In Hinduism , the incarnation of a deity in human or animal form to counteract an evil in the world.
It usually refers to 10 appearances of Vishnu , including an incarnation as the Buddha Gautama and Kalkin (the incarnation yet to come). The doctrine appears in the Bhagavadgita in the words of Lord Krishna to Arjuna : "Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness then I send forth Myself."