Visualizing Vishnu

Abbreviations and Authors

The following abbreviations are used in this article. The authors of the work are noted.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

MBTN Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya by Sri Madhvacharya

MBTN-BP Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya Bhava Prakashika by Vadirajaru
TSS Tantra Sara Sangraha by Sri Madhvacharya
Brh-B Bruhadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya by Sri Madhvacharya
Dvadasha Stotra Collection of 12 stotras by Sri Madhvacharya
BDP Bhagavad Dhyana Prakaranam Short work by Mantralaya Rayaru on how to
visualize Vishnu
7. BP BrahmaanDa Purana

Introduction
Visualizing Vishnu is a very important part of any Japa/Dhyana. Utilizing the scripturally vouched
form of Vishnu becomes very essential for a good meditation. A general procedure for visualizing
is as follows
1. Each Vishnu mantra in Tantrasara sangraha has its own dhyana shloka describing the form
of Vishnu to be meditated upon. It is called dhyeya rupa. This form is sometimes very
different from the perceived form in the popular media. The dhyana shloka lists the arms,
body color and sometimes important weapons and jewelry etc. Certain important and/or
special aspects unique to that dhyeya rupa are described.
2. Elsewhere, scriptures also describe the generic nature of Vishnu with detailed
characteristics of overall body, parts, jewellery, weapons etc.
3. Any dhyeya rupa should be superimposed on such generic form as applicable to get the
complete form for meditation.
Hence it becomes very essential to know the generic form of Vishnu at the outset.
Vishnu's body has infinite laxanas. However only 32 important ones are noted in scripture for our
benefit. Even those generic features with their corresponding details, relative sizing etc. can be
pretty heavy load in the beginning. Hence it is no wonder that fixing our mind on the entire form
of Vishnu with all such laxana at once is very difficult. The quagmire is resolved by meditating on
one part of the Lord at a time in all its glorious details and then moving on to the next.

32 Lakshanas
The 32 laxana known as dva-trimsha laxana are listed here briefly.
[]

The original shloka is present in Skanda Purana Kashi Kanda. It is also quoted in MBTN-BP [1.119]
and in BDP. 7 categories (or style) are identified. Each of these category is expanded as follows:

Style
1.

Long

Number
5

Body Parts
1. Shoulder
2. - eyes

2.

Subtle/Fine/Delicate
(Not coarse)

3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.

knee
jaw area below cheek
nails
- Skin
- Hair
- Fingers

Teeth

Finger Joints
5.
3.

4.

Red colored
(Here Skanda
Purana clarifies the
red as the morning
red sun)

Eminently lifted
upward

2. Sole (bottom portion of

legs)
3. Edge of the eyes
4. Palate (Roof of the mouth)

5.

Wide/Broad

6.

/
Small

7.

Deep

TOTAL

1. Palm of the hand

36

5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.

Tongue
Lower (and upper) lip
Nails
Chest
Stomach
(?) Front hair near the
crown
- Face
Shoulders
Forehead
- Forehead
Hip/Waist
Chest
- Neck
- Genital
Thigh
Voice
- Strength
Navel

Of these 32 laxanas, only around 25 open themselves up for visualization. The following cannot
be visualized
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Voice [ Deep ]
Strength [ Deep ]
Genital [ / Small ] Covered by the peetambara
Thigh [ / Small ] Covered by the peetambara
Palate (Roof of the mouth) [ Red colored ]

6. Tongue [ Red colored ]

7. Teeth [ Subtle/Fine/Delicate (Not coarse) ] We only visualize a slightly smiling
Vishnu in all mantra.

Vishnu Lakshana - Measurements

The laxana of jnani and God in general are detailed in MBTN and MBTN-BP and Brh-B. Chapter 3
of TSS is completely dedicated to elaborating the Vishnu Pratimaa (idol) Laxana. It is amply used
in our visualization. Not all statistics are used however. Just those that are useful to us in our
visualization.
The following guidelines of laxana and relative dimensions of body parts are laid out in Brh. B.

