Explore the divine significance, mantras, and iconography of Dashavatara.
The 9th avatar is genuinely disputed across traditions: most mainstream sources list Buddha, while Sri Vaishnavism, Smarta, and some regional traditions list Balarama instead (with Krishna moved to 8th). Both are shown as the 9th above rather than presenting one as sole truth. Several avatar mantras beyond the well-attested ones (Matsya, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna) have no single standardized short form in circulation and are left blank rather than invented.
