''Dasavatharam'' () is a 1976 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-language

Hindu mythological film This is a list of genres of Literary genre, literature and entertainment (Film genre, film, television, Music genre, music, and Video game genre, video games), excluding :Visual arts genres, genres in the visual arts. ''Genre'' is the term for ...

, directed and written by

K. S. Gopalakrishnan K. S. Gopalakrishnan was an Indian screenwriter, director, producer, and lyricist, who worked in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. Since the early 1960s, he directed 70 films. He spent most of his career directing and producing movies with soc ...

. The film, based on the

Dashavatara The Dashavatara ( sa, दशावतार, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindus, Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning " ...

(ten Avatars) of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, stars

Ravikumar Ravikumar is Hindu given name, which means "Son of the Sun", combining the Sanskrit words "Ravi" (Sun) and "Kumar" (Son). The name may refer to: *Ravikumar (actor) (born 1953), Indian actor *Ravikumar (writer) (born 1961), Indian writer * Ravikumar ...

, with

Sirkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...

Jayachitra Jayachitra is an Indian actress films who works mostly in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Early life Jayachitra was born in 1957. Her father Mahendra was a veterinary doctor, who had earlier worked as a lawyer. Her mother Ammaji (a.k.a. Ja ...

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

M. R. Radha Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...

P. S. Veerappa P. S. Veerappa (10 September 191111 September 1998) was an Indian actor and a producer of Tamil cinema. Early life Born in 1911, Veerappa belonged to Kangeyam, then part of Coimbatore District in Madras Presidency. But he grew up in his gra ...

Sowcar Janaki Sankaramanchi Janaki (born T. Janaki; 12 December 1931), popularly known as Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Tamil, Telug ...

and

K. R. Vijaya Deivanayaki better known by her stage name K. R. Vijaya is an Indian actress who has featured in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. She started her career in 1963 and has been acting for more than five decades in South Indian cinema. ...

in supporting roles. It was released on 15 January 1976.

Plot

Dasavatharam tells the "Ten Avatars", a spell–binding story about how far you can get with

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

's grace. The Ten avatars named are as follows:

Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya m ...

(The Fish),

Kurma Kurma ( sa, कूर्म; , 'Turtle', 'Tortoise'), is the second avatar of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. Originating in Vedic literature such as the Yajurveda as being synonymous with the Saptarishi called Kashyapa, Kurma is most comm ...

(The Tortoise),

Varaha Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...

(The Boar),

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

(The halfman/half lion),

Vamana Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. O ...

(a Dwarf),

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will appear ...

(Warrior with the Axe),

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

(Prince of

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

(Prince of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

Balarama Balarama (Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Balad ...

(Avatar of Adhisheshan) and

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

(Eternity).

Cast

as Lord

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

as Naradha *

as Prince Arjuna *

as Prince Dhuchadhanan *

as Yasodhai *

Hiranyakashipu Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often inte ...

M. R. R. Vasu Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan Vasudevan was an Indian actor who was active in Tamil cinema and theatre during the latter half of the 20th century. He was known for playing negative roles, but he was also a successful character actor. He acte ...

as Hayagriva *

S. Varalakshmi Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like ''Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'' (1960) and '' ...

as Goddess

Adhiparasakthi ''Adhiparasakthi'' ( ta, ஆதிபராசக்தி) is an Indian Tamil-language mythology soap opera that aired on Raj TV and aired every Friday at 8:00PM IST. The story of this series had depicted the worship of Goddess. In this ser ...

* Udaiyappa as Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

P. R. Varalakshmi P. R. Varalakshmi is an Indian actress. She was active in movies during the 1970s and 1980s. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s in Malayalam film, Malayalam, Tamil film, Tamil, Kannada film, Kannada, and Telugu film, Telugu films. ...

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

* V. Gopalakrishnan as Lord Brahma *

Udaya Chandrika Udaya Chandrika was an Indian actress of Kannada cinema from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. She also appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu-language films. Career Udaya Chandrika began her career with ''Katari Veera'', released in 1966. She ...

as Goddess Saraswathi * Vijayageetha as

Mahasaraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a god ...

as Leelavathi * Baby Rani as Prahalad *

V. S. Raghavan V S Raghavan (18 February 1925 – 24 January 2015) was an Indian actor, who has acted both in Tamil films as well as television. He started his career as a dramatist and stage actor and went on to act as a character actor in films, starting ...

Guru Sukracharya Shukra (Sanskrit: शुक्र, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient lineage of sages who counselled Asuras in Vedic history. In medieval mythology and Hindu as ...

