Avatara (avatāra)

An avatara is a descent, the taking of embodied form by a god in order to restore an order that has slipped. The Bhagavad Gita gives the classic statement, that whenever dharma declines and adharma rises the divine takes birth age after age. In the Mahabharata this is not only Krishna: the whole cast is a descent, with gods, celestials and demons born as kings and warriors so that the earth, crushed by armies, can be relieved of her burden.