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    Puranic Encyclopedia

    p. 33, col. 1.
    AṂŚĀVATĀRA . The incarnation of God on earth is

    called avatāra. When the incarnation is only partial,

    that is, when only some of the divine elements incarnate,

    it is called aṃśāvatāra (Aṃśa=part). Chapters 54 to

    64 of Ādi Parva of the Mahābhārata give us a list of

    the gods who have incarnated partially. The following

    list of devas and their aṃśāvatāras is based upon the

    account given in the fourth Skandha of Śrī Mahādevī

    Bhāgavata.

    Name of the god Name of the aṃśāvatāra

    1. Kaśyapa Vasudeva

    2. Ādiśeṣa Balabhadra

    3. Nārāyaṇarṣi Śrī Kṛṣṇa

    4. Yamadharma Yudhiṣṭhira

    5. Aśvinīdevas Nakula and Sahadeva

    6. Dharma Vidura

    7. Śiva Aśvatthāmā

    8. Gandharvarāja Devaka

    9. Aṣṭavasu Bhīṣma

    10. Marudgaṇa Kṛpa; Kṛtavarmā

    11. Aditi Devakī

    12. Nararṣi Arjuna

    13. Vāyu Bhīmasena

    14. Sūrya Karṇa

    15. Bṛhaspati Droṇa

    16. Varuṇa Śantanu

    17. Marut Virāṭa

    18. Haṃsa Dhṛtarāṣṭra

    19. Dvāpara Śakuni

    20. Pāvaka Dhṛṣṭadyumna

    21. Kali Duryodhana

    22. Rākṣasa Śikhaṇḍī

    23. Varuṇa Drupada

    24. Viśvedevas Sons of Pāñcālī

    25. Dhṛti Mādrī

    26. Vipracitti Jarāsandha

    27. Hayagrīva Keśi

    28. Bāṣkala Bhagadatta

    29. Lamba Pralamba

    30. Sanatkumāra Pradyumna

    Name of the god Name of the aṃśāvatāra

    31. Lakṣmī Pāñcālī

    32. Siddhi Kuntī

    33. Mati Gāndhārī

    34. Jaya Hiraṇyākṣa

    35. Vijaya Hiraṇyakaśipu

    36. Hiraṇyākṣa Rāvaṇa

    37. Hiraṇyakaśipu Kumbhakarṇa

    38. Rāvaṇa Śiśupāla

    39. Kumbhakarṇa Daṇḍavaktra

    40. Prahlāda Śalya

    41. Kālanemi Kaṃsa

    42. Anuhlāda Dhṛṣṭaketu

    43. Khara Dhenuka.

    (For more details see under the word, AVATĀRA).