The living being or individual soul (jīva) is an atomic conscious particle of the Supreme Lord’s marginal potency, which is comprised of eternal existence, consciousness and bliss (saccidānanda). All souls have an eternal and true relationship with God, but by becoming averse to Him due to misuse of their minute independence, they desire to enjoy sensual pleasure instead. Consequently, the māyā potency of the Lord puts the jīvas into illusion by providing them with non-eternal relationships. As long as the soul does not become inclined towards serving the Lord with affection, he will not attain emancipation from the clutches of material nature, which inflicts all kinds of miseries on him.

anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām
(Bhagavad-gītā 9.33)

The Lord is the rescuer of the fallen and, out of His infinite compassion, descends into the material world to emancipate the conditioned souls. The Lord has infinite manifestations in which He reveals Himself. In the eternal abode, the Lord’s associates serve Him in different relationships. Therefore, He manifests in various forms so as to facilitate the jīvas’ desire to serve Him in a form suitable to their taste. In this way, they can free themselves from their material condition and become eligible for supreme bliss by attaining love of Godhead.

The material world can be compared to a well. When a bucket falls into a well, metal hooks may be thrown in to lift the bucket out. Similarly, the Lord descends in various forms into this world to attract the jīvas by the splendor of His wonderful pastimes. The all-powerful infinite Absolute can never be many. He is one. Although the Lord is one, He nonetheless has infinite pastimes and forms. The demigods are but manifestations of the energy of God.

The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself descends in different forms to diminish the burden of the earth, to annihilate the miscreants and to deliver the pious. Brahmā, Śiva and other demigods and sages, in their prayers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the womb, as well as Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja in his prayer to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, have referred to the various avatāras (descents) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as follows:

matsyāśva-kacchapa-nṛsiṁha-varāha-haṁsa-
rājanya-vipra-vibudheṣu kṛtāvatāraḥ
tvaṁ pāsi nas tri-bhuvanaṁ ca yathādhuneśa
bhāram bhuvo hara yadūttama vandanaṁ te
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.40)

“O Supreme Lord, You previously descended as a fish (Matsya), a horse (Hayagrīva), a tortoise (Kūrma), a half man/half lion (Nṛsiṁhadeva), a boar (Varāha), a swan (Haṁsa), a warrior (Lord Rāmacandra or Paraśurāma) and a learned sage among the demigods (Vāmanadeva) to protect us and the three worlds by Your mercy. Now please protect us again by removing the burden of the earth in the same way. O Kṛṣṇa, best of the Yadus, I respectfully submit my prayer unto You.”

itthaṁ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair
lokān vibhāvayasi haṁsi jagat praīipān
dharmaṁ mahā-puruṣa pāsi yugānuvṛttaṁ
channaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ’tha sa tvam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.38)

“O Lord, In Your various manifestations as a human being (Kṛṣṇa or Rāma), an animal (Varāha), a great saint (Paraśurāma), a demigod (Vāmanadeva) and an aquatic (Matsya or Kūrma), You maintain the entire creation in different planetary systems, annihilate the demoniac and protect the principles of religion according to the yuga (specific era). However, in the age of Kali You do not assert Yourself, and therefore You are known as Tri-yuga, the Lord who appears in three yugas.”

The most merciful avatāra of Kali-yuga, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, constantly tasted the nectar of Śrī Jayadeva’s Gīta-govinda at the home of Kāśi Miśra during His final pastimes in Śrī Puruṣottama-dhāma:

caṇḍīdāsa, vidyāpati, rāyera nāṭaka-gīti,
karṇāmṛta, śrī-gīta-govinda
svarūpa-rāmānanda-sane, mahāprabhu rātri-dine,
gāya, śune—parama ānanda
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 2.77)

svarūpa gāya vidyāpati, gīta-govinda-gīti,
śuni’ prabhura juḍāila kāṇa
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 17.62)

Gīta-govinda and Daśāvatāra-stotra, both written by Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī, are still being sung daily before the Deity of Lord Jagannātha for His pleasure. Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Daśāvatāra-stotra is respected everywhere in India. The Daśāvatāra Deities are worshipped daily in the Jagannātha Temple at Śrī Puruṣottama-dhāma and many other temples of India. In the Vaiṣṇava lineages of Assam, harināma-sankīrtana is performed by singing about the appearance and pastimes of the ten avatāras. By all this, it is understood that out of countless manifestations of the Supreme, the Daśāvatāra occupy a special position, and the glories of Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Rāma, Baladeva, Buddha and Kalki are well known. In order to remember the appearance and pastimes of these ten avatāras, a short biography of Them has been given in this book. Unalloyed devotees, under the shelter of mahā-bhāgavata Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī, offer their prayers to the ten avatāras of Śrī Kṛṣṇa while remembering Their pastimes, and always beg for Their mercy.

Vaiṣṇava dāsānudāsa,
Tridaṇḍi Bhikṣu Śrī Bhakti Ballabh Tīrtha