Dashavtaar and Evolution of Life - some parallels

The story of Lord Vishnu’s ten avatars or incarnations is well known to devout Hindus.
A short and fast rehash for those who don’t.

1.Matsya Avatar – The Fish Incarnation
2.Kachhap Avatar – The Tortoise Incarnation
3.Varaha Avatar – The Boar Incarnation
4.Narsimha Avatar – The Lion-Man Incarnation
5.Vaman Avatar – The Dwarf Incarnation
6.Parasurama Avatar – The Axe-wielding Warrior Sage Incarnation
7.Sri Ram Avatar
8.Sri Krishna Avatar
9.Buddha Avatar
10.Kalki Avatar

(For more detailed stories refer http://www.punditravi.com/dasavtar__the_10_incarnations_of.htm)

While the tales regarding each incarnation make for interesting read, what is more interesting is the way evolution of life, and that of man, as predicted by modern science today, are to some extent borne out by the order of these avatars.

For instance, that Life originated in water is a well accepted fundamental – and the story of Dashavtaars begins with Matsya, in water.

The latter transfer of newfound life to land is commemorated by the amphibious Kachhap.

The next in line, the Varaha, is a big leap as it comes straight to the mammals, missing the reptiles and the birds – but the trend is maintained anyhow.

Narsimha, or the semi bestial being points towards the savage, non-humanized ancestor of man.

Vaman, or the dwarf man, is once again in tandem with popular evolutionary biology beliefs – the earliest species of hominid - Ardipithecus ramidus, was shown to be only 4 feet tall.

Parshuram – the angry warrior sage can be compared with the aggressive, Homo sapiens Neanderthals which is known to resemble Homo sapiens sapiens physically but was definitely more prone to violence.
Sri Ram and Sri Krishna, and Buddha denote the perfectly evolved man with a well-developed emotional side to their characters.

And Kalki may well be the Superman that the man of today will evolve into in a few thousand of years more.
Perhaps just one more indication that Vedas and Puranas contain a hidden science....just waiting to be explored some more....