In the Bhagavad Gītā (4.7–8) Kṛṣṇa says that whenever dharma declines he takes birth age after age. The best-known list of these descents is the Daśāvatāra, the ten avatāras of Viṣṇu: Matsya the fish, Kūrma the tortoise, Varāha the boar, Narasiṁha the man-lion, Vāmana the dwarf, Paraśurāma, Rāma, Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa and Kalki, who is yet to come. Some lists, such as Jayadeva's, name the Buddha in place of Balarāma or Kṛṣṇa.
Each avatāra rescues the world in a different way, from saving the Vedas in the great flood to measuring the three worlds in three strides. Jayadeva's Gītagovinda opens with a famous hymn to all ten.
Stotras to the ten avatāras together are listed below. Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and Narasiṁha also have their own pages.
