Vishnu: Supreme, Universal Hindu God Whose Avatars Reach Nations, Cultures And Races
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com -In Hindu beliefs, the three gods Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu, are worshiped as the Great Trinity (Trimurti). They are all generally equal in their power and influence. They represent three aspects: creation, preservation, and destruction.
Vishnu seated on Ananta, facing West (direction of the waters). Second porch. Shrine excavated. Cave 3, Badami, Karnataka. End of the 6th century. Image credit: Ismoon - CC BY-SA 4.0
Observing the Hindu Trimurti, we see Brahma, the creator, looking to the left; Vishnu, the preserver, looks straight ahead, while Shiva, the destroyer, looks to the right.
Vishnu Chief God In Hinduism
The Hindu trinity symbolizes perfection, where Brahma is associated with strength and power; Shiva wins the war thanks to his brutality and impetuous, ruthless character, and Vishnu is a loving God with a special place in the hearts of his believers.
The Hindu god Vishnu is the pervader ("one who is everything and inside everything"), protector, and preserver as he is connected to sacred nature. The mountains are his bones, the clouds hair on his head, the air his breath, the rivers his blood vessels, and the trees are the hairs of his body. We must not forget his eyes represent the sun and the moon, respectively, where the movements of the eyelids symbolize the transition between day and night.
Vishnu is usually depicted with light blue skin and four arms. He is the beautiful guardian of life, light, fire, and water. In four hands, he holds his attributes: a lotus (the symbol of purity and creativity), a club, which symbolizes time. A wheel is a symbol of the cycle of existence, and a conch (shankha), represents a source of all things.
Kalki Avatar (Image courtesy of Late Sri G. K. Haldipurkar and Aniruddha Haldipurkar, Karwar.) Image credit: Raja Ravi Varma - Public Domain
Vishnu usually wears a pitambara, a unique garment of gold that symbolizes the Vedas; it is said that the divine light of Vishnu shines through his beautiful garment in the same way as the light of truth radiates through the holy words.
He rides on the eagle Garuda, a heavenly bird with four arms and multi-colored wings, and usually rests, floating on Ananta, on the snake Ananta ("Endless" or "infinity") on the primeval waters. Lord Vishnu is often accompanied by his consort, Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune and the manifestation of Vishnu's energy.
On the forehead, Vishnu has a mark that looks like a U. There are millions of people who worship Vishnu. Those who do so often have the same brand on their foreheads. The mark is drawn there with ash or color.
As the supreme god, he appears in one of his incarnations when his presence is needed.
Ten Incarnations Of Vishnu
Traditionally, Vishnu appears in ten different divine figures (avatars). He takes many various forms to restore cosmic order and eradicate evil. Nine avatars have already come, and the tenth will announce the world's end.
Koodal Azhagar Temple in Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Credit: Adobe Stock - Konstantin
His first avatar was the great horned fish Matsya who saved Manu, the first human, from the Great Flood. In his second avatar, he is Kurma (a tortoise) who helps the gods and demons to support the churning of the ocean and recover Amrita, the potion of immortality.
Then, in the third one, Vishnu acts like a wild boar Varaha to kill the demon Hiranyaksha ("Golden Eye"). As legend has it, Varaha is extremely dangerous with a cry louder than god Indra's thunder, and its eyes are brighter than lightning. Shining like the sun, Varaha swims deep down to the seabed to kill Hiranyaksha, and thus he rescues the Earth that once more can float on the surface.
As Narasimha (half-lion half-man) in the fourth incarnation, Vishnu has to destroy Hiranyakasipa, another demon and brother of Hiranyaksha, who also put the planet in danger. Hiranyakasipa knew he was immortal, and no god, animal, or human could kill him. In the fifth reincarnation, Vishnu is Vamana, the dwarf that must act quickly.
His enemy is king Bali, who has already overpowered the three worlds and banished the gods from heaven. Bali offers Vamana as much land as he could cross in three paces. Vamana changes his size and becomes the giant, Trivikrama, so gigantic that he takes Bali's entire kingdom and pushes it down into the underworld.
Vishnu also came as Parashurama (Ram with an ax), then Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, and as Krishna, known from the epic, the Mahabharata and other texts. At the same time, the second last Vishnu avatar is Buddha. His tenth incarnation is yet to come, and Vishnu will appear at the end of time in human form, riding on a white horse (in South India, Kalki is depicted as a horse). According to some, the world will be destroyed before a new creation. Others say this idea is based on the Maitreya Buddha doctrine.
In the Mahabharata, Kalki restores the moral order of people on Earth; he judges men and women, punishes evil, and rewards the good.
However, they will still appear on Earth in successive periods, as they are associated with different stages of human evolution on our planet.
Updated on August 4, 2022
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesReferences:
Jansen E.R. Book of Hindu Imagery
Swami Harshananda, Hindu Gods and Goddesses
More From Ancient Pages
-
Did Ancient Oshoro Stone Circle Serve As A Portal To The Spirit World?
Featured Stories | Aug 19, 2017
-
Magnificent Trumpington Cross And Highly Unusual Anglo-Saxon ‘Bed Burial’ In Cambridge Offer Unique Insight Into English Christianity
Archaeology | Feb 22, 2018
-
Ouroboros: Ancient Infinity Symbol Used By Different Ancient Civilizations
Ancient Symbols | Oct 3, 2017
-
18,000-Year-Old Relics Discovered In Oregon – Oldest Home In North America?
Archaeology | Jul 12, 2023
-
Ancus Marcius: Semi-Legendary Fourth King Of Rome Obliged To Make War To Defend And Expend Territories
Featured Stories | Jul 12, 2019
-
How Greenland Got The ‘Wrong’ Name Thanks To Viking Erik The Red
Ancient History Facts | Mar 21, 2017
-
Rare Trove Of Ancient Metal Objects Unearthed In Mississippi Was Left By The Spaniards When The Chickasaws Attacked
Archaeology | Jul 2, 2021
-
Humans Got To America 7,000 Years Earlier Than Thought – New Research Confirms
Archaeology | Oct 9, 2023
-
Beehive’ Adobe Houses Of Ancient City Of Harran, Upper Mesopotamia
Civilizations | Dec 28, 2018
-
Forbidden Knowledge: Secret Ancient Gates Of The Shining Ones – The Beginning – Part 1
Featured Stories | Jul 12, 2019
-
10 Mysterious Ancient Stones In North America That Could Re-Write History
Civilizations | May 25, 2020
-
Chaco Canyon Mystery Solved By Scientists Hauling Logs On Their Heads
Archaeology | Feb 23, 2023
-
2nd Century Roman Temple Unearthed In Aswan, Egypt
Archaeology | Feb 23, 2018
-
Tuatha de Danann – ‘Gods’ Of Ireland And The Myth Of Danae And Zeus – Could The Early Irish Celts Have Ties To Ancient Greece?
Celtic Mythology | Mar 28, 2017
-
Impact Of European Contact With Pacific Islands Was Devastating – New Study Reveals
Archaeology | Sep 30, 2022
-
Why Has The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Survived Strong Earthquakes Since The Middle Ages?
Archaeology | May 10, 2018
-
House Of Borgia – The Most Infamous Family Of Renaissance Italy
Featured Stories | Feb 28, 2019
-
Bone Fragments Found Inside Mysterious Medieval Pendant
Archaeology | Jan 5, 2023
-
Ancient Giants In Ecuador Were Killed By Fire From The Sky – Indian Legends Reveal
Featured Stories | Dec 12, 2017
-
10 Norse Gods Who Vikings Gained Strength From
Featured Stories | May 14, 2018