VISHNU PICTURE GALLERY and 24 AVATAR of Vishnu - Page 2

Dasavatara


The ten most well known descents of Vishnu are collectively known as the Dasavatara (Sanskrit: ten avatars). This list is included in the Garuda Purana

The first four are said to have appeared in the Satya Yuga (the first of the four Yugas or ages in the time cycle described within Hinduism). The next three avatars appeared in the Treta Yuga, the eighth descent in the Dwapara Yuga and the ninth in the Kali Yuga. The tenth, Kalki, is predicted to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga.

Matsya, the fish-avatar who saved Manu - the progeniter of mankind from the great deluge and rescued the Vedic scriptures by killing a demon
Kurma, the tortoise-avatar, who helped in the Samudra manthan - the churing of the ocean
Varaha, the boar-avatar, who rescued the earth from the ocean, by killing her kidnapper-demon Hiranyaksha
Narasimha, the half man-half lion avatar, who killed the tyrant demon-king Hiranyakashipu, to rescue the demon's son Prahlada, who was a Vishnu-devotee
Vamana, the dwarf-avatar, who defeated the demon-king Bali
Parashurama, sage with the axe who killed the thousand-armed king Kartavirya Arjuna
Rama, the king of Ayodhya and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana
Krishna, the king of Dwarka, a central character in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata and reciter of Bhagavad Gita
The Buddha (Gautama Buddha) meaning "the enlightened one"
Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"), who is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga.

In the Bhagavata Purana

Mohini, the only female avatar of Vishnu

Four Kumaras [BP 1.3.6] - the four Sons of god Brahma
Varaha [BP 1.3.7]
Narada [BP 1.3.8] the divine-sage who travels the worlds as a devotee of Vishnu
Nara-Narayana [BP 1.3.9] - the twin-sages
Kapila [BP 1.3.10] - a sage and one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy
Dattatreya [BP 1.3.11] - the combined avatar of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Yajna [BP 1.3.12] - the lord of fire-sacrifice, who took was the Indra - the lord of heaven
Rishabha [BP 1.3.13] - the father of King Bharata and Bahubali
Prithu [BP 1.3.14] - the sovereign-king who milked the earth as a cow to get the world's grain and vegetation and also invented agriculture
Matsya [BP 1.3.15]
Kurma [BP 1.3.16]
Dhanvantari [BP 1.3.17] - the father of Ayurveda medicine
Mohini [BP 1.3.17] - the enchantress
Narasimha[BP 1.3.18]
Vamana [BP 1.3.19]
Parasurama [BP 1.3.20]
Vyasa [BP] 1.3.21] - the compiler of the scriptures - Vedas and writer of the scriptures Puranas and the epic Mahabharata
Rama [BP 1.3.22]
Balarama [BP 1.3.23]
Krishna [BP 1.3.23]
Buddha [BP 1.3.24]
Kalki [BP 1.3.25]
Besides these, another four avatars are described later on in the text as follows:

Prshnigarbha [BP 10.3.41] - the son of Prshni
Hayagriva [BP 2.7.11] - the horse-faced avatar
Hamsa [BP 11.13.19] - the swan
Golden avatra [BP 11.5.32] - the avatara in Kali-yuga for propagating hari-namasankirtan