Visnu

Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.

Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood,
An Introduction to Hinduism
' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.

According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities (Saguna), and have certain form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atman (Self) of the universe. There are many both benevolent and fearsome depictions of Vishnu. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient being sleeping on the coils of the serpent Adishesha (who represents time) floating in the primeval ocean of milk called Kshira Sagara with his consort, Lakshmi.

Whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces, Vishnu descends in the form of an avatar ''(incarnation)'' to restore the cosmic order, and protect ''dharma''. The Dashavatara are the ten primary avatars ''(incarnations)'' of Vishnu. Out of these ten, Rama and Krishna are the most important.

Nomenclature

Vishnu (or Viṣṇu, ) means 'all pervasive' and, according to Medhātith ( CE), 'one who is everything and inside everything'. Vedanga scholar Yaska (4th century BCE) in the Nirukta defines Vishnu as ''viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā'' ('one who enters everywhere'); also adding ''atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati'' ('that which is free from fetters and bondage is Vishnu').

In the tenth part of the ''Padma Purana'' (4-15th century CE), Danta (Son of Bhīma and King of Vidarbha) lists 108 names of Vishnu (17.98–102). These include the ten primary avatars (see ''Dashavarara'', below'')'' and descriptions of the qualities, attributes, or aspects of God.

The ''Garuda Purana'' (chapter XV) and the "Anushasana Parva" of the ''Mahabharata'' both list over 1000 names for Vishnu, each name describing a quality, attribute, or aspect of God. Known as the '' Vishnu Sahasranama'', ''Vishnu'' here is defined as 'the omnipresent'.

Other notable names in this list include :

* Hari
* Lakshmikanta
* Jagannatha
* Janardana
* Govinda
* Hrishikesha
* Padmanabha
* Mukunda

Iconography

Vishnu iconography shows him with dark blue, blue-gray or black coloured skin, and as a well-dressed jewelled man. He is typically shown with four arms, but two armed representations are also found in Hindu texts on artworks.

The historic identifiers of his icon include his image holding a conch shell (shankha named Panchajanya) between the first two fingers of one hand (left back), a chakra – war discus named Sudarshana – in another (right back). The conch shell is spiral and symbolizes all of interconnected spiraling cyclic existence, while the discus symbolizes him as that which restores dharma with war if necessary when cosmic equilibrium is overwhelmed by evil. One of his arms sometimes carries a ''gada'' (club, mace named Kaumodaki) which symbolizes authority and power of knowledge. In the fourth arm, he holds a lotus flower (''padma'') which symbolizes purity and transcendence. The items he holds in various hands varies, giving rise to twenty four combinations of iconography, each combination representing a special form of Vishnu. Each of these special forms is given a special name in texts such as the ''Agni Purana'' and ''Padma Purana''. These texts, however, are inconsistent.P.B.B. Bidyabinod, Varieties of the Vishnu Image, Memoirs of Archaeological Survey of India, No. 2, Calcutta, pages 23-33 Rarely, Vishnu is depicted bearing the bow Sharanga or the sword Nandaka. He is depicted with the Kaustubha gem in a necklace and wearing Vaijayanti, a garland of forest flowers. The shrivatsa mark is depicted on his chest in the form of a curl of hair. He generally wears yellow garments.

Vishnu iconography show him either in standing pose, seated in a yoga pose, or reclining. A traditional depiction of Vishnu is that of him reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha, accompanied by his consort Lakshmi, as he "dreams the universe into reality."

The Trimurti

Particularly in Vaishnavism, the Trimurti (also known as the Hindu Triad or Great Trinity) represents the three fundamental forces ( ''guṇas'') through which the universe is created, maintained, and destroyed in cyclic succession. Each of these forces is represented by a Hindu deity:

* Brahma: presiding deity of Rajas (passion, creation)
* Vishnu: presiding deity of Sattva (goodness, preservation)
* Shiva: presiding deity of Tamas (darkness, destruction)
The trimurti themselves are beyond three gunas and are not affected by it.

In Hindu tradition, the trio is often referred to as Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh. All have the same meaning of three in One; different forms or manifestations of One person the Supreme Being.

Avatars

The concept of the avatar (or incarnation) within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trimurti. The avatars of Vishnu descend to empower the good and to destroy evil, thereby restoring Dharma and relieving the burden of the Earth. An oft-quoted passage from the ''Bhagavad Gita'' describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu:

Vedic literature, in particular the ''Puranas'' ('ancient'; similar to ''encyclopedias'') and ''Itihasa'' ('chronicle, history, legend'), narrate numerous avatars of Vishnu. The most well-known of these avatars are Krishna (most notably in the ''Vishnu Purana'', ''Bhagavata Purana'', and ''Mahabharata''; the latter encompassing the Bhagavad Gita), and Rama (most notably in the ''Ramayana''). Krishna in particular is venerated in Vaishnavism as the ultimate, primeval, transcendental source of all existence, including all the other demigods and gods such as Vishnu.

