The Bhagavata Purana gives an alternate list, wherein it numerically lists out 22 Vishnu avatars in chapter 1.3
- Four Kumaras (Catursana): the four Sons of god Brahma and exemplified the path of devotion
- Varaha: The divine warthog who lifts earth from cosmic waters
- Narada: the divine-sage who travels the worlds as a devotee of Vishnu
- Nara-Narayana: the twin-sages
- Kapila: a renowned sage spoken of in the Mahabharata, son of Kardama Muni and Devahuti and sometimes identified with the founder of the Samkhya school of philosophy
- Dattatreya: the combined avatar of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He was born to the sage Atri became a great seer himself
- Yajna: the lord of fire-sacrifice, who was also a previous
- Indra : the lord of heaven
- Rishabha: the father of Bharata Chakravartin and Bahubali
- Prithu: the sovereign-king who milked the earth as a cow to get the world's grain and vegetation and also invented agriculture
- Matsya: A narwhal who guided Manu's ark during the pralaya (deluge) and also killed demon Hayagriva
- Kurma: A giant tortoise who balances Mount Mandara atop his carapace during the churning of cosmic ocean of milk
- Dhanvantari: the father of Ayurvedic medicine and a physician to the Devas
- Mohini: the enchantress
- Narasimha: The man-lion who kills demon Hiranyakashpu
- Vamana: The dwarf-brahmana who takes the three worlds from Bali Maharaj and purifies Him
- Parashurama: The Brahmin warrior with an axe who kills Kartyavira Arjuna and his Kshatriya allies
- Sri Rama: 'Perfect King' from Suryavansha, Subject of Ramayana
- Vyasa: the compiler of the scriptures – Vedas and writer of the scriptures (Puranas) and the epic Mahabharata
- Balarama: Elder brother of Krishna.
- Krishna: Subject of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Geethai
- Garuda: Garuda purana
- Kalki: The Divine Lawgiver
Avatars like Hayagriva, Hamsa and Garuda are also mentioned in the Pancharatra making the total of thirty-nine avatars.
However, despite these lists, the commonly accepted number of ten avatars for Vishnu was fixed well before the 10th century CE.
Madhvacharya also regards Gautama Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu.
