Skip to main content

Vishnu Avatars

In Hinduism, an avatar is an incarnation of the ultimate supreme being. It is derived from the sanskrit word (अवतार) which means "descent".

 Ten avatars (Dasavatara) of Vishnu in Garuda Purana
  1. Matysa - fish, appeared in Satya Yuga (represented by a man carrying a small pot)
  2. Kurma - tortoise, appeared in Satya Yuga
  3. Varaha - boar, appeared in Satya Yuga
  4. Narasimha - half-man/half-lion, appeared in Satya Yuga
  5. Vamana - dwarf, appeared in Treta Yuga (represented by a man carrying a Cow and an Anchor)
  6. Parashurama - rama with the axe, appearaed in Treta Yuga
  7. Rama - king of Ayodhya, appared in Treta Yuga
  8. Krishna - dark coloured, appeared in Dwapara Yuga (represented by a man carrying a Bow and Axe)
  9. Buddha - enlightened one, appeared in Kali Yuga (represented by a man without clothes)
  10. Kalki - eternity or destroyer of foulness, appeared in Kali Yuga
Twenty Five (25) avatars of Vishnu in Bhagavata Purana
  1. Catursana - four sons of brahma (god of knowledge)
  2. Varaha - board
  3. Narada - travelling sage
  4. Nara-Narayana - twins
  5. Kapila - philospher
  6. Dattatreya - brahma, vishnu & maheshwara
  7. Yajna - role of Indra
  8. Rishabha - father of King Bharata
  9. Prithu - King who made earth beautiful
  10. Matsya - fish
  11. Kurama - tortoise
  12. Dhanavantari - father of ayurveda
  13. Mohini - attractive woman
  14. Narasimha - half-man/half-lion
  15. Vamana - dwarf
  16. Parasurama - rama with the axe
  17. Vyasa - writer of vedas
  18. Rama - king of Ayodhya
  19. Balarama - Krishna's elder brother
  20. Krishna - dark coloured & cowherd
  21. Buddha - englightened one
  22. Kalki - destroyer
  23. Prshnigarbha - born to prshni
  24. Hayagriva - horse
  25. Hamsa - swan

Popular posts from this blog

Goree Island - Africa's known slave trade memorial

The Goree Island (meaning good harbor in French) is 3.5 kms off the coast of Dakar, Senegal (measuring 27 hectares or 900 meters by 300 meters). The island has 1,800 inhabitants (1,000 Christians and 800 Moslims). This island has no car or no crime.   Between 15 th  to 19 th  century, it was the largest slave trading center on the Africa coast. It is estimated that 2 Million Africans were shipped or passed through the island to work in the plantations in Europe and the Americas. Ruled earlier by Portugese, Dutch, English and French, it continues to remind us of human exploitation (slave trading). As I understand, 1.2 to 2.0 Million Africans died during the transport.  The small fort called slave house was built in 1776. This house of slave ( Maison des Esclaves)  on Goree Island and the story is that millions of African slaves passed through the house's “Door of No Return”, facing the west across the Atlantic ocean. The slave houses had 150 to 2...
Read more

Importance of Dhanurmasa

Dhanur Masa or Dhanurmas is a month in the Hindu calendar. It corresponds to the zodiac sign of Saggitarius (Sun transits through Saggitarius). The Dhanus month or masa is called Margazhi (Margali) in the Tamil Hindu calendar. Dhanurmasa is also called as Shoonya Masa as it is considered inauspicious to do any good thing other than God and Holy functions. According to tradition, Gods wake up early in the morning during the month of Dhanurmasa. Special prayers are offered to Sri Maha Vishnu during the auspicious period of "Brahm Muhurta", i.e one and half hours before sunrise. During this month, devotees offer prayers to the Lord very early in the morning. The month of Dhanurmasa is considered a very special month for performing Puja of Vishnu. Vishnu Sahasranama is chanted during the period. The 30 pasurams/verses of Thiruppavai will be recited to wake up Lord Vishnu. Thiru means Sacred and Ppavai means Vrat. It is believed that Goddess Goda Devi, also known as Andal has comp...
Read more

The 7 Main Chakras

Chakra pronounced in Hindi as Pali, in Chinese as Chakka and in Tibet as Khorlo is a sanskrit work meaning "Wheel".   Chakras are depicted as flower like or wheel like. When it is depicted as flower like, a specific number of petals are shown around the circle. It is said that human body contains hundreds of chakras that are key to the operation of our being. According to ancient scriptures, a chakra is where 216 nadis (energy channels) cross over each other, forming energy spirals. The 7 main chakras in human body refer to the 7 energy centers of which our consciouness and energy system is composed. The 7 chakras are aligned along the spinal column. Each of the 7 main chakras is their own intelligence center. It means each chakra is not only associated with our physical health but also controls aspects connected to our physical, emotional, mental and belief system.   1.Muladhara/Base Chakra (last bone in spinal cord) 2.Svadhisthana/Sacral Chakra (ovaries and prostrate) 3.M...
Read more