Ten Incarnations of Vishnu

Matsya

The Fish incarnated to save humanity from the Great Flood at the end of the first Satya-yuga.

Kurma

The Tortoise incarnated to assist the Devas in churning the ocean to create the amrut.

Varāha

The Boar incarnated to retrieve the Earth and the Vedas from the demon Hiranyaksha.

Narasiṅvha

The Man-lion incarnated near modern day Vaitarna to destroy the demon Hiranyakashipu.

Vāmana

The Short man incarnated to destroy the demon Bali by measuring the heavens and the Earth in two steps and by crushing the demon’s head with the third.

Parashurāma

Incarnated as a Brahmin 7000 years ago to punish the arrogance of wayward kings – the Kshatriyas – and to re-establish dharma among men.

Rāma

As narrated in the epic ‘Ramayana’, He was the ideal king and human being who incarnated around 5000 BC to establish the maryadas, the boundaries of good conduct. He is the deity of the right Heart chakra.

Kṛishna

As narrated in the epic ‘Mahabharata’, He incarnated around 3000 BC to free humanity from the rigidity of religious rituals with his playful leela, as the god of yoga, Yogeshwara and the deity of the Vishuddhi chakra. Krishna’s death marks the beginning of Kali-yuga.

Jesus Christ

Incarnated from 0-33 AD as Mahavishnu, Mahaganesha and Mahavirata to open the Agnya chakra.

Kalki

The immaculate rider of the last days of Kali-yuga, the deity of the Sahasrara chakra.