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Mighty Avengers
Incarnations of Vishnu
Shrimad Bhāgavata says that the original form of Mahā Viśnu is Nārāyanā which is the imperishable seed of various avatars and to which they all return (I.3.5). Shrimad Bhāgavata refers to 21 avatars of Narayana and the twenty second avatar Kalki is yet to come. Generally, only ten avatars of Mahā Viśnu are often referred to. They are popularly known as dasa-avatars (dasa means ten) are Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasimha, Vāmana, Parasurāma, Rāma, Kṛśna, Buddha and Kalki. Out of this ten, Kalki avatar is yet to happen, probably towards the end of kaliyug. Some texts include Balarama in the place of Buddha.
Following are the 22 avatars mentioned in Bhāgavata. They are Sanaka Kumarās, Vāraha, Sage Nāradā, Nara and Nārāyanā, Sage Kapila, Sage Dattatreya, Aakūti, Riśabadeva, Prithu, Matsya, Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Narasimha, Vāmanā, Paraśuramā, Sage Vyāsā, Rāmā, Balarāmā, Kriśna, Buddha and kalki (I.3.6-25).
Sanaka Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanadana, Sanatana and Sanat kumara) are four young and yet very powerful sages. They went to the abode of Vishnu. They were prevented by the two gate keepers (dwara balaka). The young sages cursed the gate keepers for having prevented them to have darshan of Vishnu. Knowing this Vishnu came out and pacified the sages. Because of the curse of Sanat Kumaras, the door keepers of Vaikuntha were born as demons by name Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha. There is a reference to Sanat Kumara in Chandogya Upanishad. Chapter 7 of this Upanishad begins by saying that sage Narada went to Sanat Kumara and said "Bhagavaḥ adhīhi iti" which means ‘Sir, please teach me.' Sanat Kumaras are said to be the sons of Lord Brahma and attained siddhi (self realisation) at their young age. Narayana Kavacha (verse 17) prays "Sanath kumaro aavathu kama devath" which means ‘let sage Sanat Kumara protect me from lust.' (Narayana Kavacha forms part of Srimad Bhagavata (VI.8.). Sanat Kumaras are considered to be the source of knowledge. They are said to be incarnation of Vishnu. This is considered as the first incarnation of Vishnu from His original form of Purusha (Para-atma or Paramatma or the Brahman).
The curse of Sanat Kumaras made the gate keepers born as demons. Out of the two demons, Hiranyaksha submerged the planet Earth in waters. Vishnu incarnated in the form of a tiny boar by coming out of Brahma's nose and He grew huge in size, killed the demon and saved the planet earth. This is known as Varaha avatar, the second incarnation. He is said to give protection while travelling.
His third incarnation is Sage Narada (Bhagavata I.3.7). Narayana Kavacha (Bharavata (VI.8.17) says that Narada protects against drawbacks in the worship of deities. There are 32 transgressions in worshipping a deity. Sins arising out of such transgressions do not accrue with the blessings of Narada.
Fourth incarnation of Vishnu is Nara and Narayana. They are twin brothers born to Dharma Deva and his wife Murti (Narayaneeyam 16.2). Both of them killed a demon after performing tapas for many years. They taught spirituality and won over Cupid, the God of love.
His fifth incarnation is sage Kapila. He was born to Prajapati Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of Manu Swayambhuva (there are 14 Manvantras. Manvantra is a period consisting of several thousands of years and each such manvantra is ruled by different Manus.) (Brahmanda Purana- Chapters 43 and 50). Vishnu incarnated in the form of sage Kapila as their tenth son (Narayaneeyam: canto 14). Sage Kapila taught about Atma and Self-realization. He is said to be the Lord of Prakriti consisting of three gunas and saves one from bondage of actions (karma).
His sixth incarnation is Dattatreya. He is the master of yoga and guards against abandoning the practice of yoga. He is considered Guru of gurus. There are different opinions regarding this incarnation. Some texts say that He is the incarnation of Brahma some others say He is Vishnu and yet others say Shiva. There is an Upanishad by name ‘Dattatreya Upanishad'. When rishis approached Vishnu for initiation, Vishnu advised them to recite "I am Datta". There are several Dattatreya mantras. He is the son of sage Atri. The dialogue between sage Bhargava and Datta is known as ‘Tripura Rahasya', the glory of Goddess Tripura.
