The names of 24 avatars of Lord Vishnu are Adi Purusha, Sanat Kumara, Varaha Avatar, Narada, Nara-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Yajna, Rishabha, Prithu, Matsya, Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Narasimha, Hayagriva, Vamana, Parashurama, Vyasa, Shree Rama, Balarama, Shree Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki.
The 24 Avatars of Lord Vishnu:
1. Adi Purusha:
It is the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu that he took for the creation of the material universe. He expanded himself in the form of the universe to manifest all the ingredients for material creation.
2. Sanat Kumaras:
These are the four mind-born sons of Lord Brahma. They are celibates and underwent severe austerities to realize the Absolute Truth. Their names are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara.
3. Varaha Avatar:
Varaha (a wild boar) incarnation of Lord Vishnu is one of his 10 avatars. This avatar happened in Satya Yuga. He lifted the Earth (personified as Bhudevi) from the cosmic ocean. It was a part-boar (wild boar) and part-man avatar. He also killed Hiranyaksha, who was a despotic Asura and the brother of Hiranyakashipu.
4. Sage Narada:
Sage Narada is one of the greatest devotees of Lord Vishnu. He is known for his chant “Narayan Narayan,” which he chants continuously. Narada is a celibate and is a son of Lord Brahma. He has the power of roaming the Three Worlds without being seen.
5. Nara and Narayana:
Nara and Narayana were twins born to the parents Dharma and Moorti. They were great ascetics. When Indra sent Apsaras to interrupt their asceticism, they created Urvashi, who was more beautiful than Indra’s Apsaras. They once overpowered Pashpatastra, which is a very powerful weapon, through their meditative powers.
6. Kapila:
Kapila Muni was the son of Kardama and Devahuti. He is mentioned as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Brahmanda Purana, and Bhagavata Purana. Sage Kapila burnt 60,000 sons of King Sagara with only the ‘hum’ sound. He gave complete knowledge of creative elements and metaphysics to Asuri Brahmana.
7. Lord Dattatreya:
Lord Dattatreya is a three-faced Hindu god. His three faces are that of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, and Lord Shiva. He is the son of Sage Atri and Sati Anasuya. He is the combined form of three gods.
8. Yajna:
Yajna was the son of Prajapati Ruchi and his wife Akuti. During the period of Svayambhuva Manvantatra, there was nobody eligible to become Indra, the king of heaven. Therefore, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Yajna and ruled the heavens for a period of time. He also might be the personification of yajna (ritual).
9. Rishabha:
King Rishabha was the son of Nabhi and Merudevi. With this incarnation, Lord Vishnu showed the correct path to those who have fully controlled their senses and are honored by all orders of life. This avatar of Lord Vishnu shares many similarities with the Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha.
10. Prithu:
Prithu was a noble king. He was the descendant of Dhruva. He was the first to cultivate the land and yield produce from it. His father Vena was a wicked king. Therefore, the sages killed him and created Prithu from his body.
11. Matsya Avatar:
Per the Matsya Purana, Lord Vishnu incarnated as half-fish and half-human to guide the king Satyavrat (Manu) to save himself, seeds of the plants, herbs, and mobile living creatures on the Earth at the time of the great Deluge.
12. Kurma:
Kurma means a tortoise. In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu helped gods and demons to churn the milky sea and take out the nectar by supporting the Mountain Meru on his back.
13. Dhanvantari:
Lord Dhanvantari is the physician of gods. When gods and demons churned the ocean for elixir, Dhanvantari came out of the ocean with a pot filled with elixir. Hindus believe that he gave the knowledge of Ayurveda to humans.
14. Mohini:
Mohini Avatar is the only female incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He incarnated as Mohini multiple times and saved gods, including Lord Shiva. She is the most beautiful woman in the whole universe. Mohini is trained in many arts. She prevented demons from drinking elixir and distributed it only among gods. The Mohini avatar also saved Lord Shiva from Bhasmasura, who wished to kill Lord Shiva.
15. Narasimha:
Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu is in the form of a part-man and part-lion who killed the despotic demon king Hiranyakashipu and restored dharma on the Earth. Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Therefore, he tried to kill him. Lord Vishnu appeared there from a pillar and killed Hiranyakashipu with his claws.
16. Hayagriva:
Hayagriva is a part-horse, part-man incarnation of Lord Vishnu. During Creation, the demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu took the avatar of Hayagriva, killed the demons, and recovered the Vedas from them.
17. Vamana:
Vamana was the son of Sage Kashyapa and Aditi. Once Bali insulted Lord Vishnu. Therefore, Prahlada cursed him that he would lose his kingdom.
Once, during a yajna, Vamana asked for only three steps of land measured by his own feet which Bali happily agreed to. In the three steps, Vamana covered Earth and the universe and sent Bali into the netherworld.
18. Parashurama:
Parashurama is one of the eight immortals. He is considered one of the greatest warriors as well as a great sage. He is the son of Sage Jamadagni and Renuka. Lord Vishnu took this avatar to punish Kshatriyas, who had become arrogant then.
19. Sage Vyasa:
Sage Vyasa was the son of Satyavati and Sage Parashara. He composed the Mahabharata and also divided the Vedas into several branches for simplification. Satyavati gave birth to Vyasa immediately after conceiving. Also, Sage Vyasa grew up into an adult a few moments after his birth. He also had knowledge of the Vedas when he was born.
20. Lord Rama:
Lord Rama killed the Asura king Ravana in a fierce battle who had abducted his wife, Goddess Seeta. He established a kingdom of truth and honesty. He is also known as Marayada Purushottama because of his ideal behavior.
21. Balarama:
Balarama was the elder brother of Lord Krishna. He is also popularly believed to be an incarnation of Sheshanaga. A plow is his main weapon. He was an expert in wrestling and taught some advanced wrestling techniques to both Bheema and Duryodhana.
22. Lord Krishna:
Lord Krishna killed his maternal uncle Kansa, who was a despotic ruler. He also killed Narakasura, the demon who had abducted 16,100 Kshatriya women. He encouraged Pandavas to fight a crusade against Kauravas and their allies and restored dharma. Devaki and Vasudeva were the real parents of Krishna, but he was brought up by Nanda and Yashoda.
23. Buddha:
Hindus believe that Gautama Buddha was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but most Buddhists do not think so. He was a great philosopher and the founder of Buddhism who showed humans a path to end their suffering and attain salvation.
24. Kalki:
The Kalki avatar would be the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu that would appear at the end of the present Kali Yuga. At the end of the Kali Yuga, when dharma would reach the nadir point, then to restore righteousness in the world, Lord Vishnu would incarnate as Kalki. He is often depicted as mounted on a flying white horse named Devdatta and wielding a blazing sword in his right hand.