son of a king he had lots of problem in his life. He was asked to live in forest for 14 years by his father. after he left for 14 year Vanvas with his brother Shri Laxman and his wife Mata Sita. And there his wife Sita got kidnapped by Demon king Ravana. this lead to a major war of Ramayana where he met Lord Hanuma. with that he and his army of Vanaras which also helped him make Ram-Setu went to Lanka. After a major war with ravana he got victory and came back to his home with his wife. This day is celebrated as a major festival known as Diwali in hinduism.  His life is clearly depicted in Shri Ramcharitramanas.​​

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  • KRISHNA – In Treta-yug Vishnu took form of Krishna. Krishna - one ot the most widely popular of all Indian divinities, became the focus of numerous bhakti cults, which have over the centuries produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna's stories is from the epic. Mahabharata and Bhagvat Purana. Krishna was raised as a cowherd in Gokul. Childhood of Lord Krishna is filled with stories of his mischievous pranks and incidents that depict his divine nature. Sri Krishna also raised the Mount Govardhana hill with his little finger and kept it as an umbrella to shield Vrindavan's people from the torrential rain caused by Lord Indra. Sri Krishna became a counselor and friend to Pandava prince Arjuna. In the great war of Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Krishna declined to bear arms. Still, he agreed to be present on one side of the army. Sri Krishna also revealed his universal form to Arjuna, showing Arjuna his full spiritual realization. He played a human role as an Avatar, but at the same time he was a fully realised spirit, one with god.

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  • GAUTAM BUDDHA - Buddha is regarded as the founder of Buddhism, and revered by most as a savior or the Enlightened One who rediscovered an ancient path to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth and attain Nirvana. He was born in northern India near the town of Kapilavastu to a ruler of the Indian tribe of Shakyas. Being the son of a king he had life full of happiness and had everything. But yet he choose the path to enlightenment. Gautama finally settled down to work with two teachers. From Arada Kalama, he learned how to discipline his mind to enter the sphere of nothingness. Next Siddhartha learned how to enter the concentration of mind which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness from Uddalaka Ramaputra. after gaining enlightenment t first he had no interest to speak about his realization. For seven weeks he enjoyed the freedom and tranquillity of liberation. But according to legends, Lord Brahma, the creator of world requested Buddha to spread his teaching. The Noble Truth of the Buddha stated that all life, all existence, is characterized by Duhkha.

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  • KALKI - Kalki is the final avatar of Shree Vishnu which has not taken birth yet. Kalki will appear on Earth towards the End of Kali Yuga. Acting with the power of spiritual goodness, he will rescue internal religion. Lord Vishnu will appear in a Brahman family as Kalki, Sage Yajnavalkya will be the Acharya of Kalideva as described in Agnipurana. Riding a white horse named Devadutta with a sword in hand, Kalki will mow down the evil and corrupt and ensure the reign of Dharma. Lightning, thunder, heavy rain and harsh sun are frequently associated with this avatar. This will mark the beginning of Satya Yuga, an era of virtue, enlightenment and spirituality. 

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