Dashavatara of Vishnu

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This article is about the concept in Hindu philosophy. For other uses, see Dashavatara of Vishnu (disambiguation).

The ten avatars of Vishnu, (Clockwise, from Left upper corner) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama and Narasimha, (in centre) Krishna

In Vaishnava philosophy, an avatara(Sanskrit: अवतार, avatāra), most commonly refers to the incarnation and dasa refers to ten in number.

The ten most famous incarnations of Vishnu of Krishna are collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' 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' as will be discussed below. 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]

Matsya, the fish, appeared in the Satya Yuga.
Kurma, the tortoise, appeared in the Satya Yuga.
Varaha, the boar, appeared in the Satya Yuga.
Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion appeared in the Satya Yuga.
Vamana, the dwarf, appeared in the Treta Yuga.
Parashurama, Rama with the axe, appeared in the Treta Yuga.
Rama, Ramachandra, the prince and king of Ayodhya, appeared in the Treta Yuga.
Krishna (meaning 'dark coloured' or 'all attractive') appeared in the Dwapara Yuga along with his brother Balarama. According to the Bhagavata Purana Balarama is said to have appeared in the Dwapara Yuga (along with Krishna) as an incarnation of Ananta Shesha. He is also counted as an avatar of Vishnu by the majority of Vaishnava movements and is included as the ninth Dasavatara in some versions of the list which contain no reference to Buddha.
Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"), who is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the time period in which we currently exist, which will end in the year 428899 CE.

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^ B-Gita 8.17 "And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara"

Meaning of Parashurama, an Avesha avatar.
Types of Avatars; answers to questions #67-70.
Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, pg. 94, by Swami Tapasyananda, available at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. available at India web site: http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org and US site: http://www.vedanta.org.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga and The Life Divine, excerpts pertaining to Krishna and Buddha and the evolution of consciousness and selections from Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet's The Gnostic Circle and Vishaal Newsletter regarding the contention that Sri Aurobindo is the 9th of the Hindu Line of Ten Avatars.