Mahavishnu () is an aspect of

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

, the principal deity in

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

. In his capacity as Mahavishnu, the deity is known as the Supreme Purusha, the absolute protector and sustainer of the universe, the one who is beyond human comprehension, and all attributes.

Literature

The

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

, among the most revered texts among Vaishnavas, attributes the following qualities to Mahavishnu: According to

Gaudiya Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal (present-day Malda dist ...

tradition of

Bhagavatam The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one o ...

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

is the Supreme Being, who expands first as

Balarama Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

, then into the first quadruple expansion of

Sankarshana Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the p ...

Vasudeva Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna ( ...

Pradyumna Pradyumna () is the eldest son of the Hindu deities Krishna and his wife Rukmini. He is considered to be one of the four vyuha avatars of Vishnu. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Pradyumna was the reincarnation of Kamadeva, the god of lov ...

, and

Aniruddha Aniruddha () is a character in Hindu mythology, the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, and the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he is considered by some to be a ''Jana ...

. Sankarshana expands into

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

, then Narayana expands into the second quadruple expansion of Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, then Sankarshana expands into Karanodakasayi-Visnu (Maha-Vishnu), who reclines within the Mahat-Tattva, creating innumerable universes from the pores on his body. He then expands into each universe as Garbhodakasayi-Vishnu, from which

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

emerges. Here, the first expansion Purusha is used interchangeably for Mahavishnu. From sattva emerges Vishnu (Garbhodakshayi), and from tamas arises Shankara. These are known as the guna avatars of Krishna.

Role

Mahavishnu is said to lie in the

Causal Ocean In Hindu cosmology, the Karanodaka (IAST: ) or the Garbhodaka (IAST: ), also referred to as the Causal Ocean, is the origin of material creation. It is the place in the spiritual sky where Mahavishnu lies down and creates the material world. The C ...

, or the Garbhodaka. According to Vaishnava cosmogony, he puts the seed of this material universe in Mahamaya by glancing at her. Mahamaya remains the ever obedient material energy of Vishnu. All the natural elements including sky, fire, water, air and land are created along with mind, intelligence and false ego. After this, Mahavishnu enters each of the many universes so created (seeds emerging from the pores of His skin) as

Garbhodaksayi Vishnu Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu is an expansion of Mahavishnu. In Gaudīya Vaishnavism, the Sātvata-tantra describes three different forms of Vishnu as: Mahāvishnu, Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu and Ksirodakaśāyī Vishnu ( Paramātmā). Each form has a ...

, who lays down in each and every of these individual material universes (Brahmanas). It can be interpreted that Garbodakshayi Vishnu is the collective soul of all souls in a particular material universe, and that Mahavishnu is the collective soul of all souls in all of the material universes. From

then emerges Brahmā, who is the secondary creator (due to his need to meditate to create planets in the material universe) of the planetary systems within this material universe (

Brahmanda The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as th ...

References

External links

Thousand names of the Supreme
(Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram)

{{HinduMythology Forms of Vishnu Vedanta

Literature

Role

See also

References

External links