Incarnations of Vishnu
Vishnu has ten major incarnations. They are Matsya, the fish; Kurma the tortoise; Varaha, the boar, who killed Hiranyaksa and saved the earth; and Narasimha, who was half-man and half-lion. Narasimha killed the demon Hiranyakasipu and saved His pure devotee Prahlada. The fifth incarnation was Vamana who begged three paces of land from Bali Maharaja, the king of the demons, to reclaim the world for the demigods.
Next was Parasurama, who although born a Brahmin, killed the ksatny'as (warrior caste) 21 times. Rama was the seventh incarnation. He saved His wife from Ravana, the king of Lanka. The famous Ramayana narrates his activities. Balarama was the eighth incarnation, and Lord Buddha the ninth. The tenth incarnation is Kalki, who kills the demoniac population at the end of Kali-yuga. Besides the major incarnations there are innumerable other ones. The Lord manifests in many species of life for the maintenance of the faithful and the annihilation of the unfaithful .
Matsya
He is the fish incarnation. When Lord Brahma sleeps during the night, annihilation takes place and the three worlds are covered by the water of the ocean. At the end of the past millennium (the end of Branma's day) as Branma felt sleepy and desired to lie down, the Vedas were emanating from his mouth and the great demon named Hayagriva stole the Vedic knowledge. Understanding this, Lord Vishnu then assumed the form of a fish and saved the Vedas by killing the demon. When the entire world was covered with water, the Lord again took the form of a fish and saved Satyavrata, keeping him on a boat which was attached to the fish's horn, to save him and the rishis, herbs, seeds, and other living entities.
Kurma
Kurma is Lord Vishnu in the form of a tortoise. His shell served as a pivot for Mandarachala Hill, which was used as a churning rod by the demigods and demons. The demons and demigods were producing nectar from the sea by churning it with Mandarachala Hill. 'this is the same nectar that drops during Kumbhamela which is said to give eternal life. To churn the ocean, the gods needed a churning stick. They used a mountain. In the form of a tontoise, Lord Vishnu became the support for this mountain.
Varaha Lord
Varaha appeared as a giant boar to save the earth planet and to kill the demon Hiranyaksa, who was terntying the universe. Varaha is often seen as ahalf-man with the face of a boar engaged in picking up the earth.
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