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Vishnu

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Vishnu is the supreme god also known as Narayana and Hari, is the Absolute Truth (Para Brahman), Supreme Self (Paramātman), and Ultimate Reality in Vaishnavism, the largest denomination of Hinduism. He is considered as one of the principal deities, generally a representation of Trimurti, the supreme trinity of Hinduism [5]

Ultimate reality, God of preservation, Protector of Good, Destroyer of Evil, Restorer of Dharma, Bestower of karma and Moksha, The Universal being, Para Brahman, Supreme being (Vaishnavism) [1][2]
Member of Trimurti
Other namesNarayana, Vasudeva, Hari, Govinda, Lakshmikanta, Padmanābha, Mukunda
Devanagariविष्णु
MantraOm Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Vishnave namaha, Hari Om.
MountGaruda,[3] Shesha
FestivalsHoli, Onam, Narasimha Jayanti, Ram Navami, Diwali,Janmashtami, Vivaha Panchami, Vijayadashami, Karthik Purnima, Buddha Purnima, Anant Chaturdashi, Devshayani Ekadashi, Prabodhini Ekadashi , Vaikuntha Ekadashi and other Ekadashis,[4]

He is venerated as the Supreme Being in Vaishnavism and as Purushottama or Supreme Purusha in ancient sacred texts like the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata (incl Bhagavad Gita). Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatman (supreme soul) and Parameshwara (supreme God). It describes Vishnu as the all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of—and beyond—the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, preserves, sustains and governs the universe and originates and develops all elements within.

Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, Supreme God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees, the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, he is the "Guru of the Universe". The Bhagavata Purana declares Narayana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who engages in the creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma who is Deity of rajas-guna, himself sustains, maintains and preserves the universe as Vishnu by accepting sattva-guna. Narayana himself annihilates the universe at the end of Maha-Kalpa as Kalagni Rudra who is presiding deity of tamas-guna.

Narayana is Vishnu himself, who incarnates in various avatars. Bhagavata Purana, Purusha Sukta, Narayana Sukta, and the Narayana Upanishads from the Vedas, he is the ultimate reality and Absolute truth.[6][7]

Vishnu is the god of preservation. This means that he protects the universe from being destroyed. It is believed that Vishnu holds the Earth and all living organisms. According to the Hindu religion, he has set foot and arrived on the Earth in nine forms called Avatars, so far with one incarnation yet to come that is Kalki at the last to be Kali Yuga, to destroy evil. His most famous incarnations are Rama, Krishna, Parashurama, and Narasimha

Vishnu holds a lotus, or Padma, the indestructible mace of Vishnu (Kaumodaki), a conch (Shankha), and the unstoppable disc of Vishnu (Sudarshana Chakra) in each of his four hands. He is known to take many disguises having eight-armed form, and innumerable forms, eyes, faces, mouths and arms. A Universal form know to be Vishvarupa is considered the supreme form of Vishnu, where the whole universe is described as contained within him. but the three main forms of Vishnu are Karanodakshayi Vishnu (Mahavishnu), Garbhodaksayi Vishnu, and Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, the other two are the expansions of Karanodakshayi Vishnu.

Avatars

There are 10 avatars of Vishnu (in the order they appeared):

The diverse branches of the Hindu Tradition accept the ninth form of Vishnu as the following:

A list may be given in one place but additional avatars may be mentioned the 24 avatars of Vishnu in Bhagavata Purana in Canto 1, but mentions others elsewhere :

  • Adi Purusha
  • Kumaras
  • Varaha
  • Narada
  • Nara-Narayana
  • Kapila
  • Dattatreya
  • Yajna
  • Rishabha
  • Prithu
  • Hamsa
  • Hayagreeva
  • Matsya
  • Kurma
  • Dhanvantari
  • Mohini
  • Narasimha
  • Vamana
  • Parashurama
  • Vyasadeva
  • Rama
  • Balarama and Krishna
  • Buddha
  • Kalki. [8]

Attributes

The Vishnu Purana talks about the six divine attributes of God Vishnu, collectively called Ṣaḍ-aiśvaryas.

