Hindu Mythology: The Incarnations of Lord Vishnu Quiz

Answer: Matsya

According to Hindu scriptures, Satyavrata (or Manu), a king and a devotee of Lord Vishnu, is washing his hands in a river when a little fish swims into his hands and pleads with him to save its life. He puts it in a jar, which it soon outgrows. He then moves it to a bigger jar, then a tank, a lake, a river and finally the ocean, but the fish keeps growing bigger.
The fish finally reveals itself to be Lord Vishnu and tells the king that a deluge will occur within seven days that would destroy all life. Lord Vishnu has had a boat built by the gods and when the earth was flooded, the king is to place all living beings in the boat and thus save them. Lord Vishnu himself arrives in his form of the fish and save the living beings.
Traces of the Bible and the Great Flood?

Answer: Kurma

The Gods lose their strength due to a curse by a sage. They approach Lord Vishnu for help and Vishnu suggests that they should drink the nectar of immortality to regain their lost glory. But they have to churn the ocean as the nectar is hidden in it.
The gods declare a truce with their foes, the Asuras, and use a huge serpent as a churning rope and a mountain as the churning staff. When they begin churning, the mountain begins to sink into the ocean. Taking the form of a tortoise (Kurma), Lord Vishnu bears the entire weight of the mountain and the churning continues. Different things come out of the ocean, culminating with the appearance of the nectar of immortality.
Vishnu again comes to the rescue of the Gods when the Asuras grab the nectar, and helps the gods get the nectar and defeat the Asuras.

Answer: Varaha

Lord Vishnu appears as a boar in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who has taken the Earth (Prithvi) and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean.
The Varaha kills the demon after a prolonged battle and carries the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks, and restores it to its place in the universe.

Answer: Narasimha

It is said that in the previous incarnation, Lord Vishnu has killed a demon known as Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha's brother Hiranyakashipu, angered by this, tries to gain mystical powers to kill Lord Vishnu. He does a great penance and seeks a strange boon from Lord Brahma which virtually rules out death for him.

He becomes a tyrant on receiving the boon and terrorizes all human beings for a very long time. Lord Vishnu finally appears in the form of a half-lion, half-man to save his devotee Prahalad. So as to not upset the boon granted to the demon, Narasimha is neither god, or man or animal.

He attacks Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night), on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp nails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon.

Answer: Vamana

According to the Hindu scriptures, the Vamana avatar was taken by Lord Vishnu to restore the gods' authority over the heavens, which was taken away by force by the king Bali. Vamana, in the disguise of a short Brahmin, requests from Bali three steps of land to live in.
The king, known for his generosity, grants him the land whereupon, Vamana grows so huge that he covers heaven to earth and earth to the other worlds in two steps. King Bali, unable to fulfill his promised three paces of Land, offers his head for the third step.
It is said that, symbolically, Vamana teaches King Bali that arrogance and pride should be abandoned if one wants to advance in life, and that wealth should never be taken for granted since it can so easily be taken away. Lord Vishnu also grants Bali some boons and calls him "Mahabali" for his generosity.
Mahabali is supposed to return every year to the land of his people and this is celebrated as the Onam festival in Kerala.

Answer: Rama of the axe

"Parashu" literally means an axe. The purpose of the incarnation is to relieve the earth's burden by exterminating the sinful, destructive and corrupt monarchs that have pillaged its resources, and neglected their duties as kings. Parashurama does this 21 times, killing all Kshatriyas in the land and reclaiming it. He is born a "Brahmin" but by his actions, is a "Kshatriya" himself.

His father Jamadagni is killed by some Kshatriyas and when Parashurama returns home, he finds his mother weeping inconsolably, beating her chest 21 times.

In a rage, Parashurama walks the land and destroys all adult Kshatriyas 21 times before he is stopped.

Answer: Ramayana

Rama is often considered as the perfect human being. His life and journey is one of perfect adherence to rules, despite harsh tests of life and various problems.
He forsakes his throne to uphold his father's honor, stays in exile in forest for 14 years, conducts a long and arduous search when his wife, Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravana, fights a colossal war against Ravana's armies and kills him. His reign is one of perfect happiness, peace, prosperity and justice and is known as Rama Rajya.
Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty -- and the tale of Rama spread across most South East Asian countries, with unique renditions incorporating local history and folktales. The Kakawin Ramayana of Java, Indonesia, the Ramakavaca of Bali, Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, Maradia Lawana of the Philippines, Ramakien of Thailand, Yama Zatdaw of Mynamar, Reamker of Cambodia, and Pra Lak Pra Lam of Laos are all epics/stories of Lord Rama.

Answer: Bhagvad Gita

Krishna is a cousin of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabrata and promises not to wield any weapons in the War. He agrees to be a charioteer for Arjuna but before the war starts, Arjuna is pained to see he has to fight and kill his own kinsmen. That is when Krishna recites the Bhagvad Gita.
Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different philosophies, with examples and analogies.
Containing over 700 verses (shlokas), the Gita is often described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and as a practical, self-contained guide to life.

Answer: Siddhartha

Siddhartha's father King Suddhodana did not allow Siddhartha to know any suffering throughout his childhood. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha was not happy or satisfied.
At the age of 29, Siddhartha leaves his palace to meet his subjects and sees an old man. Disturbed by this, when told that all people would eventually grow old by his charioteer, Siddhartha goes on further trips where he encounters a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. Deeply depressed by these sights, he seeks to overcome old age, illness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.
Siddhartha leaves his palace to become an ascetic. After long struggles and search, he sits under a tree (now called the Bodhi tree) in Bodh Gaya, India and vows never to arise until he has found the Truth. After 49 days of intense meditating, Siddhartha attains Enlightenment and, from then on, is known as the Buddha or "Awakened One." (This is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One.")
At this point, he is believed to have realized complete awakening and insight into the nature and cause of human suffering -- ignorance -- along with steps to eliminate it.
According to some other scriptures, the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is said to be as Balarama (the strong Rama).

Answer: Kalki

The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity. Though the etymology of the name is not clear, it probably comes from the Sanskrit word "kalka" which refers to dirt, filth, or foulness and hence means the "destroyer of what is foul," "destroyer of confusion," "destroyer of darkness," or "annihilator of ignorance."