Avatar, a word in Hinduism, is a deity which comes down to earth in a human form, an animal form or a partly human and partly animal form. Rama was an avatar of Vishnu, one of the three main gods of the Hindus. Similarly, Buddha was also an avatar. Both of these avatars had human form, but avatars of the Hindu mythology have also appeared in animal form. For example, Matsya had the form of a fish and Varaha had the form of a boar.