Dasavatara refers to the ten principal
avatars. In
Vaishnava philosophy, an
avatar (
Sanskrit ?????,
avatara), most commonly refers to the 'descent' and
dasa refers to 'ten' in number. The ten most famous incarnations of Vishnu or sometimes
Krishna are collectively known as the Dashavatara. This list is included in the
Garuda Purana (1.86.10-11) and denotes those avatars most prominent in terms of their influence on human society.
The majority of avatars in this list of ten are categorised as 'lila-avatars'. The first four are said to have appeared in the Satya Yuga (the first of the four Yugas or ages in the time cycle described within Hinduism). The next three avatars appeared in the Treta Yuga, the eighth incarnation in the Dwapara Yuga and the ninth in the Kali Yuga. The tenth is predicted to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga in some 427,000 years time.[1] Also according to the Vishnu Purana the Kali-yuga will end with the apparition of Kalki-avatara, who will defeat the wicked, liberate the virtuous, and initiate a new Satya Yuga.[2]
Adoption of Buddha as one of the avatars of Vishnu under Bhagavatism believed to be a catalyzing factor in assimilation of relationships during Gupta period 330-550 C.E. Thus Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes called Buddha-Bhagavatism.[3] It is by this period that it is commonly accepted among academics that the concept of avatars of Vishnu was fully developed.[4]
The evolution of historical Vishnuism produced what is now a complex system of Vaishnavism, which is often viewed as a synthesis of the worship of Vishnu, Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna which is archived by the time of Bhagavad Gita (c. 4 BCE to 3 century CE).[5]
