Dashavatar दशावतार, a form of traditional folk theatre form
Maharashtra and Goa Konkan कोकण. Some places its colled Naman नमण,
Konkanche Khele कोकणचे खेले,
Loknatya Naman लोकनाट्य नमण,
Vagnatya वगनाट्य Tamasha
तमाशा and
Bharud भारुड
Enactment of religious episodes from Ramayana
रामायण, Mahabharata महाभारत, Gan गण, Gaulan गौळण,
Vinodi (Comedy) Farce विनोदी फार्स, Vagh वग, kalpnik Vagnatya काल्पनिक वगनाट्य and Bhagavata भगवतगिता by Mana-bhatas
It refers to the ten avatars of Vishnu विष्णू, the Hindu god of preservation. Vishnu is said to descend in form
of an avatar to restore cosmic order.
Youtube Playlist
The list of Dashavatara varies across sects and
regions. The standard list is as follows: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna क्रृष्ण, Buddha, and Kalki.
Sometimes, Krishna replaces Vishnu as the source of all avatars and Balarama takes
Krishna's place in the list. In other versions, Krishna may be dropped from the
list and substituted by regional deities like Vithoba विठोबा, Jagannath or
Balarama बलराम.
1. Matsya,
the fish, from the Satya Yuga. Vishnu takes the form of a fish to
save Manu from the deluge, after which he takes his boat to the
new world along with one of every species of plant and animal, gathered in a
massive cyclone.
2. Kurma,
the tortoise, from the Satya Yuga. When the devas and asuras were
churning the Ocean of milk in order to get Amrita, the nectar of
immortality, the mount Mandara they were using as the churning staff started to
sink and Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to bear the weight of the mountain.
3. Varaha,
the boar, from the Satya Yuga. He appeared to defeat Hiranyaksha,
a demon who had taken the Earth, or Prithvi,
and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean(much like
in ether theory) in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is
believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won.
Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to
its place in the universe.
4. Narasimha,
the half-man/half-lion, from the Satya Yuga. The rakshasa (Demon) Hiranyakashipu,
the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, was granted a powerful boon from brahma,
not allowing him to be killed by man or animal, inside or out, day or night, on
earth or the stars, with a weapon either living or inanimate. Vishnu descended
as an anthropomorphic incarnation, with the body of a man and head and claws of
a lion. He then disembowels the rakshasa at
the courtyard threshold of his house, at dusk, with his claws, while he lay on
his thighs.
5. Vamana,
a dwarf, from the Treta Yuga. The fourth descendant of
Hiranyakashyap, Bali, with devotion and penance was able to defeat Indra, the god of
firmament. This humbled the other deities and extended his authority over the
three worlds. The gods appealed to Vishnu for protection and he descended as a
boy Vamana. During a yajna (यज्ञ) of the king, Vamana approached him and Bali
promised him for whatever he asked. Vamana asked for three paces of land. Bali
agreed, and the dwarf then changed his size to that of a giant. He stepped over
heaven in his first stride, and the netherworld with the second. Bali realized
that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate. In deference, the king offered his
head as the third place for Vamana to place his foot. The avatar did so and
thus granted Bali immortality. Then in appreciation to Bali and his
grandfather Prahlada, Vamana made him ruler of Pathala, the netherworld.
6. Parashurama,
warrior with the axe, from the Treta Yuga. He is son of Jamadagni and Renuka and
received an axe after a penance to Shiva. He is the first
Brahmin-Kshatriya in Hinduism, or warrior-saint, with duties between
a Brahmin and a Kshatriya. King Kartavirya Arjuna and
his army visited the father of Parashurama at his ashram, and the saint was
able to feed them with the divine cow Kamadhenu.
The king demanded the cow, but Jamadagni refused. Enraged, the king took it by
force and destroyed the ashram. Parashurama then killed the king at his palace
and destroyed his army. In revenge, the sons of Kartavirya killed Jamadagni.
Parashurama took a vow to kill every Kshatriya on earth twenty-one times over,
and filled five lakes with their blood. Ultimately, his
grandfather, rishi Rucheeka, appeared before him and made him halt.
He is a Chiranjivi (immortal), and believed to be alive today in
penance at Mahendragiri.
7. Rama,
the prince and king of Ayodhya, from the Treta Yuga. He is a commonly worshiped
avatar in Hinduism, and is thought of as the ideal heroic man. His story
is recounted in one of the most widely read scriptures of Hinduism, the Ramayana. While in exile from his own
kingdom with his brother Lakshman and the God Hanuman, his wife Sita was abducted by
the demon king of Lanka, Ravana.
He travelled to Ashoka Vatika in Lanka, killed the demon king and saved
Sita.
8. Krishna क्रृष्ण: was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev,
from the Dwapara Yuga. He is also a frequently worshiped deity in Hinduism
and an avatar in Vaishnava belief. He appeared alongside his elder brother
Balarama. Balarama is regarded generally as an avatar of Shesha.
However, Balarama is included as the eighth avatar of Vishnu in the Sri
Vaishnava lists, where Buddha is omitted and Krishna appears as the ninth
avatar in this list. He particularly included in the lists, where Krishna
is removed and becomes the source of all avatars.
9. Buddha: Gautama
Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, from the Dwapara Yuga, is generally
included as an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. Buddha may be depicted in Hindu
scriptures as a preacher who deludes and leads demons and heretics away from
the path of the Vedic scriptures. Another view praises him as a
compassionate teacher who preached the path of ahimsa (non-violence).
10. Kalki ("Eternity",
or "White Horse", or "Destroyer of Filth"), will be the
final incarnation of Vishnu, foretold to appear at the end of Kali
Yuga, our present epoch. He will be atop a white horse and his sword will be
drawn, blazing like a comet. He is the harbinger of end
time in Hindu eschatology, and will destroy all unrighteousness and
evil at the end of Kali Yuga.