‘Dash’ means ten and ‘Avatar’ means incarnation. Dashavatar is ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu on the earth.
Hinduism has three main deities, viz. Lord Brahma (the creator), Lord Vishnu (the protector) and Lord Shiva (the destroyer). As Lord Vishnu’s role is to protect the universe, whenever the evil forces become stronger than good forces and there is a need to restore dharma (righteousness), Lord Vishnu incarnates and eradicates the evil forces and restores dharma.
In Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna says:
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत|
अभ्युत्थानंधर्मस्य तदात्मानं स्रुजाम्यहम्|
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्|
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे|
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata|
Abhutthanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham|
Paritranaya sadhunaam vinashay cha dushkritam|
Dharmasansthapanarthay sambhavami yuge yuge|
Whenever there is a decay of righteousness, O Bharata,
And there is an exaltation of unrighteousness, then I descend myself,
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers,
For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.
According to Hindu scriptures, this has happened nine times so far and will happen the tenth time in this Yuga i.e. Kali Yuga (the dark age).
These 10 incarnations are known as:
1. Matsya (Satya Yuga) – Vishnu incarnated as a fish and saved Manu and other species from a deluge.
2. Kurma (Satya Yuga) – Vishnu incarnated as a turtle at the time of Samudra Manthan.
3. Varah (Satya Yuga) – Vishnu incarnated as a half boar and half man. He killed a demon Hiranyaksha who had taken the earth at the bottom of a cosmic sea. Vishnu restored the earth in its place.
4. Narsimha (Satya Yuga) – Vishnu incarnated as a half man and half lion to kill demon king Hiranyakashyapu who was not allowing anybody to worship Vishnu and used to kill the people who worshiped Vishnu.
5. Vaman (Treta Yuga) – Vishnu incarnated as a dwarf and took the kingdom from demon Bali and pushed him into Paataal (underworld).
6. Parshuram (Treta Yuga) – A Brahmin who turned into a warrior after the murder of his parents by Kshatriyas. He got a miraculous ax from Lord Shiva to kill Kshatriyas who were annoying the poor.
7. Ram (Treta Yuga) – He was the prince of Ayodhya who later became a king. Killed demon king Ravana who abducted his wife Seeta and freed many human beings captured by Ravana.
8. Krishna (Dwapar Yuga) – Guided Pandavas to kill the evil Duryodhana and his forces.
9. Buddha (Kali Yuga) – Spread the message of peace through Buddhism.
10. Kalki (Kali Yuga) – Yet to incarnate.
Some Buddhist scholars do not believe Lord Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. They say it was a trick played by Brahmins to decrease the increasing influence of Buddhism when Buddhism was at its peak in India. Some vaishnavites do not believe Buddha as the incarnation of Vishnu. Instead, they believe Balaram as 8th and Krishna as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. Anyway, these are the 10 widely accepted incarnations of Lord Vishnu in Hindu world.
Dashavatar and Evolution :
It is interesting to know that there is some correlation between the 10 incarnations of Vishnu and evolution. Though it is not 100% accurate, it has some relation with evolution, especially the order in which they appear is really surprising. They do correlate with the modern theory of evolution to some extent.
1. Matsya (Fish) – Animals in the water like fish are born.
2. Kumra (Tortoise ) – Animals who can live both on land and in water are born.
3. Varah (Boar) – Herbivorous animals are born.
4. Narsimha (Lion) – Carnivorous animals are born.
5. Vaman (Dwarf) – Dwarf people are born.
6. Parshuram (Man with an ax) – People started using iron (iron age).
7. Ram (Man with bow and arrow) – People developed skills using semi-modern weapons like bow and arrow.
8. Krishna (Clever man with Sudarshan Chakra) – People became shrewd and started using more advanced weapons (heralding Kali Yuga).
9. Buddha (who has attended wisdom) – People became clever and started advancing to the modern age.
10. Kalki – Very advanced human beings, both technologically and genetically.
An animated movie named ‘Dashavatar’ has been made on the concept of Dashavatar.
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