Divine Descent (Avatāra)

Avatāra means 'descent' — the coming-down of God into the world in a living, embodied form. The Bhagavad-gītā gives the doctrine its classic statement: whenever righteousness declines and disorder rises, the Lord takes birth, age after age, to protect the good and restore the right. Vaiṣṇava tradition counts a famous series of such descents of Viṣṇu — among them the man-lion, the dwarf, Rāma, and Kṛṣṇa — the 'ten avatāras.' The idea grounds an intimate theology: the infinite Lord makes himself accessible, born among his creatures.