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Vishnu

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Vishnu, also known as Narayana and Hari, is the supreme god in Hinduism. He is the Absolute truth (Parabrahman), Supreme self (Paramatma) and Ultimate reality in Vaishnavism, the largest denomination of Hinduism. He is considered as one of the principal deities, generally a representation of the Trimurti, the supreme trinity of Hinduism.[10]

Vishnu
God of Preservation[1]
Member of Trimurti[6]
Other names
  • Narayana
  • Hari
  • Madhava
  • Keshava
  • Achyuta
  • Janardana
  • Govinda
  • and various others listed in the Vishnu Sahasranama
Mantra
  • Om Namo Narayanaya
  • Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
  • Hari Om
DayThursday
Mount
Festivals

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

Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, the supreme god who is the giver of mukti (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 "Teacher of the Universe". The Bhagavata Purana declares that Narayana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who engages in the creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma, who is the god of rajas-guna, who engages in the preservation of 14 worlds within the universe as Vishnu, who is the god of sattvas-guna, who engages in the destruction of 14 worlds within the universe as Shiva, who is the god of tamas-guna.

This Narayana is Vishnu himself, who incarnates in various avataras. In the Bhagavata Purana, Purusha Sukta, Narayana Sukta, Narayana Upanishad, Mahanarayana Upanishad, he is the absolute truth.[11][12]

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 Hindu religion, he has set foot and arrived on the Earth in nine forms called avataras, 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, Narasimha.

Vishnu holds a lotus (Padma), the indestructible mace of Vishnu (Kaumodaki), a conch (Shankha), the unstoppable disc of Vishnu (Sudarshana Chakra) in each of his four hands. He is known to take many disguises such as having an eight-armed form (or) having a thousand forms, eyes, faces, mouths, arms as Sahasrshirsha. A universal form known to be Vishvarupa is 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, Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, the other two are the expansions of Karanodakshayi Vishnu.

Avataras

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

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

  • Adi Purusha
  • Sanaka Kumaras
  • Varaha
  • Narada
  • Nara and Narayana
  • Kapila
  • Dattatreya
  • Yajna
  • Rishabha
  • Prithu
  • Hamsa
  • Hayagriva
  • Matsya
  • Kurma
  • Dhanvantari
  • Mohini
  • Narasimha
  • Vamana
  • Parashurama
  • Vyasa
  • Rama
  • Balarama and Krishna
  • Sugata Buddha
  • Kalki.[13]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value)..

Iconography

Vishnu holds four items in his four hands. He holds a conch in the upper left hand, which represents victory. He holds the Sudarshana 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 powers.

File:Avatars of Vishnu.jpg
Vishnu as Krishna reveals his true form to Arjuna

Temples of Vishnu

<div class="thumb tnone" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right:auto; width:Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, 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 Hindu temple in the Indian subcontinent and one of the largest Hindu temples in the world.[14]; max-width:608px;">

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, 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 Hindu temple in the Indian subcontinent and one of the largest Hindu temples in the world.[14]
Enlarge
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, 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 Hindu temple in the Indian subcontinent and one of the largest Hindu temples in the world.[14]


File:Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple Thiruvananthapuram,.jpg
The front-view of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
File:Angkor Wat.jpg
Angkor Wat is a Hindu temple that is dedicated to Vishnu.[15]
File:Candi Wisnu prambanan.jpg
The Vishnu temple at Prambanan temple complex, Java, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  1. 108 Divya Desams in the Indian subcontinent
  2. 108 Abhimana Kshethrams in the Indian subcontinent
  3. Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
  4. Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli
  5. Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
  6. Jagannath Temple, Puri
  7. Badrinath Temple
  8. Swaminarayan temples throughout the World
  9. Candi Wisnu, Prambanan, Java, Indonesia
  10. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
  11. Birla Mandir, Dehli
  12. Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
  13. Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple, Thiruvellarai
  14. Kallazhagar temple, Madurai
  15. Guruvayur Temple, Thrissur
  16. Ananthapura Lake Temple, Kasaragod
File:Kodlamane Vishnumurthy Temple.jpg
Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple, Karnataka.

The Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple, Karnataka[16] is dedicated to god vishnu and is the ancient Tirta Kshetra. There is no other place like this anywhere in this Universe.

Powers and abilities

Vishnu has omniverse manipulation, absolute manipulation, meta manipulation, 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.[17]

Absolute destruction: In the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu is also described as the creator, destroyer, and the preserver. As the destroyer, he can even destroy infinity or the omniverse.[17]

Absolute creation: As the creator in the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu has the power to create everything, even infinity and beyond.[17] The power to have limitless power upon seeing the supreme form of Vishnu. Arjuna describes him as having infinite prowess or power.[11]

Absolute 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, an incarnation of Vishnu shows Arjuna everything—all creation: time, space, past, present, future, the omniverse, existing and future humans, and more. It is beyond human imagination to actually comprehend it. [11]

Absolute omniscience: The power of Vishnu to have infinite wisdom experience and knowledge.[18]

Absolute omnipresence: The power to be everywhere at every time including beyond the omniverse in both past, present, future.[11][19] When Krishna, an incarnation of 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 sages, gods, Sanjaya, Arjuna are able to see this Vishvarupa.

Absolute formlessness: Vishnu's true form is described as formless, infinite, boundless, inapplicable, without shape and color, according to the Vishnu Purana.[17]

Absolute immortality: Chapter 1 of the Vishnu Purana describes Vishnu being boundlessly above the concepts of death, birth, life, growth, age.[20]

Absolute transcendence: The Vishnu Purana also describes Vishnu as being above all descriptions such as logic, time, space, etc.[20] He is an infinite dimensional being according to the Vishnu Sahasranama.

Vishnu Media

  • UgrataraTemple2 (cropped).jpeg

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

  • Vishnu Avatars.jpg

    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

  • Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) Manuscript LACMA M.88.134.4 (2 of 2).jpg

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

  • Lakshmi Vishnu.jpg

    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.

  • Modern Vishnu Shrine, Dondra 0675.jpg

    A modern Buddhist Vishnu shrine in Dondra, Sri Lanka.

  • Nilakantha-Avalokitesvara.jpg

    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.

  • Naraen-ten (那羅延天) from the Shoson Zuzōshō.jpg

    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. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  3. ↑ Soifer 1991, p. 85.
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  6. ↑ For the Trimurti system having Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the preserver, Shiva as the destroyer, see Zimmer (1972) p.124.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  8. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  9. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  13. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Mittal & Thursby 2005, p. 456.
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  16. ↑ Akshatha Vinayak, "Shree Vishnumurthy Temple Of Serenity and Mystery", Native Planet, 6-10-2016
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  18. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
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