Sugata Buddha is the ninth dashaavataar of Lord Vishnu.  Many a times people confuse him with Gautam Buddha. Some religious texts also say that Balarama who is the elder brother of Lord Krishna is the ninth avataar.

As per the Agni Puran, Sugata Buddha is four handed where he holds the Vedas, a lotus, a japamala, and a vessel to receive alms. In Shiva Purana, he is described as a bald man with faded clothes who was sent to earth as a monk with the task of helping Shiva defeat a powerful trio of demons called Tripurasura.

Sugata Buddha was born in Bodh Gaya and he was born to slay the demon trio, who were the demon Tarakasura’s sons. They had become invincible after Lord Brahma had granted them a boon. It is said that Lord Indra was cursed by the great sage Brihaspati because of Indra’s arrogance. Due to Indra’s vulnerability, Tarakasura ordered the Tripurasura demons to attack the heavens and hence Indra rushed to Lord Shiva to seek refuge. Lord Shiva assumed the temporary charge of the heavens to protect the Gods. After capturing the heavens, they turned their attention to earth and started troubling the sages. They forced them to perform yagna for their benefit. That is when Lord Vishnu took the avataar of Sugata Buddha and used his charm and youthfulness to trap the wives of the demons which weakened the demons and this led to their defeat by Lord Shiva.

The story of the ninth avataar of Lord Vishnu is filled with divine intervention and cosmic battles.