Vishnu's seventh incarnation is Yajna (Yajna means fire rituals). He was born to Aakūti (aakuti is the oblations offered into fire in a fire ritual) and Ruchi and performed a number of yajnas. Ruchi was holding the post of Indra during Swayambhuva manvantra, the first of 14 manvatras. (Bhagavata I.3.10)
His eighth incarnation was Riśabadeva. It is said to be a partial incarnation. He was born to Nabhi and his wife Meru Devi. Nabhi transferred the responsibilities of administering his kingdom to Riśabadeva. After knowing his greatness and out of jealousy, Indra stopped rain to his kingdom. But Riśabadeva brought abundant rainfall through his yogic powers. Finally, he left his body through a forest fire in Coorg Mountains. He led a typical life of a Paramahamsa (it literally means the great swan. It is an epithet of knower of Brahman whose soul sports like a swan in placid ocean of Pure consciousness and eternal bliss.) (Narayaneeyam: Canto 20)
His ninth avatar was Prithu. There was a king by name Anga. He had an evil son by name Vena. Anga upset over his son's behavior went to forest to meditate on Vishnu. Vena was crowned as the king. He abused sages who advised him to pursue virtuous path. Sages cursed him and he died after a month (it must be remembered that curses from ordinary persons are also powerful and are capable of causing miseries). His body was preserved. As there was no king to administer the kingdom, the sages churned up his thighs and arms of his body and made the body sinless. While they were churning the body's hands, there appeared King Prithu, another incarnation of Vishnu. He did all auspicious things to his kingdom. During this incarnation of Prithu, He met Sanaka kumaras. As taught by sage Sanaka, He went to forest for further spiritual pursuits. (Narayaneeyam: Canto 18)
His tenth incarnation was Matsya avatar. When there was pralaya (annihilation) at the end of sixth manvantra, Brahma was in deep sleep. There was a demon by name Hayagriva (different from the Hayagriva form of Vishnu) who stole all the Vedas from the mind and memory of Lord Brahma. Vishnu took the form of a fish (matsya) to save the Vedas. (Narayaneeyam: Canto 32)
His eleventh avatar was Kūrma (tortoise). When the gods and demons began churning the ocean with Mount Mandara using serpent Vasuki as the churning string, Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and supported the Mount Mandara on His back. (Bhagavata I.3.16)
His twelfth incarnation was Dhanvantari. During the process of churning Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu emerged. Then inebriating liquor, the source of sin and vice gushed out. Finally, there appeared Dhanvantri with excellent complexion carrying in his hand a pot of ambrosia. (Narayaneeyam: Canto 28)
His thirteenth avatar was Mohini (temptress). When Dhanvantri brought ambrosia, the demons took the pot from Him. Suddenly Dhanvantri disappeared. Due to Vishnu's maya, there arose a quarrel amongst the demons. When the demons were fighting there appeared a beautiful young woman. On seeing this woman (Mohini avatar) the demons stopped their fight and asked Mohini whether she could distribute the ambrosia amongst them. When she agreed, the demons handed over the pot containing the ambrosia to her. In the melee, ambrosia was given to gods. Shiva became curious to see Vishnu's Mohini form. It is said that the conqueror of Cupid Shiva lost his mental balance for a moment on seeing the beauty of Mohini. (Narayaneeyam: Canto 29)
His fourteenth Avatar is Narasimha avatar, whose form is widely worshipped. In Varaha avatar, Vishnu killed the demon Hiranyākśā. His brother Hiranyaksipu deeply grieved by the death of his brother vowed to destroy Vishnu. He did tapas and got a boon from Brahma that would not be killed by any gods, humans and beasts. After having obtained this boon, he conquered Indra and reached Vaikuntha. Vishnu made Himself into a subtle form and entered the heart of Hiranyaksipu. After failing to find Narayana, Hiranyakasipu was under the impression that fearing him, Vishnu had ran away. The demon returned to his kingdom. Prahalada was born to him and became a great devotee of Vishnu. Hiranyakasipu tried all means to prevent Prahalada from being a devotee of Vishnu but he miserably failed. He then decided to eliminate Prahalada, but again Hiranyaksipu failed. Deeply disconcerted with Prahalada's behaviour, one day Hiranyakasipu asked Prahalada who supports him. Prahalada replied by saying that Vishnu is the supporter of everything including Hiranyakasipu. Challenging his son, Hiranyakasipu struck a huge pillar with his mighty sword. There was a noise much louder than a thunder. By ripping open the pillar there appeared a form that was neither a god nor a human nor a