Body part

Length
,
Breadt
h or
Height

Measurem
ent (in
angula)

Body

Height

96

Palm (wrist to the

tip
of
middle
finger)
Face (from chin to
top
edge
of
forehead)
Forehead

Length

9.5

Length

9.5

Breadth

3.25

Chest
Feet

Breadth
Length

19.25
13.75

Remarks

An angula is the length of the middle horizontal

line on the thumb finger.
10 such hand measurements make one's height
(one angula short of 96)
Length same as palm
[Brh. Up. Bhashya says 9 angula. TSS clarifies as
9.5]
30 such measurements match the height.
More than 1/3 of the face length is forehead itself.
This is in agreement with the "prathu lalaata" of
the 32 laxana
5 such measurements match the height
7 such measurements match the height

Here if we take an angula = 1 inch, then the height of Vishnu becomes 8 feet. We can then scale
down these figures to a 6 ft form of God. This exercise is extremely beneficial in comparing
Vishnu's body with our own to arrive at several insightful visualization guidelines. Key stats from
TSS are used in the following section towards this.

Height/Length and observations

These values corresponding to height/length are from TSS. A few additional measurements are
shown in the figure.

Body part
Above forehead
Face
Neck
Neck to Breast
Breast to Navel
Navel to genitals (There is a conflict in TSS interpretation in this
area). Two views held as length to base of genitals v/s end of it (Sri
Bannanje Govindacharya is of the first view as the measurement of
the "vrushaNa" is given separately. This intrpretation matches the
overall 96 angula height)

8 ft.
Vishnu
2
9
3
6
15
10.5

6 ft.
Vishnu
1.5
6.75
2.25
4.5
11.25
8

Length of genitals
Genitals to Knee
Knee length
Knees to ankles
Ankles to leg
TOTAL

4
18
2
22
4.5
96

3
13.5
1.5
16.5
3.5
72

Certain key observations.

1. Calculations as per Vishnu pratima laxana in TSS does allow for the characteristic
of tips of the unfolded palm extending upto the knees. is specifically attributed to
Rama.
2. The means long shoulder arms and can be seen clearly.
3. More than 1/3 of the face length is forehead itself. This is in agreement with the
laxana.
4. The length of the face is same as its width. Hence the face is roundish than longish. The
"deergha" hanu (jaw) also contributes to this roundish face.
5. There is an additional 2 inches of height above the upper edge of forehead, in the shape of a
umbrella with the tip of the head as the summit.
6. The height of the crown () is generally to be maintained same as the face's length.
7. Vishnu's neck is as long as its forehead breadth.

Circumference and observations

The stats corresponding to circumfernce of various body parts are also from TSS.

Body part
Chest
Midriff
Navel
Slightly below navel (where peetambara is
worn)
Waist

8 ft. Vishnu

6 ft.
Vishnu

48
42
38
39

36
31.5
28.5
29

Unknown

Unknown

Key Observations :
1. Vishnu's trunk displays a roughly hour glass shape.
2. The maximum circumference is at chest exactly half of the height 48 angula. This
combined with a wide shoulders is quintessential laxana shown in Vishnu pratima.
3. The next max circumference is at midriff 42 angula
4. The least circumference is around navel. It is quite lean 38 angula.
5. One should however remember that these measurements are for a 8 ft. Vishnu.
Corresponding measurements for comparison with our own are in the table for a 6 ft. Vishnu.
It is interesting to see that such Vishnu has
o A 36 inch chest and
o Amazingly thin 28.5 waist !!
6. Measurements still lower are not available in TSS. However current idols display a structure
similar to shown in the figure. The widest portion of waist might be around 42 for Vishnu.

32 Laxana analysis using TSS insights

The aforesaid 32 laxana are now picked for category(style)-wise analysis from the easiest to the
composites. There is no point in reading through these unless one can apply these when
visualizing. Additional points from elsewhere in purana, sarvamula, stotra and dasa sahitya are
provided along the way.

Deep Voice - Vishnu's voice is deep. He is appropriately called in VSN. Krishna's deep
voice during sandhaana can be recalled. It sent shivers down Duryodhana's spine.
The deep voice is also why Vishnu perhaps bears the name - the neck "conch". Neither
is the neck shaped or colored like a conch. However the conch that makes a deep sound.
Such analogy seems to be aimed at bringing out the grandeur of the voice.
Seen another way: The sound of a conch is said to be of Om. Om is regarded as the primordial
compact entity of entire Vedas (). It is well known that the Vedas were themselves
taught by Hayagriva to Chaturmukha Brahma. Such infinite vedas emanate all at once and all
the time from his neck so says Sri Madhvacharya in the Dvadasha Stotra

 ...

