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Matsya

Lord Vishnu had vowed that he would visit the earth whenever Adharma lifts its ugly head. Therefore, when humanity was at stake and when Adharma emerged in the form of a demon named Hayagriva, Lord Vishnu incarnated as a fish. Read on to know more about Shri Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya Avatar in Vishnu Puran.

According to one of the legends associated with the Matsya Avatar of Vishnu, there lived a demon named Hayagriva. He was the son of Sage Kashyapa and his wife, Danu. People hailed sage Kashyapa for being a boon to humanity, but Hayagriva was the exact opposite. The demon was chosen as the Danav Raj (king of the demons). And his sole motive was to stop the humans from becoming more powerful than the Danavs.

Hayagriva wanted to establish the Danav clan as the most superior one. Therefore, he made several attempts to disrupt the progress of the human class. And after learning that Lord Vishnu had handover the four Vedas to Lord Brahma, he decided to steal them to stop the sacred texts from reaching the humans.Hayagriva succeeded in stealing Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda from Brahmaloka. And therefore, to free the Vedas from his clutches, Lord Vishnu appeared as a fish.

Brahma knew that the people on earth will not be able to make use of the Vedas until they are purified. He knew that social values had degenerated, and hence, the need for reestablishing humanity had risen. Therefore, he sought help from Shiva to destroy humanity only to produce a conducive atmosphere for a revival of the human race.

Vishnu knew about Shiva's plan to cause massive floods. Therefore, he incarnated in the form of Matsya (a fish). Moreover, he had to save Manu and his wife Shatarupa, the couple that would be instrumental in conceiving humans once again.Hence, after killing Hayagriva and retrieving the Vedas, the Matsya avatar of Vishnu saved Manu, Shatarupa, the Saptarishis (who represented knowledge) and one set of each of the other living beings. In the end, he handed over the Vedas to Manu so that he could use them for the welfare of humankind.

 

Kurma

The Devas symbolised Dharma while the Danavas represented Adharma. 

In one of the battles that took place after Daitya Guru Shukracharya was blessed with the Sanjeevani Mantra, the Daityas (Danavas) defeated the Devas. The victory of the Danavas meant the decline of goodness and peace. Moreover, Lord Vishnu knew that if the Danavas became immortal, then they would overpower the Devas and also cause massive damage to the human race.Therefore, to save humankind from the Danavas, Lord Vishnu took the avatar of a Kurma. And by doing so, he played a pivotal role in the Samudra Mathan. to know what is Samudra Manthan.

Since the Danavas had defeated the Devas in the battle, there arose a need to empower the latter. Therefore, Lord Vishnu suggested Samudra Manthan for extracting the divine nectar (Amrit) that could make the Devas immortal. However, the Devas alone wouldn't have been able to perform the massive task. Hence, Vishnu advised Indra, the King of the Devas to take help from Kalketu, the King of the Danavas.

Interestingly, Vishnu had also hatched a plan to prevent the Devas from consuming the Amrit. Subsequently, to churn the ocean (Samudra), Mandara Mountain was cut from its base and installed in the sea as the churning rod. And Vasuki, the King of Snakes, became the churning rope.

But, since the base of the mountain couldn't reach the seabed owing to the surging movement of the waves, Lord Vishnu decided to make his presence felt in the form of a Kurma. 

Lord Vishnu took the form of a Kurma and went deep inside the sea to carry the Mandara mountain on his back. Thus, by enduring the weight on his back, Lord Vishnu ensured that the churning of the ocean takes place without any hurdles. And by helping the Devas in the endeavour to obtain the Amrit, Lord Vishnu saved the human race.

 

KURMA AVATAR- THE PURANIC STORY

The story starts with a meeting among Sage Durvasaplus Lord Indra. Sage Durvasa as a mark of esteem offers a circlet of flowers toward Lord Indra. The monarch of Gods, Lord Indra who is placed on his elephant, Airavata, takes the circlet of flowers plus places it on the forehead of the elephant. The elephant takings the garland as well as throws it downcast on the earth.