beast. His body looked that of a human and his face and hands resembled a lion. This was the form of Narasimha (nara – human; simha- lion). Lord Narasimha put Hiranyakasipu on his lap tear open his chest by roaring like a lion. His roarings rattled all the worlds. Everyone was scared to go anywhere near Narasimha. But, Prahalada prostrated before Narasimha and by whose love, Lord Narasimha cooled down and vanished. (Narayaneeyam: Canto 25) This incarnation is said to be of shortest duration. There are two Upanishads for this incarnation. They are Nrisimha Pūrvathāpini Upaniśad and Nrisimha Utharathāpini Upansihad. Nrisimha mantra beginning with ‘ugram vīram mahā viśnuṃ' is known as Mantra Raja, which means the king of all mantras or the superior mantra. There are 32 letters in this mantra and each of these letters represents one god. There are specific ways of reciting this mantra rajam in combination with certain other mantras which eradicates all miseries (Nrisimhathapani Upanishads)
Vishnu's fifteenth avatar is Vamana. Vamana means dwarf. Bali was an emperor, son of Virochana and grandson of Prahaladha (refer Narasimha avatar) He was killed in a battle with Indra, but resurrected by Sukra, the guru for demons. Bali performed various yajnas and attained superior prowess. Bali started a huge fire ritual. If he attains more prowesses through this yajna, gods have no option except to flee. Agni, the god of fire (God of fire, Agni is invoked in all fire rituals like yajna. Agni is the carrier of oblations offered in the yajna to Gods and Goddesses) and other gods met Vishnu and sought His protection. Bali used to give whatever is asked for from him. Vishnu was born as a dwarf to sage Kashyap and his wife Aditi. When the divine dwarf grew up, He reached the sacrificial place where Bali was performing Ashvamedha yajna. Bali on seeing the shine of divinity around Vamana, welcomed Him. Bali offered to give Vamana whatever is asked for. Vamana asked for earth measureable by three steps of His feet. Sukra, the guru for asuras (demons) warned Bali that the dwarf is Vishnu only. Bali said out of arrogance and ego "It is the Lord that begs from me". Lord Vamana grew in size and won over all the three worlds ruled by Bali. Finally, Vishnu blessed Bali because of his various auspicious deeds. There is an Upanishad by name Varaha Upanishad that contains teaching of Lord Varaha, mostly on realizing the Brahman (Valmiki Ramayana – Bala Kanda - Canto 29 and Narayaneeyam cantos 30 and 31). Vishnu's famous three steps are cited in Vedas too. (The first stride is the Earth. The second stride is the visible sky. The third stride cannot be seen by men and is the heaven where the gods and the righteous dead live.)
Sixteenth incarnation of Vishnu is Parasurama, a brahmin sage. He was born to Jamadagni and Renuka in the linage of sage Brighu. Parasu means axe. He did penance to please Shiva who gave Him the famous axe. In this avatar, Vishnu incarnates himself as a brahman Shiva. He incarnated to avenge all kshatriyas (class of warriors) who were suppressing the Brahmins (knower of Vedas). He was born with strange physical power, and became a great fighter. Kartavirya a powerful king, once went to Jamadagni's home and stole the Kamadhenu cow, which was giving infinite quantity of milk. Jamadgni was enraged and he went and killed the king and brought Kamadhenu back. On hearing this, son of the king came back and killed Jamdagni. Parasurama was enraged at this and avenged the death of his father by killing kshatriyas in 21 battles. Lord Rama and Parasurama (both are incarnations of Lord Vishnu) meet each other face to face in Valmiki Ramayana. Parasurama is a short-tempered sage. He chopped off His mother's head, who was however resurrected immediately. (Valkimi Ramayana – Bala Kanda 74 and 75, Bhagavata IX.15, 16 and Narayaneeyam canto 36)
Seventeenth incarnation of Vishnu is sage Vyasa. He was born to sage Parashara and Satyavati. He was responsible in dividing The Vedas into three branches Rik Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda (Some citations also include Atharva Veda). Atharva Veda is considered as subsequent origin. He has also authored 18 great puranas (epics), Brahma Sutra, Srimad Bhagavata (which includes Bhagavad Gita) and Mahabharata. Vyasa is one among the eight ‘siranjeevis' (immortals). The other seven are Aswathtama, Hanuman, Kripachairar, Maha Bali (discussed under 15th incarnation Vamana), Vibishana (brother of Ravanaa), Markendeya, Sage Vyasa and Parasurama (the last two being incarnations of Lord Vishnu). The main purpose of this incarnation is to improve the quality of humanity making them to do more and more virtuous acts. This incarnation is mainly spent on writing highly valuable reading materials.