Deep Navel - Vishnu's navel is also considered deep. No wonder that navel hoisting the lotus
(which generally has its stalk running very deep down) holding Chaturmukha in it has to be
very deep!! Perhaps the name fits well for this laxana.
Small Neck A long or short/stout neck is not a good laxana both quite common among
humans. Vishnu's neck is as long as its forehead breadth.
Small thighs Compared to his height and other body features, Vishnu has a shorter thigh.
Red palm, bottom of the feet and nails These three associated with hand and legs are red
like a rising morning sun. Of these features, a red palm is easily visualized in Vishnu's forms
as he lifts them to hold the ayudha or during abhaya or varada hasta. In addition
o Each fingers of hands and feet have a ring on them!
o Nails are shiny in addition to being reddish. There is a story that Garuda carrying
Vishnu was sad that he could not see Vishnu's face. He however got to see 10 Vishnu's
faces thanks to the shiny nails in each of the 10 fingers on Vishnu's feet. On a side
note, such shining and beauty cannot be obtained with the best of the nail polish
Red eye-edges and lips These too are visualized everytime as they are right on the face. The
edges of the eyes are reddish and noted by the VSN name .
Soft fine hair with locks and frontal hair eminently lifted upward
o Vishnu sports a soft fine hair.
o Yet he has locks in the hair. These two features are not seen together among humans.
o The VSN name indicates this feature.
o The front hair underneath the crown displays an additional lakshana of being eminently
lifted upward. In our world, such feature can be obtained by using hair gel and at the
expense of losing locks in the soft hair.

The rest of the notable features are shown in the figure.

From here on, a detailed look at taken at various body parts of Vishnu starting from foot upwards

Paada

Vishnu's foot is red in color at its bottom. In addition to the legs (paadatalam) of Vishnu, the nails
are red in color. All fingers in the feet have rings on them. The nails are shiny and red too. Right
around the ankles, Vishnu wears golden anket that make beautiful sound.
In Bhagavata 3rd skanda, Kapila tells his mother
..
Kapila cites here to think of Vajra, Ankusha Dhwaja and Lotus in the legs. Thinking them destroys
the sins of many lifetimes. Like Vishnu, all these lanchanas are aprakruta. Yet he makes them
visible as desired as if forming a mark on the ground (in Gaya for example).
The famous Vishnu paada at Gaya is replicated on sheet metal for all of us to visualize. It has lot
of lanchanas. A figure is shown. Though the Lord is aprAkRuta, he was seen (during His avatAra)
by all, including evil people. Similarly, the Lord creates the prAkRuta ones in the place of
aprAkRuta to be seen by all (Remember the incident of Lord Krishna having hair-cut in Mathura He creates the prAkRuta hair then and there).
Similarly the Lord has the aprAkRuta lAnchanas and at His will and as per the yogyata of the
perceiver, He creates the prAkRuta impressions. they may not all be the same and may not be
visible to all. For ex, in Nanda vraja, AkrUra sees the Lord's foot prints and recognizes them as
those of Lord Krishna due to the lAnchanas. Those lAnchanas probably were not seen by the evil
asuras that came there with the intention of hurting Sri Krishna.
This will make sense if we understand the incident that Lord Krishna tells Kaliya that GaruDa will
not harm him as Sri Krishna left "His foot prints on the hoods of KAliya".

Also, the Lord wills that these symbolic replicas to stay as long as He wills and also be visible as
per the yogyata of the Jivas. The uttama devatas will probably see them very clearly and then it
will go as per tAratamya.
Sri Madhvacharya describes the feet of Lord as the remover of ignorance from the heart.

Gulpha to Nabhi (Ankle to Navel)

Vishnu wears a golden yellow colored peetambara that stretch from the waist to ankles.
There is a
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Nabhi
Kati
Nitamba
Jangha
Jaanu
Peetambara
Manjira, Kanchi odyana

Skanda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Skanda vishala
Angada
Keyura
Ajanubahu
Bangles
Fingers nails
Hands design from Bhagava dhyana prakaranam

Kanta to Kukshi
3 lines in lalata, neck and stomach
The following are unique to Vishnu
1. Srivatsa
2. Kaustubha (mani)
3. Vanamala

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Bhramara for vanamala

Vaijayanti
Mauktika mala
Stana dvaya
Madhya bandha
Small stomach

Face
1. Hair,
2. Forehead
3. Eyes, stright look
4. Bhrubhanga
5. Bhramara to face sugandha
6. Nose, cheek, jaws
7. Lips
8. Kirita
9. Makuta
10.Lalata pattika
11.Chudaratna
12.Makara kundala
13.Karnapoora
14.Karna-utpala (Water Lily) Red or blue?

Always 16 yeared boy