Dashavatara for Kids: The 10 Avatars of Vishnu Explained Simply

In Indian tradition, Vishnu is the preserver of the universe, and whenever the world is in great danger and goodness is threatened, he comes down to earth in a new form to set things right. Each of these forms is called an avatar, from the Sanskrit avatāra, which means descent. Krishna says this himself in the Bhagavad Gita (4.7–8): whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I come forth, age after age, to protect the good.

There are many avatars in the tradition, but ten are especially famous. Together they are called the Dashavatara, from daśa, ten. Here they are in their traditional order, with the story behind each one, told simply for children.

1. Matsya, the fish

Long ago, a king named Manu was washing his hands in a river when a tiny fish swam into his palms and begged to be saved from the bigger fish. Manu kept it in a jar, but it grew too big, so he moved it to a pond, then a lake, then the ocean. The fish revealed itself as Vishnu and warned Manu that a great flood was coming. Manu built a boat and gathered seeds of every plant, animals and the seven sages. When the flood came, Matsya, now enormous, towed the boat to safety.

2. Kurma, the tortoise

When the gods and the asuras churned the ocean of milk to find amrita, the nectar of immortality, they used the great mountain Mandara as the churning rod. But the mountain began to sink into the ocean. Vishnu became Kurma, a giant tortoise, and dived beneath the mountain, holding it on his shell so the churning could continue.

3. Varaha, the boar

A demon named Hiranyaksha stole the earth, Bhumi Devi, and dragged her to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Vishnu became Varaha, a mighty boar, dived to the depths, defeated the demon and lifted the earth back up on his tusks.

4. Narasimha, the man-lion

Hiranyaksha’s brother, Hiranyakashipu, won a boon that he could not be killed by man or beast, by day or night, inside or outside, on the ground or in the sky, or by any weapon. He tormented his own son Prahlad for worshipping Vishnu. Vishnu came out of a pillar as Narasimha, half man and half lion, and defeated the king at twilight, on the threshold of the palace, on his lap, with his claws. Every condition of the boon was met. This is also the story behind the bonfire of Holi.

5. Vamana, the dwarf

The generous asura king Mahabali, a grandson of Prahlad, had conquered the three worlds. Vishnu came to him as Vamana, a small brahmin boy, and asked for just three steps of land. Bali agreed. Then Vamana grew enormous, as Trivikrama. With one step he covered the earth, with the second the heavens, and for the third Bali offered his own head. This is the story behind Onam in Kerala.

6. Parashurama, the warrior with the axe

Parashurama was born as the son of the sage Jamadagni, a brahmin who became a fierce warrior, carrying an axe, paraśu, given to him by Shiva. When arrogant kings abused their power and harmed his family, Parashurama rose against them. In the Mahabharata he appears as the teacher of Bhishma, Drona and Karna.

7. Rama, the prince of Ayodhya

The hero of the Ramayana. Rama kept his father’s promise and went into the forest for fourteen years, rescued Sita from Ravana with the help of Hanuman and the vanara army, and returned home to Ayodhya, where the lamps of Diwali were lit to welcome him. He is remembered as the ideal of keeping one’s word and doing what is right.

8. Krishna, the cowherd and the guide

Born in a prison in Mathura and raised among the cowherds of Gokul, Krishna was a mischievous child who stole butter and lifted Govardhan hill to shelter the villagers from a storm. As a grown man he became the friend and charioteer of Arjuna in the Mahabharata, and spoke the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

9. Balarama, or the Buddha

Here the lists differ, and it is worth telling children so honestly. In many South Indian lists, and in some older texts, the ninth avatar is Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother, a farmer-hero who carries a plough. In many North Indian lists, and in the famous hymn to the ten avatars in Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, the ninth is the Buddha, who taught compassion and non-violence; the Gita Govinda includes Balarama as well, and treats Krishna as the source of all the avatars. Both traditions are old and both are respected.

10. Kalki, the one still to come

The last avatar has not yet appeared. According to the tradition, at the end of the present age, the Kali Yuga, when goodness has almost disappeared, Vishnu will come as Kalki, riding a white horse and carrying a shining sword, to end the darkness and begin a new age of truth.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥ Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I bring myself forth. (Bhagavad Gita 4.7)

A pattern children enjoy spotting

Many people have noticed that the avatars, in order, move from water to land, and from animal to human: a fish, then a creature of water and land, then a land animal, then half animal and half human, then a small human, then a fierce human, and then the great heroes. It is a fun pattern to point out to older children, as long as you present it as an observation people make, not as something the texts themselves claim.

A memory trick

To learn the ten in order, try chanting their names in a rhythm: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha; Narasimha, Vamana; Parashurama, Rama; Krishna, Balarama, Kalki. Or draw them as a strip of ten pictures, from the fish to the white horse, and let your child colour one each day for ten days, telling its story as they colour.

Taking it further

Each avatar opens a whole world of stories: Narasimha leads to Prahlad and Holi, Vamana to Onam, Rama to the Ramayana, Krishna to the Mahabharata and the Gita. Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya, the Gita verse above, has its own page in our free shloka library. And our live Indian culture and storytelling classes explore these stories one at a time, with discussion and plenty of questions.