Dasa Avatars

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003, Ravishankar Venkatraman wrote:

> Could you please list all the 22 incarnations, and a source whee they are
> mentioned?


If Bhagavata 2.7 is being refered to, there are 24 and they are:

1. Varaha: In the shape of a boar, He rescued the earth which had sunk
below the ocean.

2. Suyagna:  The son of Ruchi Prajapati and Akuti.  He became
Indra and with His wife Dakshina fathered the Devas called Suyamas.

3. Kapila:  The son of Kardama Prajapati and Devahuti.  He was a great
sage and the founder of Samkhya and Yoga.

4. Dattatreya:  The son of Maharshi Atri.  He was a great sage and the
founder of
the avadhuta marga and Shrividya.

5. Sanatkumara, Sanaka, Sadananda, and Sanatana.  The mind-born sons of
Brahma.  They refused to take part in Creation and became sannyasis.

6. Nara and Narayana:  The twin sons of Dharma and Murti.  They do tapa
eternally at Badarikashrama.

7. Dhruva:  The son of King Uttanapada.  Through His tapa, He became the
pole-star.

8. Prthu:  The son of King Vena. When His wicked father went to Hell, He
rescued Him and purified the whole earth (which is called Prthvi after Him.)

9. Rshabhadeva: The son of King Nabhi and Sudevi.  He became a great
sage.

10. Hayagriva: He appeared from the Yagna of Brahma and taught the
Vedas and (Pancharatra) Agamas.

11. Matsya:  In the shape of a fish, He rescued Svayambhuva Manu from a
flood that engulfed the earth.

12. Kurma: When the Devas and Daityas were churning the ocean for Amrit,
He took the form of a tortoise to be the base of the churn.

13. Nrsimha:  In the form of a half-man half-lion, He saved His devotee
Prahlad from his wicked father.

14. Hari: When the elephant king (Gajendra) was in the grip of the
crocodile that personified maya, Shri Hari taught him Brahmavidya which
freed him.

15. Vamana:  In the form of a dwarf Brahmachari, in three strides He took
away the sovereignity of the Daityaraja Bali.

16. Hamsa: In the form of a swan, He taught Bhakti to Narada Muni.

17. Manu:  He inaugrates every cycle of samsara by becoming the Manu of
that age (manvantara.)

18. Dhanvantari:  The physcion of the Devas and the founder of Ayurveda.

19. Rama Bhargava (Parashurama):  When the Kshatriyas killed His father
the Rshi Bhrgu, He went round 21 times and killed them all.

20. Rama DAsharatha: He rid the world of Ravana and other Rakshasas.

21. Krishna and Balarama:  They were born to kill the daitya who had taken
human form such as Kamsa.  [note the text explicitly says Balarama is an
amsha of Shri Krishna.]

22.  Krshna Dvaipayana (Veda Vyasa):  He divided the Vedas into their four
parts and taught them to his students who founded all the shakhas.  He
wrote the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

23.  Buddha:  The Daityas had overcome the Devas by taking up Dharma.  He
confused them by teaching them heretical doctrines.

24.  Kalki:  At the end of the Kaliyuga He will usher in the pralaya and
bring in the next cycle of Samsara.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at debian.org>
La Salle Debain - http://www.braincells.com/debian/