Vishnu

   The rise of Vishnu to the position of supreme god of the Vedic pantheon appears to have followed the elevation of Krisna Vasudeva to that position and the subsequent doctrinal enunciation that Krisna was the eighth avatar of Vishnu. It is certain that this elevation of Vishnu was supported by the Brahmans to offset the popularity of Indra, who was afterwards gradually superseded. These ten avatars all appear to be pre-Vedic, and may be taken to represent geological or historical periods. The last five were renamed by the invaders, the others may have been too ancient to have been changed except by inclusion in the new religion.

   They are: 1, Matsya, the fish; 2, Kurma, the tortoise; 3, Varaha, the boar; 4, Narasinha, the man-lion; 5, Vamana, the dwarf; 6, Parasu-Rama, Rama with the axe; 7, Rama-Chandra; 8, Krisna; 9, Buddha; 10, Kalki.

   Vishnu, the spirit of the sacrifice, is in some ways identical with the spirit of the Soma. His first three avatars are different aspects of the same Deluge legend, the fourth and fifth are recollections of the conquest of India, and the sixth may concern the putting down of the revolt on the part of the fighting forces, and the seventh deals with the attempted conquest of Ceylon. The eighth and ninth avatars arose for purely political reasons, while the tenth, which has not yet occurred, may be considered as prophecy.