Avatars

Introduction

Suka Dev Goswami has mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10  that the Personality of Godhead, as the
maintainer of all in the universe, appears in different transcendental forms after establishing the creation,
and thus He reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, the non humans and the
demigods. Reclaims them from the material conditioning and establishes them in their true spiritual
identities.

The sages addressed Sukadev Goswami, a liberated soul from birth, appearing as young boy of 16 as
follows,  "O great sage, kindly narrate how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is  independent,
desireless Lord of the three worlds and the controller of all energies, accepts forms and creates the cosmic manifestation with perfectly arranged regulative principles for its maintenance".

Suka Dev Goswami said : The Lord is everywhere, in both the material and spiritual domains, and He
appears for the sake of His devotees when there is friction between His devotees and the non-devotees.
As electricity is generated by friction of matter anywhere and everywhere, the Lord, being all-pervading,
appears because of the friction of devotees and non-devotees. When the Supreme Godhead appears in the
material world as Sri Krsna however all His plenary portions accompany Him and appear in different
parts of his pastimes.

As the Lords pastimes are unlimited so are his forms. I will mention the most prominent and a brief
explanation of each . I have also included a short description of the Vedic conception of time. This will
help us in understanding the whys and when's of the Lord appearances ( Avatars ). I will include the
Purana ( History ) when available. Remember that the Puranas were taught to Romaharshana,
Veda Vyasa's disciple prior to the presentation of Srimad Bhagavatam. Vyasa was not completely satisfied with the ambiguity of the Puranas so he simplified them even more, so the sincere devotees in the current age could easily understand them. The pastimes of each Avatar and his devotees can be found in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Practically speaking that is what the Vedas are all about.

The pastimes are in a sutra ( summarized \ condensed ) form and to bring out the deeper meaning it is recommended by the sages and Vedas themselves to hear them from the lips of self realized souls.