In Hindu mythology, there are supreme gods- Bramha, Vishnu three and Mahesh, known as Tridev. It is believed that Bramha is the creator of this Universe, Vishnu operates the whole universe and Mahesh destroys all the evil of the universe. They are the reason for the establishment of Dharma and remove all the evil forces.
Whenever evil triumphs over good, or whenever darkness takes over the light (truth), or unjust rules over justice, then Lord Vishnu will take birth on earth in order to restore Dharma (righteousness). These forms of Lord Vishnu have been originally mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, and on a total, Lord Vishnu took 24 incarnations on earth, to fight over the evil, and guide people on the right path.
Here are the list of Vishnu Avatars and how he took different forms to fight against the evil ,from time to time.
- Adi Purush – Primary avatar of Lord Vishnu
2 . Four Kumars – First four conscious beings created by Lord Brahma
- Narada – Narada is the son of Lord Bramha and is a big devotee of Lord Vishnu.
4 . Nara Narayana – Nara and Narayana are the two twin sage avatars of Lord Vishnu.
- Kapila– Kapila is described as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu
6 . Dattatreya – Dattatreya is the God who is an incarnation of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
7 . Yajna – a ritual where the fire is lighted and sacrifice is made to make wishes to the deities
8 . Rishabha – Rishabha was a preacher and a spiritual leader.
- Prithu– Prithu was the first sacred king
- Dhanvantari – Dhanavantari is the god who emerged in Samudra Manthan. He holding a pot of Amrit in his hand.
11 . Mohini – Mohini is a female avatar of Vishnu.
- Hayagreeva– He has a fair man’s body, with the head of a horse.
- Vyasa – He authored Mahabharata
- Matsya – Matsya is known to the half fish, and a half-human form of Lord Vishnu.
- Kurma– Kurma is the half tortoise half-man form of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu took the Kurma avatar during the Samudramanthan (churning of the ocean).
16 . Varaha – Varaha is the half man and half boar avatar of Vishnu.
17 . Narsimha – Narsimha is the half lion and a half-human avatar of Vishnu.
18 . Vamana – This avatar of Lord Vishnu comes to check the growing power of the demonic king Mahabali.
- Parshuram – He is depicted as a sage with an axe in his hand.
20 . Rama – Ram assumes an earthly form (avatar) to defeat the wicked and protect his devotees.
- Balrama – Balarama appears in Mahabharata as the elder brother of Krishna
- Krishna – Lord Vishnu incarnated as Krishna killed many demons and evil kings in the nearby kingdoms, to his birthplace.
23 . Buddha – Adopting Buddha into the Hindu pantheon was a way of trying to neutralize the popularity of Buddhism.
- Kalki– Kalki is the only avatar of Vishnu that is yet to be born.