Vishnu's eighteenth incarnation is Lord Rama. This is well known avatar and the famous epic Ramayana is based on this incarnation. Ramayana is a typical example how one should rule his country. Ramayana has seven chapters (kanda) consisting of 24000 verses. There are contradictory opinions on the number of chapters. The seventh chapter, uttarakanda is said to be a later addition. Ramayana opens with a question posed by sage Valmiki, the author of Ramayana to Narada that describes the qualities of Lord Rama in a nut shell. Valmiki wants to know a person with the following qualities: full of virtues, the possessor of prowess and knows what is right, conscious of services done, truthful speech, firm in resolutions, possessor of right conduct, friendly to all living beings, man of knowledge, lovable appearance, who has subdued his senses and conquered anger and a man of splendor. Narada tells Valmiki about Rama and Ramayana unfolds.
His nineteenth incarnation is Balarama. He is the elder brother of Lord Krishna. It is generally accepted that Sesha, the well known snake on which Narayana lies down (anantha sayanam) is incarnated as Balarama. He is considered as an embodiment of wisdom and knowledge. Balarama is also known as Sankarshana. It is also said that both Balarama and Krishna are of same identity with different bodily forms. At the time of Balarama's death, it is said that a huge snake went out his body through his mouth. When Baladeva (another name for Balarama) appeared as the seventh child in the womb of Devaki, she could understand that this was a divine child. Even Kamsa could sense His potency and was scared, thinking he may have been tricked by the prophecy that he will be killed only by the eighth child of Devaki. At this time Krishna instructed Yogamaya, His internal potency, to transfer the unborn child from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva, who was hiding from Kamsa in the house of Nanda Maharaja in Gokulam. This is how Balarama escaped death from the hands of Kamsa. Balarama and Krishna co-existed at the same time.
Twentieth incarnation of Vishnu is Sri Krishna, the Supreme Master and His masterly teaching to the world is Srimad Bhagavad Gita, which has 700 verses placed in 18 chapters. Gits is the condensed version of entire Upanishads. Srimad Bhagavata has 18000 verses in 12 kandas revolves around Sri Krishna is another epic like Ramayana. Srimad Bhagavata also begins with a dialogue involving sage Narada. The epic begins by saying ‘We sing the glory of Sri Krishna, who is all truth, all consciousness and bliss and who is responsible for the creation, sustenance and destruction." Srimad Bhagavata teaches how one should lead life. Krishna teaches in detail through Bhagavad Gita, the quality life one can lead to attain final liberation. The whole epic is full of sastras and disciplines of life. Narayaneeyam is another mini epic singing the praise of Lord Krishna. It consists of 1036 verses in 100 canots and is called a condensed version of Bhagavata. Narayaneeyam is authored by Melputhur Narayana Bhattadri at his 27th year. Most of the verses are in praise of Lord Krishna.
In Kali yug (the current period), it is said that Vishnu incarnated as Buddha (21st incarnation), though there are divergent views on this. But Srimad Bhagavata (I.iii.25) says "When Kali sets in, He will be born in Magadha (North Bihar, India) as Buddha, son of Ajna, with a view to deluding the enemies of gods. Buddha means the enlightened one. Buddha walked out of his palace and searched for truth for six years. His teachings were based mainly on the following ‘four noble truths'. 1. Life is full of sufferings. 2. Our passion is the cause for miseries. 3. Renouncing self-centered desires is the only way out to escape from sufferings. 4. There is an eight fold path to attain this. It is the combination of understanding, thought, speech, conduct, vocation, effort, mindfulness and meditation. Zen mediation is the discovery of Buddhism.
Vishnu's twenty second incarnation is yet to come in the form of Kalki. Srimad Bhagavata (I.iii.25) "then again, towards the end of Kali yug, when the kings mostly turn into robbers, the Lord of the universe will take descent as Lord Kalki in the descent of Vishnuyasha."
In some instances, it can be observed that two incarnations ran concurrently. Krishna and Balarama; Parasurama and Rama are the typical examples. Vishnu is the Supreme Lord and He can take whatever shapes and forms He likes. Secondly, the second form can also be considered as maya of the Lord. Valmiki Ramayana (Balakanda – 29.9) says "Therefore, assuming the semblance of dwarf by establishing contact with Maya, the energy which veils your true nature and invest you with a seemingly human or mortal character for the sake of doing good to gods, be pleased to serve our best interest." Every incarnation personifies one attribute of the Brahman and conveys to the world how miseries can be overcome.
About the Author
Sharing spiritual experience through detailed discussion on Indian Scriptures, the complicated kundalini meditation, mantras and self-realization. Occasional discussion on astrology and other allied subjects in my blog http://manblunder.com
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