1/29/2016

VishnuWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Lakshmi

[ edit ]

Mainarticle:Lakshmi
Lakshmi,theHindugoddessofwealth,fortune,andprosperity(bothmaterial
andspiritual),isthewifeandactiveenergyofVishnu.[40]Sheisalso
calledSri[41][42]orThirumagalbecausesheisendowedwithsixauspiciousand
divinestrengtheventoVishnu.WhenVishnuincarnatedontheEarthas
theavatarsRamaandKrishna,Lakshmiincarnatedashisrespective
consorts:Sita(Rama'swife)andRukmini(Krishna'swife).[43]

Garuda

[ edit ]

Vishnu'smount(Vahana)isGaruda,theeagle.Vishnuiscommonlydepictedas
ridingonhisshoulders.GarudaisalsoconsideredasVedasonwhichtheLord
Vishnutravels.GarudaisasacredbirdinVaishnavism.IntheGarudaPurana,

VishnuwithLakshmi
(LakshmiNarayana)
atHalebidu.

GarudacarriesLordVishnutosavetheElephantGajendra.

Avatars

[ edit ]

Mainarticle:Avatar
Seealso:Dashavatara
AdherentsofHinduismbelieveVishnu'seternalandsupreme
abodebeyondthematerialuniverseiscalledVaikuntha,whichis
alsoknownasParamdhama,therealmofeternalblissand
happinessandthefinalorhighestplaceforliberatedsoulswho
haveattainedMoksha.Vaikunthaissituatedbeyondthematerial
universeandhence,cannotbeperceivedormeasuredbymaterial
scienceorlogic.[44]Vishnu'sotherabodewithinthematerial
universeisKsheeraSagara(theoceanofmilk),wherehereclines
andrestsonAnantaShesha,(thekingoftheserpentdeities,
commonlyshownwithathousandheads).InalmostallHindu
denominations,Vishnuiseitherworshippeddirectlyorintheform
ofhistenavatars,themostfamousofwhomareRamaand
Krishna.[45]
ThePuranabharati,anancienttext,describestheseas
thedashavatara,orthetenavatarsofVishnu.Tenavatars
(dashavatara)ofVishnuarethemostprominent:[46]

TenavatarsofVishnu
(Matsya,Kurma,Varaha,Vamana,Krishna,
PaintingfromJaipur,nowattheVictoria
andAlbertMuseum

Amongtheten,ninehaveoccurredinthepastandonewilltake
placeinthefutureasLordKalki,attheendofKaliYuga,(thefourthandfinalstageinthecycleofyugas
thattheworldgoesthrough).TheseincarnationstakeplaceinallYugasincosmicscalestheavatarsand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

1/5

1/29/2016

VishnuWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

theirstoriesshowthatgodsareindeedunimaginable,unthinkableandinconceivable.TheBhagavad
GitamentionstheirpurposeasbeingtorejuvenateDharma,[47]tovanquishthosenegativeforcesofevil
thatthreatendharma,andalsotodisplayHisdivinenatureinfrontofallsouls.
Another22avatarsaregiveninChapter3,Canto1oftheBhagavataPurana,althoughitstatesthat"the
incarnationsoftheLordareinnumerable,likerivuletsflowingfrominexhaustiblesourcesofwater".

BeyondHinduism
Sikhism

[ edit ]

[ edit ]

GuruGranthSahibofSikhismmentionsVishnu,oneversegoes:
ThetrueVaishnaav,thedevoteeofVishnu,istheonewithwhomGodisthoroughlypleased.
HedwellsapartfromMaya.Performinggooddeeds,hedoesnotseekrewards.Spotlessly
pureisthereligionofsuchaVaishnaavhehasnodesireforthefruitsofhislabors.Heis
absorbedindevotionalworshipandthesingingofKirtan,thesongsoftheLord
sGlory.Within
hismindandbody,hemeditatesinremembranceontheLordoftheUniverse.Heiskindtoall
creatures.HeholdsfasttotheNaam,andinspiresotherstochantit.ONanak,sucha
Vaishnaavobtainsthesupremestatus.[48]

Buddhism

[ edit ]

