Gods, avatars and forms
Krishna
Vasudeva · Gopala · Govinda · Dwarkadhish
Born in Kamsa's prison at Mathura and carried across the Yamuna to Gokul; the cowherd of Braj, the king of Dwarka, the…
Rama
Ramachandra · Raghava
Prince of Ayodhya and hero of the Ramayana; born to Dasharatha and Kausalya on Chaitra shukla navami, exiled for…
Narasimha
Nrisimha · the man-lion
The man-lion who bursts from a pillar to kill Hiranyakashipu in a way that slips past every clause of the king's boon…
Vamana
Trivikrama · Vamanamoorthy
The dwarf brahmin who asks King Bali for three paces of land and then grows to cover heaven and earth in two strides…
Parashurama
The axe-bearing brahmin warrior who humbles the kshatriya kings; Kerala and Konkan tradition credit him with raising…
Balarama
Balabhadra · Baladeva
Krishna's elder brother, the plough-bearer, who takes the Buddha's place in the southern Sri Vaishnava and Smarta…
Kurma
The tortoise avatar whose shell holds up Mount Mandara while gods and demons churn the ocean of milk. Its own cycle…
Buddha (as avatar)
The Buddha was drawn into the Vaishnava avatar list by about the 8th century, usually in the ninth place. Sri Vaishnava…
Kalki
The future avatar on a white horse who closes the Kali Yuga; the thinnest of the ten in the sources, with the Kalki…
Matsya
The fish avatar who warns Manu of the deluge and tows his boat to safety; rooted in the Shatapatha Brahmana flood story…
Varaha
The boar avatar who lifts the earth goddess Bhumi from the cosmic waters and slays Hiranyaksha, the first hostile birth…