STORIES FROM SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 7 - TWENTY-TWO AVATARAS OF MAHA VISHNU
Most people have heard of Dasa Avatara – the ten incarnations of Maha Vishnu, but did you know that the Lord has several Avataras in addition to these ten? Srimad Bhagavatam describes twenty-two Avataras:
1.
The Kumaras (Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara). They are child-sages
who are Manasa Putras (mind-born sons) of Brahma.
2.
Varaha or the divine boar who lifted the earth when it had sunk to the depth of
the ocean.
3.
Narada the celestial sage
4.
In His fourth Avatara, the Lord appeared in the dual form of the two sages Nara
and Narayana, who practiced severe Tapas (austerities). It is believed that the
same Nara and Narayana in their next birth were born as Arjuna and Sri Krishna
respectively.
5.
Sage Kapila, who taught the Sankhya system of philosophy.
6.
Dattatraya, the son of Anasuya (sage Atri’s wife). Dattatraya was a joint
Avatara of the Trimurtis Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.
7.
Yagna, the son of Prajapati Ruchi and his wife Akuti. He held the position of
Indra during the first Manvantara presided over by Swavambhuva Manu.
8.
Rishabha Deva, the son of king Nabhi and his wife queen Meru Devi. In this
Avatara, the Lord taught, by his own example, the mode of life of the
Paramahamsas – fully enlightened souls who have controlled their senses and
attained perfection.
9.
King Prithu, who made the earth yield her products like crops, plants and
trees. One of the names of the earth is Prithvi. This name is derived from
Prithu.
10.
Matsya, the divine fish. At the end of the Chaakshusha Manvantara, when the
three worlds were being submerged by the ocean, the Lord took the form of a
fish and rescued Vaivasvata Manu (who presides over the present Vaivasvata
Manvantara) by placing him on the earth which had taken the form of a boat.
11.
Kurma, the tortoise. When the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) churned the
ocean for nectar, the Lord took the form of Kurma and supported Mount Mandhara
(which was used as the churning stick) on his back.
12.
In his twelfth Avatara, the Lord appeared in the form of Dhanvantari, who
emerged from the ocean with a jar full of nectar.
13.
Mohini, the beautiful woman. Mohini gave the Devas the nectar to drink, while
she kept the Asuras spellbound with her beauty. Lord Ayyappa (also known as
Dharma Sastha) is the son of Siva and Mohini. This is why Ayyappa is also known
as Hariharaputra. Hari is Vishnu, Hara is Siva and Putra is son.
14.
Narasimha, the man-lion who killed the wicked Asura Hiranyakashipu.
15.
Vamana, the dwarf who visited the sacrifice of the Asura king Bali and asked
for three paces of land. In one pace or step, he covered the entire earth. In
the second step, he covered the heavens. Bali asked the Lord to place his foot
on his head for his third step. Vamana placed his head on Bali’s head, thereby
sending Bali to Patala Loka (the nether world), where Bali rules till today.
16.
Parasurama, the wielder of the axe. When the Kshatriyas became arrogant and
hostile towards the Brahmanas, Parasurama was enraged and wiped out the
Kshatriya race from the earth as many as twenty-one times.
17.
Vyasa, the son of sage Parasara and Satyavati. Finding people to be of poor
intelligence (and hence incapable of studying the entire Veda), Vyasa divided
the Vedas into four branches – the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas. He
assigned each branch to different Rishis
so that all the branches would be thus preserved. Vyasa is the author of the
Mahabharata and the eighteen major Puranas including Srimad Bhagavata
Mahapurana.
18.
Rama, the son of Dasaratha. In this Avatara, the Lord rids the earth of Ravana
and many other Rakshasas. Rama is known as Maryada Purushottama – one who
adheres to Dharma, duty and righteousness at all costs. In Rama Avatara, the
Lord teaches the world, through His own example, how the ideal son, ideal
brother, ideal friend, ideal king and ideal husband should live. In short, Rama
is an ideal human being, an example for us all.
19.
Balarama, the elder brother of Sri Krishna.
20.
Sri Krishna, who rid the earth of its burden of Asuras and villains like Kamsa,
Sisupala and many others. Sri Krishna gave us the divine Bhagavad Gita. Krishna
Avatara is dealt with in detail in Srimad Bhagavatam.
21.
Buddha. Srimad Bhagavatam was written thousands of years before the birth of
Buddha, but it predicts the birth of Buddha.
22.
Kalki. Srimad Bhagavatam says that, towards the end of the present Kali Yuga,
rulers will mostly turn into robbers [we seem to be well on our way in this
regard]. Maha Vishnu will be born as Lord Kalki, son of a Brahmana named
Vishnuyasha, to redeem the world from the evils of the Kali age.
Look
at the mercy and love the Lord has for his devotees. It is to redeem the
sufferings of his devotees that the Lord descends upon earth from time to time.
Sri Krishna Himself says:
Paritranaya sadhunam
Vinasaya cha duskrtam
Dharma-samsthapanarthaya
Sambhavami yuge yuge
(Bhagavad Gita 4.8)
Meaning:
“In order to deliver the good and pious and to destroy the wicked, as well as
to reestablish Dharma, I advent Myself age after age.”
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