24FEB21WED

DASAVATARAS (Ten Incarnations of Vishnu)

1

Mat-sya Avatar (Fish Incarnation)

To save the earth from a great flood,

Lord Vishnu took the form of a giant fish

and lifted the earth above the waters.

Kurma Avatar (Turtle Incarnation)

The angels came to know there was Amrit (nectar)

under the Ocean of Milk.

Lord Vishnu lives on the Ocean of Milk.

If this ocean is churned, they would get Amrit.

If they drink amrit, they wouldn't have death.

They live forever.

To churn the Ocean of Milk,

they needed the help of demons.

They used a gigantic mountain (upside down),

Manthara, as the churning stick.

A giant snake, Vasuki, became the churning rope.

To support the mountain from below,

Vishnu took the form of a giant turtle.

They got the moon while churning.

It was taken by Siva.

Goddess Lakshmi was born next.

She was taken by Vishnu.

In this way, moon and Lakshmi are siblings.

Next came, a dreadful poison.

It was swallowed by Siva.

At last came the amrit.

By a trick, the angels drank all the amrit

and the demons were not given a share.

However, one demon managed to drink it.

This information was given by the sun and the moon.

Vishnu cut his head.

But he was not dead.

Because he had already drunk amrit.

He continued to live as two separate parts,

a living head, and a living trunk.

He sought to take revenge on the sun and the moon.

He swallows the sun and the moon every year when he

gets a chance.

It is called eclipse.

The living head is called RAHU

and the living trunk is KETU.

Anyway, we should know that

eclipses are actually caused by shadows.

When the moon comes in between the earth and the sun,

the sun is blocked from our view for a while

because the earth is in the moon's shadow.

This is called the solar eclipse.

When the earth comes in between the moon and the sun,

the moon is in the shadow of the earth,

so we can't see the moon for a while.

This is called the lunar eclipse.