MATSYA AVATARA The first avatar of Lord Vishnu is called as Matsya In the Satya Yuga there was a king by name Manu. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. His greatest desire is to see Lord Vishnu with his own eyes. For this he performed severe penances for thousands of years. The Satya Yuga was about to end and a great flood was to come and destroy all the life on earth to start afresh for the next Yuga. Lord Brahma after a day full of creation, was tired. He wanted to go to sleep and was soon snoring loudly. While Lord Brahma was sleeping an asura Hayagriva emerged from Brahma’s nose. With Brahma asleep, Hayagriva realized that it was the right time to take in all the knowledge of the Vedas. Hayagriva concentrated and soon absorbed the knowledge in the Vedas. He then hid deep inside the ocean, thinking that nobody would find him there. Lord Vishnu saw this and was worried. If the Vedas were stolen by the ASURA, the knowledge of the Vedas could not be passed on to the Next Yuga. As a Preserver, it was his job to make sure the knowledge survived to the next Yuga. VARAHA AVATARA The third avatar of Lord Vishnu is the Varaha Avatar In this avatar Lord Vishnu incarnated as a Boar to protect the PRUDHVI. The Varaha avatar starts with the Doorkeepers of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu lived in Vaikunta. His home was guarded by two gatekeepers – Jaya and Vijaya. They loved Lord Vishnu and felt honoured that they were protecting him. They were many people who came to visit Lord Vishnu and it was Jaya's and Vijaya's job to allow every person who had grievance to see the Lord. They knew that Lord Vishnu's time was precious and could not be wasted. The doorkeepers took their job very seriously. As they were standing guard, the two of them saw four children come towards Vaikunta. "Who’s that?" Jaya asked looking mystified. He had been Lord Vishnu's doorkeeper for ages and had seen all sorts of things, but children? That was rare. VAMANA AVATARA The Vamana Avatar starts with Mahabali the Asura King. Mahabali was the grandson of Prahlada and the son of Virochana. Mahabali was a a great ruler and his people loved him. The people were very happy and prosperous under his rule. He was taught the Vedhas by his grandfather Prahlada and after that by his teacher Shukracharya. After the churning of the ocean, when the Devas had taken the Amrit, Indra had killed Bali. Shukracharya brought back Bali to life, with the help of his mantras and power. Mahabali performed severe penance to Lord Brahma. Finally Lord Brahma appeared him, 'My Lord!' Bali said bowing before Lord Brahma, 'The people are always afraid of Asuras. I want to show the world that we are good. I want to have the power equal to Indra. I also should not be defeated in battle, sir!' Lord Brahma sensed that Mahabali was a righteous man, meant for great things. Without asking any questions, he granted Mahabali his boon. Shukracharya was a very good teacher and a very good battle strategist. With his help, Bali soon conquered the three worlds. Bali defeated Indra, the King of the Gods and took over the heavens. However Bali aided by his Guru was always righteous and was devoted to Lord Vishnu. End of Preview. Rest of the book can be read @ http://kinige.com/book/Naaraayanam * * * .