Daśāvatāras in Tamil bhakti literature and programme of sculptures in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art

The term daśāvatāras stands for the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu. They are Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana / Trivikrama, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki. These are noted in the hymns of Āḻvārs in orderly or disorderly pattern. The first part of the article discusses the significance of a set of daśāvatāra images in the Kaḷḷarpirāṉ temple at Śrīvaikuṇṭam in Tirunelveli district. Such images in separate enclaves were set in Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period (15th–18th centuries CE) temples in Tamilnadu, e.g. Tātikkompu and Aḻakarkōyil. To this milieu the images examined in the article add a new dimensio