వసుదేవ సుతం దేవం కంస చాణూర మర్దనమ్ |
దేవకీ పరమానందం కృష్ణం వందే జగద్గురుమ్ ||
Vishnu is the Supreme God of Vaishnavism, one of the three main sects of Hinduism. Vishnu is also known as Narayana and Hari. Laksmi is the wife of Vishnu. The 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. Though he is usually depicted as light blue, as are his
incarnations some other depictions of Vishnu exist as green-bodied, and
in the Kurma Purana he is described as colorless and with red eyes.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having the divine pale blue color of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, a unique type of mace used in warfare known as a Kaumodaki gada in the lower right hand, a Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and a discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand. Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvaroopa or Viraata Purusha) Vishvarupa which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination. It is said that he owns five weapons (pancha ayudham): Sudarshanam, Panchajanyam, Komodaki, Nandakam, and Shaarngam.
Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna. The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.
Ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu are the most prominent: Apart from the most prominent incarnations there are believed to more.
The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:
The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes). Some names of Vishnu are:
According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are
Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)
దేవకీ పరమానందం కృష్ణం వందే జగద్గురుమ్ ||
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having the divine pale blue color of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, a unique type of mace used in warfare known as a Kaumodaki gada in the lower right hand, a Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and a discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand. Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvaroopa or Viraata Purusha) Vishvarupa which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination. It is said that he owns five weapons (pancha ayudham): Sudarshanam, Panchajanyam, Komodaki, Nandakam, and Shaarngam.
Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna. The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.
Avatars
The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:
- Matsya, the fish that kills Damanaka to save the vedas and also saves Manu from a great flood that submerges the entire Earth.
- Kurma, the turtle that helps the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality.
- Varaha, the boar that rescues the Earth and kills Hiranyaksha.
- Narasimha, the half-lion half human, who defeats the demon Hiranyakashapu.
- Vamana, the dwarf that grows into a giant to save the world from King Bali.
- Parashurama, "Rama of the battle axe", a sage who appeared in the Treta Yuga. He killed Kartavirya Arjuna's army and clan and then killed all the ksatriyas 21 times.
- Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed the Demon King Raavan.
- Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
- Balarama the ninth avatar of Vishnu
- Kalki, the tenth Avatar of Vishnu and said to be the harbinger of the end Kali Yuga.
Thousand names of Vishnu
Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the Vishnu Sahasranama, (Vishnu's thousand names) from within the larger work Mahabharata. The character Bheeshma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising him (Vishnu) as the supreme god. These Sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama results in spiritual well-being and a greater awareness of God.The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes). Some names of Vishnu are:
- Aniha—Supreme
- Achintya—Incomprehensible, beyond understanding, also interpreted as remover of all worries from devotees
- Achyutha—infallible
- Akshaja
- Amara—immortal, deathless
- Ananta—endless, eternal, infinite
- Anirudha—One who is uncontrollable & unstoppable, one amongst the quadruple form (Chatur-Vyuha) of Lord Vishnu (i.e. Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha)
- Balaji
- Damodara—One who was tied with a cord (daama) around his waist (udara) in Krishna avatara by his mother Yasoda, One who has entire universe as his abode
- Govinda—One who is attainable by Vedic chanting, one who is finally known by vedas, Protector of cows
- Hari—One who takes away (all the pains & the material existence of his devotees and destroys sansara for them i.e. gives them moksha)
- Hayagreeva—horse-necked incarnation taken to save vedas
- Jagannatha or Juggernaut —owner/Ruler of the world/universe
- Janardana—one who is worshiped for Wealth
- Keshava—one whose Kesa (hair) is long, uncut and beautiful, one who destroyed the asura or demon Keshi in the Krishna avatara, one who is himself the three: kah Brahma; ah Vishnu and Isha Shiva
- Kṛshna—born during the third epoch or yuga, his deeds range from cow protection (go rakshya) to absolving the earth of sins
- Madhava—Husband (Dhava) of Lakshmi (Ma i.e. Mother), Lord of Knowledge
- Madhusudana—Destroyer of demons Madhu-Kaitabh in order to rescue Brahma
- Narayana—The final refuge of all Nara (Jivas), one who resides (ayana) in all the jivas (nara), one who rests (ayana) on water (nara) within the universe
- Padmanabha—lotus-naveled one, from whose navel sprang the lotus which contained Brahma, who created the universe
- Parthasarathy—charioteer of Arjuna/Partha
- Perumal, Thirumaal, Aravamudhan and Maalavan (in Tamil language)
- Purushottama—The Supreme Purusha or Supreme God
- Ram—born during the second epoch or Yuga, his deeds primarily established the ideal living principles for a man
- Hrishikesha—Lord of the senses or Lord within the heart; "hri" root meaning the heart
- Satyanarayana—combination of Satya and Narayana meaning 'protector of truth'
- Shikhandee—He who wears a peacock feather.
- Sooryanarayana—the one who destroys the evil/sins and who comforts us) described in Vishnu kautuvam, Onw whose form is Sun
- Shreedhara—One who sustains Lakshmi (Shri), One on whose chest resides Lakshmi
- Shreeman—the pride of Shree or Lakshmi); Often Sriman is combined with the name, Narayana, to form a compound word, Shreeman Narayana.
- Shreenivasa—the abode of Shree) (also specifically referring to his form in the temple at Tirupati). Also the form of Vishnu at Tirupati is well known as Venkateswara.
- Trivikrama—who measured the entire universe in three footsteps in Vamana avatara
- Vishala—immense, The Unstoppable One
- Vamana—who took Vamana avatara to help Indra
- Vāsudeva—One who resides in all living beings and in turn all living beings reside in him, one amongst the quadruple form (Chatur-Vyuha) of Lord Vishnu (i.e. Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha); it also means "the son of Vasudeva", i.e. Krishna
- Shree-eesha—one who has Shree or Lakshmi as his consort / Husband of Goddess Lakshmi
- Guruvayurappan—Lord of Guruvayur (Temple made by Guru Bṛhaspati & Vayu), in Malayalam language.
- Jagannatha—Lord of Jagat or the World.
- Sohama—the most intelligent: the strongest form of Vishnu with a thousand brains
According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are
- Vasudeva
- Sankarshana
- Pradyumna
- Anirudha
- Keshava
- Narayana
- Madhava
- Govinda
- Vishnu
- Madhusudana
- Trivikrama
- Vamana
- Sridhara
- Hrishikesha
- Padmanabha
- Damodara
- Purushottama
- Achyuta
- Narasimha
- Janardana
- Hari
- Krishna
- Adhokshaja
Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)
