10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu

As mentioned before, Vishnu is one of the three highest gods in Hindu mythology. Revered as the Protector, Vishnu’s responsibility is to ensure the universe’s balance, helping the world fight disasters and demons. Each time he descends to earth to save, God Vishnu does not appear directly but through different layers of incarnation. He has 10 incarnations, corresponding to 10 times he came to earth to help people avoid disasters. Include:

1. MATSYA

This is the first incarnation of the god Vishnu, in the form of a fish (or a half-man, half-fish creature).

It was the beginning of the world, the age of Satya Yuga. Vishnu predicted a great flood that would wipe out all living things. Wanting to save humanity, Lord Vishnu transformed into a fish and let Manu – the first human in the world and also considered the first king of India – catch it. Manu allowed the fish to return to the sea, but the fish suddenly spoke up and asked to be kept. Manu left the fish on his ship, and just a few days later, the size of the Matsya fish became huge. It informed Manu about the date and time of the great flood and advised him to build a boat and choose the people and animals to be on the boat to preserve the race for the earth.

When the cataclysm took place, Manu’s boat could not withstand the stormy rain. Matsya appeared again and used his strength to push the boat towards the Himalayas, saving the lives of all living creatures on the boat to start a new world. New world.

2. KURMA

The second incarnation of Lord Vishnu is the giant turtle Kurma. As told in the event of Churning the Milky Sea, when the Devas and Asuras together captured the snake Vasuki and stirred the sea with Mandara mountain to find treasures, the mountain could not withstand the power of the gods, and Asuras gradually sank to the bottom of the sea. Seeing that, God Vishnu turned into the turtle Kurma, carrying the whole mountain on his back so that people could continue the work of churning the sea for 1,000 years.

In addition, in this event, Lord Vishnu “carried the team” again by transforming into the beautiful fairy Mohini to reclaim the bottle of immortality water from Asura’s hands.

3. VARAHA

The third incarnation of Lord Vishnu is the wild boar Varaha, with a pig’s head and a human body with four arms. There was the demon Hiranyaksha, who stole the Vedas while Brahma was sleeping. He used the power of the scripture to create another great flood to sink the whole world into the ocean. Lord Vishnu transformed into Varaha and fought a battle that lasted a thousand years before killing Hiranyaksha and using his snout to lift the earth out of the water.

4. NARASIMHA

The fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is a creature with a human body and a lion’s head, looking extremely heroic. That’s when the demon Hiranyakasipu – (brother of the demon Hiranyaksha who once intended to engulf the world) appeared and spread disaster everywhere to avenge his brother’s death. He once prayed sincerely and was granted a favor by Brahma: no human or animal could kill him. He would not be killed during the day or at night, inside or outside the house. God. And that is no different than making him immortal like a god. 

To destroy Hiranyakasipu, Lord Vishnu transformed into Narasimha, half man, half lion, neither human nor animal. God collapsed the pillars in Hiranyakasipu’s house, causing a hole in the roof, so it was neither indoors nor outdoors, and he waited for the exact moment of sunset – the moment between day and night. Using his sharp claws, he tore apart the demon Hiranyakasipu.

5. VAMANA

At that time on earth, there was an Asura named Bali. He is a powerful Asura, an intelligent and talented king, and also very chivalrous. With Bali’s power and strength, the gods worry that he will soon master the three worlds, and the gods cannot do anything. So they came to pray to Lord Vishnu to conquer Bali.

Vishnu incarnated into a poor and short monk named Vamana. He came to Bali’s door to beg for alms. Seeing Vamana’s poor appearance, Bali generously said he would accept everything Vamana requested. Vamana said he only asked for a piece of land as small as 3 feet. As soon as Bali agreed, Vamana suddenly turned into a giant. With just one step, he stepped through heaven. With the second step, he stepped through hell. Bali knew this fruit was to be eaten, so he voluntarily bent down to let Vamana place the third step on his head as an act of submission. At that time, Vamana appeared as Lord Vishnu. 

Bali was forced to return the power to govern the world to the gods. But after all, he was kind and generous, so God Vishnu gave him control of Patala – a land in hell where it is rumored that living there is a thousand times more beautiful and happier than the earthly world.

6. PARASHURAMA

With the appearance of a bearded man holding a bow and a battle ax in both hands, Vishnu was born as a preacher and also a warrior. 