The chief of mentors Durvasa, annoyed at this discourteous treatment of his gift, announces to the King of Gods that his realm will be ruined.Fate acts to accomplish the words of Sage Durvasaplus the Asuras (demons) announce war on the Gods.  The Gods want to taste the fluid of immortality plus approach Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu counsels the Gods to churn the sea along with the Demons as well as offer them a part of nectar as well.

The MandaraMountain is toward be used to the mixing stick as well as the snake Vasuki is the mixing rope. But when the churning starts, the alp starts drowning in the sea as there is no provision base to retain it afloat. It is then Lord Vishnu seized the shape of the tortoise (Kurma Avatar) toward keeping the alp afloat. It is Kurma avatar, the tortoise that goes under the mountain as well as stops it from dipping.An incarnation of Vishnu, the opponent of disease, he brought by him Ayurveda, Divinity of fortune Lakshmi, Tonic of immortality Amrita, as well as the poison Halahal.The Divinity Lakshmi selects Vishnu and thus selects. the Gods above the demons. The Gods renovated with their vigor plus energy fight the Asurasover and succeed over them.

Varaha

After taking the Matsya (fish) avatar and Kurma (tortoise) avatar, Lord Vishnu transformed into a boar to save Mother Earth from drowning in the cosmic ocean. Therefore, he took his third avatar, Varaha to protect the planet Earth from a demon named Hiranyaksha, who had stolen the planet.

Hiranyaksha was an Asura, who was a Dwarpala or gatekeeper of Lord Vishnu's abode, Vaikuntha, in his previous birth. The Sanat Kumaras cursed him and his brother for not allowing them to meet Shri Vishnu. The four Kumaras pleaded the two brothers to let them step inside, but Vijaya and Jay arrogantly refused them permission. However, after getting cursed, when Vijaya and Jay urged the Sanat Kumaras to show mercy, they were told that they would attain Moksha only after getting killed at the hands of Lord Vishnu in their future births. Thus, by doing so, that made them realise that one must not misuse their powers. Vijaya and Jay were proud of the fact that they were the gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu. Hence, they believed that they had the right to deny anyone permission to enter Vaikuntha.Therefore, Vijaya was born, and Hiranyaksha and Jay took birth as Hiranyakashipu. The two brothers created havoc in the three worlds - Deva Loka, Prithvi Loka and Patal Loka. They grew so greedy that they wanted to become more powerful than the Gods.

Hiranyaksha grew very powerful and complacent. He started misusing his powers and wanted to rule the world. He caused massive devastation and even stole Mother Earth (Bhuma Devi) and hid her under the cosmic ocean. Therefore to save the Earth, Lord Vishnu appeared as a Varaha (wild boar). He lifted the Earth with his tusks after eliminating Hiranyaksha. Thus, by taking the form of a boar, Lord Vishnu showed how gradually evolution took place. First was Matsya (an underwater being), then came tortoise, an amphibian, followed by Varaha, a land animal.Varaha, the boar, is third in the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. Varaha is the symbol of the restoration of the earth and the establishment of a new age. In the Vishnu Purana, Varaha is represented as the eternal upholder of earth. He is known as the picture of the Supreme Being who brings order amidst chaos in the world.According to the oldest of the Puranic scriptures, the legend is as follows:The gate-keepers of Vishnu's dwelling Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by the four Kumaras to be born as demons. They were then born on earth as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu to Kashyapa and his wife Diti. They were one of the races of demons called Daityas. The two demon brothers were pure evil and created mayhem all across.The elder brother Hiranyaksha practised austerities and as a consequence was blessed by Brahma with a boon that made him indestructible by any animal or human. He was engaged in war with the gods. He took the earth in the depths of primitive waters. In some versions, the earth gives a cry of agony; in others, she takes the form of a cow and requests Lord Vishnu for rescue from the hands of the demon. In his boon, Hiranyaksha had not included the boar in the list of animals that could kill him. Therefore, Lord Vishnu incarnates into Varaha, a boar, with huge tusks and goes down to the ocean.Varaha challenges Hiranyaksha for a battle. The demon ridicules Varaha and obstructs him to rescue earth. Varaha lifts the earth on his tusks, when provoked and slays the demon after a thousand-year battle. Afterwards, Varaha rises from the ocean with the earth in his tusks and places her gently above it in her original position.