Those six divine qualities or traits of Lord Vishnu are :

  • Jnana (knowledge): Vishnu has complete knowledge of everything in existence. His knowledge is not limited by space or time. He is always aware of everything in the past, present, and future.
  • Bala (strength): Vishnu possesses unparalleled strength. He can lift mountains just by a mere thought.
  • Aiśvarya (command): He has full command over His entire creation. Everything happens according to His will, without any hindrance whatsoever.
  • Vīrya (valor): Vishnu is Vīra, a hero of unmatched valor. No one can defeat Him in a duel except Himself—[Vīrya can also be understood as a tendency to be unaffected by external factors].
  • Śakti (ability): Vishnu is Sarva-śaktimān. He is fully capable of doing everything that others can do. At the same time, He can also do what others cannot.
  • Tējas (independence): Vishnu is independent of everything other than Him. He does not need the assistance of someone other than Himself to do anything.[9]

Five forms of Vishnu : According to Sri Vaishnavism, Vishnu assumes five forms:

  • Para Form – Para is the highest form of Vishnu, found only in Sri Vaikunta, also called Moksha, along with his consort Lakshmi, surrounded by liberated souls like Ananta, Garuda, and a host of Muktas (liberated souls).
  • Vyuha form – Vishnu assumes four forms, which exercise different cosmic functions and control living beings’ activities.
  • Vibhava form – Vishnu assumes various manifestations, called Vibhavas, more popularly known as Avatar from time to time, to protect the virtuous, punish evil-doers, and re-establish righteousness.
  • Antaryami form – “Dwelling within” or “Suksma Vasudeva” form, Vishnu exists within the souls of all living beings and in every substance.
  • Arcavatara or Image manifestation – Sri Vishnu is visible and therefore easily approachable by devotees since Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, and Antaryami forms can only be imagined or meditated upon because they are beyond our reach.[10]

Icons

Vishnu holds items in his four hands. He holds a conch in the upper left hand, which represents victory. He holds the Sudarshan Chakra in the upper right hand, which represents spiritual energy. In his lower left hand, a lotus (flower) represents peacefulness, and in his lower right hand, the Kaumodaki represents Vishnu 's powers.

 
Vishnu reveals his true form to Arjuna

Temples of Vishnu (Mahavishnu)

 
 
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple occupies an area of 156 acres (630,000 m2) with a perimeter of 4,116 m (13,504 ft) making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world.[11]


 
The front-view of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
 
The Angkor Wat Temple was built as a dedication to Vishnu[12]
 
Vishnu temple at Prambanan trimurti temple compound, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  1. 108 Divya Desams
  2. 108 Abhimana Kshethram
  3. Padmanabhaswamy Temple
  4. Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
  5. Venkateswara Temple
  6. Jagannath Temple, Puri
  7. Badrinath Temple
  8. Swaminarayan temples
  9. Candi Wisnu, Prambanan, Java, Indonesia
  10. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
  11. Birla Mandir
  12. Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
  13. Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple
  14. Kallalagar temple, Madurai
  15. Guruvayur Temple, Thrissur
  16. Ananthapura Lake Temple, Kasaragod
 
Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple

The Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple[13] is dedicated to Vishnu and is the ancient Tirth Kshetra. There is no other place like this anywhere in Brahamanda.

Powers and abilities

Vishnu has omniverse manipulation, absolute manipulation, meta manipulation, and preservation. As the preserver, Vishnu can control anything and everything. The power to protect everything from anything is the reason he is also called the supreme protector of his devotees.[14]

Absolute destruction: In the Vishnu purana, Vishnu is also described as the creator, destroyer, and preserver. As the destroyer, he can even destroy infinity or the omniverse.[14]

Omniverse creation or absolute creation: As the creator in the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu has the power to create everything, even infinity and beyond.[14] The power to have limitless power upon seeing the Supreme form of Vishnu. Arjuna describes him as having infinite prowess or power.[6]

Omnipotence : Vishnu has the power to do absolutely everything, even creating something that is bigger than infinity itself. In chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna/Vishnu shows Arjuna everything—all creation: time, space, past, present, future, the omniverse, fictional and real human beings, and more. It is beyond human imagination to actually comprehend it. [6]

Omniscience: the power to have infinite wisdom experience and knowledge.[15]

Omnipresent: The power to be everywhere at every time including beyond the omniverse in both past present and future.[6][16] When Krishna/Vishnu shows his Supreme appearance, it is described being everywhere, yet people can't see it because they don't have the divine vision. Only Maharishis/sages, gods, Sanjaya, and Arjuna are able to see this Vishvarupa.

