Dashavatara - Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu

The beautiful Patachitra painting depicts the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The Puranas speak of the ten avataars of Vishnu. These incarnations detail the divine help given by Vishnu during various stages of human evolution, by appearing on earth in different forms to salvage the devotees from the impending catastrophe. These incarnations demonstrate that divinity re-establishes Dharma or righteousness and destroys injustice from time to time, by appearing on earth in various incarnations. The ten avataras are Matsyavatara (fish), Koorma (tortoise), Varaaha (boar), Narasimha (the man lion), Vaamana (the dwarf), Parasurama (the angry man), Rama (the perfect human), Balarama and Krishna (the divine statesman). The 10th avatar which is yet to appear is Kalki. Matsyavatara, or the form of the fish was taken up by Vishnu during a deluge that submerged the earth. Vishnu commanded a rishi to gather together samples of all species and wait in a boat. The gigantic golden fish then dragged the boa