Kaka Radhakrishnan T. V. Radhakrishnan, better known as Kaka Radhakrishnan ( – 14 June 2012) was an Indian actor who acted in Tamil language films from the year 1940. He is also notable for having introduced his childhood friend, Sivaji Ganesan, into films. Car ...

as Sukracharya's Assistant * Y. G. Mahendran as a Tribe *

S. V. Sahasranamam Singanallur Venkataramana Iyer Sahasranamam (29 November 1913 – 19 February 1988), also known as S. V. S., was an Indian actor and director. Primarily a theatre actor, he also worked in over 200 films, mainly in Tamil cinema. Early lif ...

as King Mahabali *

Shanmugasundaram Shanmugasundaram was an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil films. He began his career as an actor by starring in ''Ratha Thilagam'' (1963) and '' Karnan'' (1964), and continued his career for seven decades. He is also a dubbing artist. He h ...

as Prince Namachi, Mahabali's Son * Master Raghuraman as Vamana *

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

as King Dasharatha *

C. R. Vijayakumari C. R. Vijayakumari is an Indian actress in the Tamil film industry from 1953 to 2003. Film career Vijayakumari is known for her ability to convincingly transform herself into the characters she portrays. She is noted for her Tamil diction an ...

as Queen Kaikeyee *

Master Sridhar Sridhar was an Indian actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted about 150 films and he was introduced to Tamil cinema as a child artist. He was famous for his child performance in many movies and so called as Master Sridhar. Personal life ...

as Prince Lakshmana *

Master Sekhar J. V. Sekhar (7 January 1963 – 8 July 2003), better known as Master Sekhar, was an Indian child actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil and Malayalam films. Early life and career Sekhar was born on 7 January 1963. He performed more than ...

as Prince Bharatha *

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

as Princess Sita *

Sripriya Sripriya is an Indian actress, film director and politician from Tamil Nadu. She has acted in over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages. She has also directed films in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages, includin ...

Shurpanakha Shurpanakha (Sanskrit: शूर्पणखा, , ), also known as Meenakshi, is a ''rakshasi'' (demoness) in Hindu Mythology. Her legends are mainly narrated in the epic ''Ramayana'' and its other versions. She was the sister of Lanka's king ...

* S. A. Ashokan as King Ilangeswaran or Ravanan * V. K. Ramasamy as Ilangeswaran's Minister *

Thengai Srinivasan Thengai Srinivasan (21 October 1937 – 9 November 1987) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language, Tamil-language films and plays from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was given the prefix ''Thengai'' (coconut) after his role as a coco ...

Jamadagni Jamadagni ( sa, जमदग्नि, lit=great fire) is a character in Hindu literature. He is regarded in Hindu tradition to be one of the Saptarishi (Seven Vedic sages) in the seventh, and the current age of Manvantara.Avalon, Arthur (Sir J ...

* V. R. Thilagam as

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...

Devi *

A. K. Veerasami A. K. Veerasamy was an Indian actor who acted in over 500 films in the Tamil language, in supporting and minor roles. One verse that he spoke of in the Mudhal Mariyadhai film, "''Enakku Oru Unmai Therinchavunum"'' dialogue is still far from ...

as Sage Durvasa *

S. V. Ramadas S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades. Film career Among popular movies, he acted in Aayirathil Or ...

as Prince Duryodhana * Jaya as Princess Draupadi/Panchaali * Indhra devi as Thazhambu

Soundtrack

Music was by S. Rajeswara Rao and lyrics were written by

Udumalai Narayana Kavi [https://idhatri.com/udumalai-narayana-kavi/ Udumalai Narayana KavUdumalai Narayana Kavi Udumalai Narayana Kavi (25 September 1899 – 23 May 1981) was an Indian poet and lyricist known for his work in Tamil films. Early life Udumalai Narayana wa ...

, A. Maruthakasi and Vaali (poet), Vaali.

References

External links

* {{Works based on the Mahabharata , state=collapsed 1970s Tamil-language films 1976 films Films about Hinduism Films about reincarnation Films about royalty Films about shapeshifting Films based on the Mahabharata Films based on the Ramayana Films directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan Films scored by S. Rajeswara Rao Films with screenplays by K. S. Gopalakrishnan Hindu devotional films Hindu mythological films Indian epic films Indian musical films Indian nonlinear narrative films Krishna in popular culture Religious epic films