Dashavatar: The Story of Vishnu

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By Tuba Ali

  • India
  • Culture
  • Art
  • Mythology

    • Throughout Hindu mythology, the Dashavatar, or Vishnu’s ten incarnations, remind us of protecting and restoring the cosmic order. Dash means ten, and Avatar means incarnation; it translates as the ten incarnations of Vishnu. Each avatar represents the times Vishnu descended to the Earth to restore the cosmic order. Every incarnation has a story behind it and represents good over evil throughout history.

    Dashavatar symbolises the different interventions to save the world from evil and to establish the right path or Dharma, from the Matsya fish to future warrior Kalki, Vishnu’s incarnation progresses across ages and takes forms from animals to kings and sages.  Many art forms such as Phad, Madhubani and Pattachitra across India narrate these legends. Each style holds its own unique regional and cultural influence. Through these art forms, we get to know about the true essence of Vishnu's incarnations, they provide us with a perspective on heroism and sacrifice.

    The story behind each Incarnation

     

    Dasha-avatar painting by Madhubani artist, Ambika Devi

     

    The Incarnations of Vishnu narrate various mythological stories and showcase how each avatar of Vishnu restores order and balance on the Earth. During different yugas, Vishnu takes different avatars and descends the Earth to liberate it from evil. Starting with Matsya, the fish Incarnation, it’s a half-human and half-fish avatar of Vishnu who descended to the Earth during the great floods to save all living beings and the Vedas.

    Kurma is the second avatar of Vishnu, half-human and half-tortoise. He supports the world balance on his shell during the churning of the sea, to support the gods and asuras during the Samudra Manthan, or churning of the ocean.

    To save the world from darkness, Vishnu took a Varaha avatar (a boar incarnation of Vishnu). He dives into the ocean to save Bhudevi and fights Hiranyaksha for 1000 years, lifting Bhudevi back to life. Narasimha, the half-lion avatar of Vishnu is the fourth incarnation, where he ends the reign of Asura king Hiranya Kashyap (Vedicfeed, Dashavataram Order – 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu, 2023).

    In his fifth Vamana avatar as a dwarf Brahmin, Vishnu comes down to Earth, approaches powerful king Bali and asks for three paces of land, in a miraculous transformation Vamana covers everything on Earth in three steps, this leads to the immediate surrender of king Bali to Vamana.

    Parashuram, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, is a sage who was born in Treta Yuga. Parashuram arrives as a warrior to end the evil of the warrior-oppressive caste, the Kshatriyas. The seventh avatar Rama is one of the most significant, as the prince of Ayodhya, he kills evil Ravana, bringing back goddess Sita and restoring righteousness in the world. The Dashavatar continues with Krishna as the eighth avatar, who during Mahabharat not only guides Pandavas but also reveals the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna also taught Arjuna and played the sustainer here by bringing love and selflessness to the world. According to Shrimad Bhagavatam Gautam Buddha is the ninth avatar of Vishnu, who left all his material passion to find the true meaning and finally achieve enlightenment. Finally, the prophetic, yet-to-come avatar is the tenth avatar of Vishnu as Kalki. He will appear on a white horse with a sword in his hand, end all the evil by defeating Kali and start a new yuga called Satyuga.

    Artforms Depicting Dashavatar

    Each story of Dashavatar unfolds a story of good over evil, together the incarnations show the cycle of protection. The legacy of Dashavatar is not only seen in the spiritual scripts but also the visual legacy, through our artistic traditions these stories are immortalised. With their own means, several art forms bring these old stories to life and symbolise the Incarnation of Vishnu. One such example is the Rajasthani Phad painting, with detailed meticulous patterns, each avatar is painted with symbolically vibrant colours. Each avatar of Vishnu is perfectly shown in Phad's paintings, which also capture their role in preserving the cosmic balance. Kalyani Joshi, a renowned artist in his Phad painting “Dashavatar” vividly portrays Vishnu’s ten Incarnations. Each avatar perfectly shows the restoration of cosmic order with bright vivid colours, intricate patterns and designs.

     

    Phad Dashavatar Painting by Kalyan Joshi

     

    Similarly, traditional Patachitra art uses natural colours and depicts the Dashavatar themes. It vibrantly illustrates Vishnu’s divine act of cosmic preservation. This particular art form represents the worship of Lord Jagannath and frequently captures each of Vishnu’s incarnations in its central theme. The Pattachitra artists illustrate each avatar with a unique character and often use symbolic colours. They use cloth or palm leaves to depict the Dashavatar theme. Renowned artist, Apindra Swain’s work “The Dashavatar: Cosmic Chronicles in Colours” perfectly captures the true essence of Vishnu’s ten incarnations, with monochrome hue and intricate designs, Swain’s work transforms the viewers into the world of ancient Indian mythology. 

     

    Pattachitra, Dashavatar by Apindra Swain

     

    Depiction of Dashavatar can also be found in Kalighat art, “The ten avatars of Vishnu” Illustrated with vibrant and opaque watercolours is one such example. This artwork was painted around 1850 against the blue background in three rows. It is currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, in London. Apart from this, Kalighat art frequently depicts the fourth avatar of Vishnu, Narasimha defeating the asura Hiranyakashyap. In one such painting, Narasimha's avatar is shown intervening and protecting his devotee, Prahlad. This interpretation of Narasimha is depicted with a Western influence, such as the shading of the limbs to give volume and asura in western buckled shoes. 

     

    Narashima, the Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu

     

     Dashavatar of Vishnu, Kalighat

     

    We find Dashavatar themes in many other art forms including Mughal and Rajasthani miniature. One such painting is from the 18th century of the Kangra region where Vishnu is depicted as a boar or Varaha avatar. In this scene, Varaha stands victorious and lifts Bhu or goddess Earth on his tusk. Whereas, the demon Hiranyakshyap is curled in the corner. It depicts the story when Vishnu takes the Varaha avatar and dives into the ocean to save Bhudevi and fights Hiranyakashyap for 1000 years lifting Bhudevi back to life. 

    The ten incarnations of Vishnu or Dashavatar is a beautiful depiction that teaches us how through wisdom and heroism the darkness can be taken over. Throughout history, various art forms and artists have captured this perfectly in paintings. Whether it is Pattachitra art, Phad from Rajasthan or Mediaeval Miniature, each with its unique style, colours and patterns has its own way of depicting these heroic incarnations of Vishnu.

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