PLATE TEN
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, incarnates Himself in various forms age after age to perform specific missions. Here we see His ten most prominent  līlā-avatāras  (pastime incarnations). Beginning in the lower left-hand corner and moving clockwise, we find (1) Lord Matsya, the fish incarnation, who protected Vaivasvata Manu by supporting the boat he was in during a complete inundation of the universe; (2) Lord Kūrma, the tortoise incarnation, whose shell served as a pivot for Mandara Mountain when it was being used as a churning rod by the theists and the atheists; (3) Lord Varāha, the boar incarnation, who lifted the earth up from the nether regions of the universe and slew the great demon Hiraṇyākṣa; (4) Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the half-man half-lion, who bifurcated the strong body of the atheist Hiraṇyakaśipu with His nails; (5) Lord Vāmanadeva, the dwarf- brāhmaṇa  incarnation, who begged three steps of land from Bali Mahārāja; (6) Lord Paraśurāma, who annihilated the administrative class ( kṣatriyas ) twenty-one times; (7) Lord Rāmacandra, who accepted exile in the forest with His beloved consort, Śītādevī, and then exhibited superhuman powers by controlling the Indian Ocean and killing the atheist King Rāvaṇa; (8) Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself (seen here with Lord Balarāma, His first expansion), who performed such wonderful pastimes as holding Govardhana Hill aloft for seven days to protect His friends in Vṛndāvana from King Indra's inundation; (9) Lord Buddha, who appeared just to delude those who are envious of the faithful theists; and (10) Lord Kalki, who will appear at the end of the Kali-yuga to annihilate all the atheists. (p. 197)