The ''Mahabharata''

In the ''Mahabharata'', Vishnu (as Narayana) states to Narada that He will appear in the following ten incarnations:

The Puranas

Specified avatars of Vishnu are listed against some of the Puranas in the table below. However, this is a complicated process and the lists are unlikely to be exhaustive because:

* Not all Puranas provide lists ''per se'' (e.g. the Agni Purana dedicates entire chapters to avatars, and some of these chapters mention other avatars within them)
* A list may be given in one place but additional avatars may be mentioned elsewhere (e.g. the Bhagavata Purana lists 22 avatars in Canto 1, but mentions others elsewhere)
*Manava Purana, the only Upa Purana listed 42 avatars of Vishnu.
* A personality in one Purana may be considered an avatar in another (e.g. Narada is not specified as an avatar in the Matsya Purana but is in the Bhagavata Purana)
* Some avatars consist of two or more people considered as different aspects of a single incarnation (e.g. Nara-Narayana, Rama and his three brothers)

Dashavatara

The ''Dashavatara'' is a list of the so-called ''Vibhavas'', or '10 rimaryAvatars' of Vishnu. The Agni Purana, Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Linga Purana, Narada Purana, Garuda Purana, and Skanda Purana all provide matching lists. The same ''Vibhavas'' are also found in the ''Garuda Purana'' ''Saroddhara'', a commentary or ‘extracted essence’ written by Navanidhirama about the Garuda Purana (i.e. not the Purana itself, with which it seems to be confused):

Apparent disagreements concerning the placement of either the Buddha or Balarama in the ''Dashavarara'' seems to occur from the ''Dashavarara'' list in the Shiva Purana (the only other list with ten avatars including Balarama in the Garuda Purana substitutes Vamana, not Buddha). Regardless, both versions of the ''Dashavarara'' have a scriptural basis in the canon of authentic Vedic literature (but not from the ''Garuda Purana'' ''Saroddhara'')''.''

Perumal

Perumal ()—also known as Thirumal (), or Mayon (as described in the Tamil scriptures)— was accepted as a manifestation of Vishnu during the process of the syncretism of South Indian deities into mainstream Hinduism. He is a popular Hindu deity among Tamilians in Tamil Nadu, as well among the Tamil diaspora. Revered by the Sri Vaishnava denomination of Hinduism, Perumal is venerated in popular tradition as Venkateshwara at Tirupati, and Sri Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam.

Literature

Vedas

Vishnu is a Rigvedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni and others. Just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda are dedicated to Vishnu, although he is mentioned in other hymns. Vishnu is mentioned in the Brahmana layer of text in the Vedas, thereafter his profile rises and over the history of Indian scriptures, states Jan Gonda, Vishnu becomes a divinity of the highest rank, one equivalent to the Supreme Being.

Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of Rig Veda, such as 1.154.5, 1.56.3 and 10.15.3. In these hymns, the Vedic scriptures assert that Vishnu resides in that highest home where departed Atman (Self) reside, an assertion that may have been the reason for his increasing emphasis and popularity in Hindu soteriology. He is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth.

In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps in killing the symbol of evil named Vritra. His distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu. In section 7.99 of the Rigveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In the Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr (Sun god), who also bears the name ''Suryanarayana''. Again, this link to Surya is a characteristic Vishnu shares with fellow Vedic deities named Mitra and Agni, wherein different hymns, they too "bring men together" and cause all living beings to rise up and impel them to go about their daily activities.

In hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu is equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a close friend of Indra.Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1980). ''Advanced History of India'', Allied Publishers, New Delhi. Elsewhere in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Upanishadic texts, Vishnu is equivalent to Prajapati, both are described as the protector and preparer of the womb, and according to Klaus Klostermaier, this may be the root behind the post-Vedic fusion of all the attributes of the Vedic Prajapati unto the avatars of Vishnu.

In the ''Yajurveda'', Taittiriya Aranyaka (10.13.1), "Narayana sukta", Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of "Narayana Suktam" mentions the words ''paramam padam'', which literally mean 'highest post' and may be understood as the 'supreme abode for all Selfs'. This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam, or Vaikuntha. Rigveda 1.22.20 also mentions the same ''paramam padam''.

In the Atharvaveda, the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, but without the word Vishnu or his alternate avatar names. In post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu.

Trivikrama: The Three Steps of Vishnu

Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the ''Trivikrama'', which is one of the lasting mythologies in Hinduism since the Vedic times. It is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. ''Trivikrama'' refers to the celebrated ''three steps'' or "three strides" of Vishnu. Starting as a small insignificant looking being, Vishnu undertakes a herculean task of establishing his reach and form, then with his first step covers the earth, with second the ether, and the third entire heaven.

