Vishṇu Daśāvatāra Stotra

The Vishṇu Daśāvatāra Stotra is the hymn the devas sang to Bhagavān Vishṇu at Vaikuṇṭha. It lists the avatāras (descents) of Bhagavān Vishṇu and asks him to fight Jalandhara himself. It is found in the Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 16, in the account of the war with Jalandhara.

The setting

During the war with Jalandhara, the devas could not win. Śukrācārya kept bringing the slain asuras back to life with his Mṛtasañjīvanī Vidyā (the knowledge that revives the dead).

In one episode, Jalandhara lifted the mountain Droṇa-parvata and threw it into the ocean. The deva forces were scattered. The devas fled and talked among themselves.

They then composed a great stotra to Bhagavān Vishṇu. They sang it before him at Vaikuṇṭha. In it they listed all his glorious avatāras and begged him to act himself against Jalandhara.

The avatāras listed

The stotra names these avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu:

  1. Matsya, the fish avatāra, the protector at the time of the great flood.
  2. Kūrma, the tortoise avatāra, who held up Mount Mandara at the churning of the ocean.
  3. Varāha, the boar avatāra, who lifted the sunken earth out of the primordial waters.
  4. Vāmana, the dwarf avatāra, who measured the three worlds and took them back from Bali.
  5. Paraśurāma, the warrior-brāhmaṇa, who destroyed the kshatriya class twenty-one times.
  6. Rāma, Bhagavān Rāma, the embodiment of dharma.
  7. Kṛshṇa, the complete avatāra in Dvāpara Yuga.
  8. Jina (Buddha), the avatāra of compassion.
  9. Kalki, the avatāra at the end of Kali Yuga, not yet fully manifest at the time of the stotra.
  10. Kapila, the ṛshi avatāra, founder of Sāṃkhya philosophy.
  11. Vyāsa, the compiler of the Vedas and Purāṇas.

Lakshmī’s plea and Bhagavān Vishṇu’s answer

Lakshmī heard the stotra of the devas. She pleaded with Bhagavān Vishṇu not to put himself in danger in battle against Jalandhara, because she was concerned for his safety.

Bhagavān Vishṇu is the protector of dharma and the refuge of the devas. The prayer of the devas prevailed, and he agreed to enter the war with Jalandhara. The Śiva Purāṇa tells this in Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 16.

Sources

  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 16