WhilesomeHindusconsiderBuddhaasanincarnationofVishnu,
BuddhistsinSriLankavenerateVishnuasthecustodiandeityofSri
LankaandprotectorofBuddhism.LordVishnuisalsoknown
asupulvan,oruthpalavarna,meaning"BlueLotuscoloured".
SomepostulatethatUthpalavarnawasalocaldeitywholater
mergedwithVishnuwhileanotherbeliefisthatUthpalaVarnawas
anearlyformofVishnubeforehebecameasupremedeityin
PuranicHinduism.AccordingtoChronicles"Mahawamsa",
"Chulawamsa",andfolkloreinSriLanka,Buddhahimselfhanded
overthecustodianshiptoVishnu.OthersbelievethatBuddha

UthpalawarnaVishnuDevalayain
Devinuwara,Matara,SriLanka

entrustedthistasktoSakra(Indra)andSakradelegatedthistaskof
custodianshiptogodVishnu.[49]IncontrarytovedicHinduism,inassimilationofHindugodVishnuinto
SinhaleseBuddhism,VishnubecomesamortalbeingandaBodhisattvaaspiringBuddhahood.
Additionally,Vishnuisconsideredasthegodofhomeandhearthrepresentingmercy,goodness,order
andstability.ManyBuddhistandHindushrinesarededicatedtoVishnuinSriLanka.Inadditiontospecific
Vishnu"Kovils"or"devalayas",allBuddhisttemplesnecessarilyhouseshrinerooms(Devalayas)closerto
themainBuddhistshrinededicatedtoVishnu.[50]
JohnHoltinhisgroundbreakingstudyexaminestheassimilation,transformation,andsubordinationofthe
HindudeityVishnuwithinthecontextsofSriLankanhistoryandSinhalaBuddhistreligiousculture.Hethen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

2/5

1/29/2016

VishnuWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

explorestheroleandrationaleofmedievalSinhalakingsinassimilatingVisnuintoSinhala
Buddhism.[51]AccordingtoHoltthevenerationofVishnuinSriLankaisevidenceofaremarkableability,
overmanycenturies,toreiterateandreinventcultureasotherethnicitieshavebeenabsorbedintotheir
own.ThoughtheVishnucultinCeylonwasformallyendorsedbyKandyankingsintheearly1700s,Holt
statesthatvishnuimagesandshrinesareamongconspicuousruinsinthemedievalcapitalPolonnaruwa.
InBuddhisttheology,whenVishnufailedtotraversetheuniverseinthreesteps,hewasgiventhetitle
"ArdhaVishnu(HalfVishnu)"andwhenVishnubanisheddemonsfromtheVaishali(Vishala)inIndia,he
became"MuluVishnu"or"WholeVishnu".TheextremesignificanceofgodVishnuinSinhalasocietyis
reflectedinrecitalsofthetraditional"offeringstodwarfsandcrossingthedoorframe"(bahirwayantadola
pideemsahauluwahupeneema)thatstartswithSriVishnuinvocation.Intherecitals,mentioningofthe
aspiringBuddhahoodofVishnuwhichisofprimeimportancetoBuddhistsandwishesforhimtolivefive
thousandandmoreyearshighlightthecentralroleofVishnuinthepsycheofSriLankanBuddhists.[52]

Others

[ edit ]

SimilaritiesbetweenVishnuandAncientEgyptianGodHorushavebeennotedbyJamesFreeman
Clarke,[53]RichardLeviton,[54]JamesCowlesPrichard,[55]andothers.
DuringanexcavationinanabandonedvillageofRussiaintheVolgaregion,archaeologistAlexander
KozhevinexcavatedanancientidolofVishnu.Theidoldatesfrombetweenthe7thand10thcenturies.In
theinterviewKozhevin,statedthat,"Wemayconsideritincredible,butwehavegroundtoassertthat
MiddleVolgaregionwastheoriginallandofAncientRus.Thisisahypothesis,butahypothesis,which
requiresthoroughresearch."[56]

ThousandnamesofVishnu

[ edit ]

Mainarticle:Vishnusahasranama
Vishnu'smanynamesandfollowersarecollectedin

Partofaserieson

Vaishnavism

theVishnusahasranama("Vishnu'sthousandnames"),one
wellknownversionofwhichisfoundintheMahabharata.The
characterBhishmarecitesthenamesbeforeKrishnaonthe
battlefieldofKurukshetra,praisingVishnuasthesupreme
god.Thesesahasranamaareregardedastheessenceof
allVedasbyfollowersofVaishnavism,whobelievesincere
chantingofVishnusahasranamaresultsinspiritualwellbeing
andgreaterawarenessofGod.