Formless: Vishnu's true form is described as formless, infinite, boundless, inapplicable, without shape and color, according to Vishnu Purana.[14]

Absolute immortality: Chapter 1 of Vishnu purana describes Vishnu being boundlessly above the concept of death idea and life.[17]

Absolute Transcendence/Being Above All Things: The Vishnu Purana also describes Vishnu as being above all descriptions such as logic, time, space, etc.[17] He is an infinite dimensional being according to Vishnu Sahasranama.

Vishnu Media

  • Shiva (left), Vishnu (middle), and Brahma (right).

  • Hindu god Vishnu (centre) surrounded by his avatars (counter-clockwise, from left-top: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Krishna; Buddha and Kalki), 19th century oleograph by Raja Ravi Varma

  • The Bhagavata Purana (c. 16th century) is centred around Krishna, a Vishnu avatar.

  • Vishnu with Lakshmi (Lakshmi Narayan) on Garuda, painted in gouache c. 1820

  • Vishnu sleeps on the coils of Ananta (Shesha, the World Snake). He will awake for the next cycle of creation which heralds the destruction of all things. 14th century sculpture from India, housed in National Museum of Scotland

  • Harihara – Combined form of Vishnu and Shiva, c. 1825

  • Vishnu bearing a tray of flowers. A painting of the relic chamber of Mahiyangana Stupa (9-11 centuries CE). Currently displayed at Archaeological Museum of Anuradhapura.

  • A modern Buddhist Vishnu shrine in Dondra, Sri Lanka.

  • Nīlakaṇṭha-Avalokiteśvara (青頸観音 Shōkyō-kannon), from the Besson-zakki (別尊雑記 "Miscellaneous Record of Classified Sacred Images"), as reproduced in the Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Zuzō-bu (大正新脩大藏經 圖像部), vol. 3.

  • Nārāyaṇa (那羅延天 Naraen-ten), the Chinese Buddhist version of Hindu God Vishnu, from volume 9 of the Shoson Zuzōshō (諸尊図像鈔), a compendium of Buddhist images.

References

  1. ↑ Wendy Doniger (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 1134. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2008. pp. 445–448. ISBN 978-1-59339-491-2.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. pp. 491–492. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
  4. ↑ Muriel Marion Underhill (1991). The Hindu Religious Year. Asian Educational Services. pp. 75–91. ISBN 978-81-206-0523-7.
  5. ↑ "Vishnu | Hindu deity". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXXV (Bhagavad Gita Chapter XI)". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  7. ↑ Krishna, Nanditha (June 2010). The Book of Vishnu. Penguin Books India. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-14-306762-7.
  8. ↑ "CHAPTER SEVEN". vedabase.io. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  9. ↑ DK (2008-06-02). Signs & Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings. Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4053-3648-2.
  10. ↑ Barbara A. Holdrege (2015). Bhakti and Embodiment: Fashioning Divine Bodies and Devotional Bodies in Krsna Bhakti. Routledge. pp. 73–75. ISBN 978-1-317-66910-4.
  11. ↑ Mittal & Thursby 2005, p. 456.
  12. ↑ Tia Ghose (31 October 2012). "Mystery of Angkor Wat Temple's Huge Stones Solved". livescience.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Akshatha Vinayak, "Shree Vishnumurthy Temple Of Serenity and Mystery", Native Planet, 6-10-2016
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "The Vishnu Purana: Book I: Chapter II". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  15. ↑ Mukundananda, Swami. "Chapter 7, Verse 26 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda". www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  16. ↑ Mukundananda, Swami. "Chapter 13, Verse 14 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda". www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Vishnu Purana". Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
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