The Vishnu Sukta 1.154 of Rigveda says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to the mortals and the third is the realm of the immortals. The Trivikrama describing hymns integrate salvific themes, stating Vishnu to symbolize that which is freedom and life. The Shatapatha Brahmana elaborates this theme of Vishnu, as his herculean effort and sacrifice to create and gain powers that help others, one who realizes and defeats the evil symbolized by the Asuras after they had usurped the three worlds, and thus Vishnu is the saviour of the mortals and the immortals (Devas).

Brahmanas

The ''Shatapatha Brahmana'' contains ideas which Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism has long mapped to a pantheistic vision of Vishnu as supreme, he as the essence in every being and everything in the empirically perceived universe. In this Brahmana, states Klaus Klostermaier, Purusha Narayana (Vishnu) asserts, "all the worlds have I placed within mine own self, and my own self has I placed within all the worlds." The text equates Vishnu to all knowledge there is (Vedas), calling the essence of everything as imperishable, all Vedas and principles of universe as imperishable, and that this imperishable which is Vishnu is the all.

Vishnu is described to be permeating all object and life forms, states S. Giora Shoham, where he is "ever-present within all things as the intrinsic principle of all", and the eternal, transcendental self in every being. The Vedic literature, including its Brahmanas layer, while praising Vishnu do not subjugate others gods and goddesses. They present an inclusive pluralistic henotheism. According to Max Muller, "Although the gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig Veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."

Upanishads

The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism, related to Vishnu theology. There are 14 Vaishnava Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads. It is unclear when these texts were composed, and estimates vary from the 1st-century BCE to 17th-century CE for the texts.

These Upanishads highlight Vishnu, Narayana, Rama or one of his avatars as the supreme metaphysical reality called Brahman in Hinduism. They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics to the methods of worship.

Puranas

Vishnu is the primary focus of the Vaishnavism-focused Puranas genre of Hindu texts. Of these, according to Ludo Rocher, the most important texts are the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Nāradeya Purana, Garuda Purana and Vayu Purana. The Purana texts include many versions of cosmologies, mythologies, encyclopedic entries about various aspects of life, and chapters that were medieval era regional Vishnu temples-related tourist guides called .

One version of the cosmology, for example, states that Vishnu's eye is at the Southern Celestial Pole from where he watches the cosmos. In another version found in section 4.80 of the Vayu Purana, he is the Hiranyagarbha, or the golden egg from which were simultaneously born all feminine and masculine beings of the universe.

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana presents Vishnu as the central element of its cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or goddess Shakti are. The reverence and the worship of Vishnu is described in 22 chapters of the first part of Vishnu Purana, along with the profuse use of the synonymous names of Vishnu such as Hari, Janardana, Madhava, Achyuta, Hrishikesha and others.

The Vishnu Purana also discusses the Hindu concept of supreme reality called Brahman in the context of the Upanishads; a discussion that the theistic Vedanta scholar Ramanuja interprets to be about the equivalence of the Brahman with Vishnu, a foundational theology in the Sri Vaishnavism tradition.

Bhagavata Purana

Vishnu is equated with Brahman in the Bhagavata Purana, such as in verse 1.2.11, as "learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan."

The Bhagavata Purana has been the most popular and widely read Purana texts relating to Vishnu avatar Krishna, it has been translated and available in almost all Indian languages. Like other Puranas, it discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, genealogy, geography, mythology, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent ''devas'' (deities) and evil ''asuras'' (demons) and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as the Vishnu avatar first makes peace with the demons, understands them and then creatively defeats them, bringing back hope, justice, freedom and good – a cyclic theme that appears in many legends. The ''Bhagavata Purana'' is a revered text in Vaishnavism. The Puranic legends of Vishnu have inspired plays and dramatic arts that are acted out over festivals, particularly through performance arts such as the Sattriya, Manipuri dance, Odissi, Kathakali, Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Bhagavata Mela and Mohiniyattam.

Other Puranas

Some versions of the Purana texts, unlike the Vedic and Upanishadic texts, emphasize Vishnu as supreme and on whom other gods depend. Vishnu, for example, is the source of creator deity Brahma in the Vaishnavism-focussed Purana texts. Vishnu's iconography typically shows Brahma being born in a lotus emerging from his navel, who then is described as creating all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. In contrast, the Shiva-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra, or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpa).Stella Kramrisch (1994), The Presence of Siva, Princeton University Press, , pages 205-206

In some Vaishnava Puranas, Vishnu takes the form of Rudra or commands Rudra to destroy the world, thereafter the entire universe dissolves and along with time, everything is reabsorbed back into Vishnu. The universe is then recreated from Vishnu all over again, starting a new ''Kalpa''. For this the ''Bhagavata Purana'' employs the metaphor of Vishnu as a spider and the universe as his web. Other texts offer alternate cosmogenic theories, such as one where the universe and time are absorbed into Shiva.

Agama

The Agama scripture called the Pancharatra

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