On behalf of the gods, Parashurama restored order in society, avoiding the tyranny of the Kshatriya warrior class at that time and returning the superiority to the Brahman class. Because the gods believe that letting preachers rule the world will be more fair and peaceful than martial generals. Parashurama destroyed Kshatriya warriors 21 times to regain authority for the Brahman caste. 

7. RAMA

In the famous epic Ramayana, Prince Rama is the 7th incarnation of the god Vishnu, who came to earth to destroy the demon king Ravana. To summarize the Ramayana epic like this: Rama was the eldest prince of the kingdom of Ayodhya. He was supposed to become king, but when he died, his half-brothers sent him to the forest to go to a new economic zone for 14 years. His wife, the beautiful Sita, was taken away by the demon king Ravana. The story is about the journey of Rama, his younger brother Lakshmana, and the loyal monkey general Hanuman to destroy Ravana and free Sita. Thinking there would be a happy ending, Rama listened to Sita’s detractors and doubted her virtue. Later, the family fell apart. Rama listened to Brahma and abandoned his anger and delusion, giving the kingdom to his children and grandchildren. Reincarnated as Lord Vishnu, returning to heaven.

8. KRISHNA

Lord Krishna is the next incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is considered the most important incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu is the 8th child of Devaki – the sister of the demon king Kamsa. Kamsa received a prophecy that a nephew would kill him, so he killed Krishna’s six brothers individually. Only Krishna, given up for adoption to a cowherd farmer family, escaped.

Even as a young boy, Krishna had the wisdom, power, and magic of a god. Demon King Kamsa repeatedly sent his monster minions to kill the boy, but they were all easily defeated. Krishna is also very good at playing the flute, is a mischievous person, likes to tease people, but is also an amorous lover, likes to tease and flirt with girls, and generally has an extremely liberal and free lifestyle. 

Legend has it that Krishna had thousands of ghosts in his life, but the girl he loved the most was Radha. The love of Krishna and Radha is beautiful in the minds of Indian people, and they often use sweet words like “Krishna of your life” or “Radha of my heart”… to call the person they love.

Later, Krishna killed the demon king Kamsa as prophesied and became king. He also appears and plays an important role in the epic Mahabharata as a supporter of the warrior Arjuna. At the end of this 8th life, Krishna went to sit in a forest. A hunter, thinking Krishna was a deer, shot with his bow and hit his heel – his vital point. Krishna left this world and returned as the supreme god Vishnu.

Krishna is considered the most important incarnation of Lord Vishnu because this demi-god has many feats of fighting against nature, against demons, against gods, and brutal forces in society. He is also a talented artist who created dances under the autumn moon and magical bamboo flutes. The shepherds worshiped him as a hero of the people. 

The stories about the miracles of Lord Krishna are really many and very long, like a long poem, and we cannot tell them all here. 

Epic would like to summarize one of the interesting stories about Krishna: At that time, people in the area often had the custom of worshiping the god Indra (Indra), hoping for good weather and wind. Krishna saw this and advised everyone not to worship Indra. Because this man is not a supreme god, nor does he make the weather favorable. Instead, they worship nature’s gods, such as mountain and river gods… People listened and brought incense, flowers, and fruits to worship the mountain god Govardhan, which was actually Krishna transformed. He happily accepted all the offerings, filling the cup with everything. God Indra was very angry when he saw that. Because he was the god of thunderstorms and storms, he sent troops to surround the mountain, pouring rainwater to drown everything. God Krishna gently used one finger to lift the giant Govardhan mountain to shield the people from the rain. It rained heavily for 7 days and 7 nights, but the whole land did not see a drop of water.

9. BUDDHA

Vishnu transformed into Prince Siddhartha (Siddhartha) – a real figure in Indian history and the founder of Buddhism. Centuries passed after his death, and this historical face entered Indian mythology from real life after Buddhism was no longer considered a danger to Hinduism. Buddha is recognized as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu and is solemnly worshiped in the Indian pantheon.

Prince Siddhartha was living happily with his wife and children in luxury when he suddenly asked to go out and observe the country and its people. He saw with his own eyes the suffering of people through birth, old age, sickness, and death, and from there, he became depressed and determined to find a way to free sentient beings from the ocean of suffering. So Siddhartha said goodbye to his wife and family, embarked on the arduous path of spiritual practice, and finally attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, becoming Buddha.

10. KALKI

According to Hindu mythology, we live in the age of Kali Yuga, an age full of suffering and disease. But after 400,000 years, Vishnu will descend for the last time in the incarnation of Kalki, the god riding on a white horse with his brilliant sword to destroy the last demons and evil humans. Left before the world was reset.