Inpopularculture

[ edit ]

4034VishnuisanasteroiddiscoveredbyEleanorF.Helin.[57]
Vishnurocksareatypeofvolcanicsedimentfoundin
theGrandCanyon,Arizona,USA.Consequently,mass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

SupremeDeity

[show]

Importantdeities

[show]

Texts

[show]
3/5

1/29/2016

VishnuWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

formationsareknownasVishnu'stemples.[58]

Seealso

[ edit ]

Sampradayas

[show]

PhilosopherAcharyas

[show]

Relatedtraditions

[show]

Hinduismportal

MediarelatedtoVishnuatWikimediaCommons
VTE

Jagannath
Narayana
Keshava
Krishna
KeshavaNamas
Dashavatara
GreatArchitectoftheUniverse
ListofnamesofVishnu
Mahavishnu
Amaterasu

References

[ edit ]

1.^ a bGavinFlood,AnIntroductiontoHinduism (1996),p.17.

2.^Zimmer,HeinrichRobert.MythsandSymbolsinIndianArtandCivilization .PrincetonUniversityPress.
p.124.ISBN9780691017785.
3.^"CollectedwritingsVolume12",byHelenaPetrovnaBlavatsky,BorisDeZirkoff,p.149
4.^Adluri,VishwaJoydeepBagchee(February2012)."FromPoeticImmortalitytoSalvation:RuruandOrpheusin
IndicandGreekMyth" (PDF) .HistoryofReligions51(3):245246.doi:10.1086/662191 .
Retrieved24March2014.
5.^SwamiChinmayananda'stranslationofVishnusahasranamapgs.1617,CentralChinmayaMissionTrust.
6.^AscategorizedinPadmaPurana,Uttarakhanda,236.1821
7.^"SriVishnuSahasranamaTransliterationandTranslationofChanting" .Swamikrishnananda.org.
Retrieved20111130.
8.^HartDeFouwRobertSvoboda(2003)."LightonLife:AnIntroductiontotheAstrologyofIndia" .ISBN9780
940985698.Retrieved20131016.
9.^White,DavidGordon(20100715)."SinisterYogis" .ISBN9780226895154.
10.^ a b c d e fNilakantaSastri,K.A.(1980).AdvancedHistoryofIndia,AlliedPublishers,NewDelhi.
11.^ThisstoryistoldinVishnuagamaandisquotedinMoore'sHinduPantheonpp.1920.
12.^ a bH.GNarahari(2007).AtmaninPreUpanisadicVedicLiterature .ReadBooks.p.86.
Retrieved20131016.
13.^AitareyaBrahmana,ByMartinHaug,SUDHINDRANATHVASU,M.B.,ATTHEPANINIOFFICE,
BAHADURGANJ,ALLAHABAD.,1922.page1note1
14.^HistoryofAncientSanskritLiteraturebyProfMaxmuller.PrintedbySpottiswoodeandCo.NewStreetSquare
London.page533
15.^Olivelle,Patrick(2007)."TheDateandProvenanceoftheVinuSmti".IndologicaTaurinensia(33):149150.
16.^Lariviere1989:xxiii
17.^BhagavataPurana1.2.11
18.^"Thestoryoffortunateone" .Bhagavata.
19.^"SRMADBHGAVATAM" .Bhagavata.
20.^Vater2010,p.40.
21.^Jones2004,p.4.
22.^Mittal2005,p.456.
23.^Kerala'sSreePadmanabhaSwamytemplemayrevealmoreriches:South,NewsIndiaToday
24.^World'sLargestGoldHoard
25.^GoldtreasureatIndiatemplecouldbethelargestintheworld|www.commodityonline.com|3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

4/5

1/29/2016

VishnuWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

26.^India:PadmanabhaSwamyTemple,NapierMuseum&PadmanabhapuramPalaceinTrivandrum,Kerala|Ivan
AboutTown
27.^Eclecticarchitecture,exquisitefeaturesTheHindu
28.^'Treasurebelongstothetempleandnobodyelse'Rediff.comNews
29.^'BuildaworldclassmuseumnearPadmanabhaSwamytemple'Rediff.comNews
30.^Tapasyananda(1991).BhaktiSchoolsofVednta .Madras:SriRamakrishnaMath.ISBN8171202268.
31.^MysteryofAngkorWatTemple'sHugeStonesSolved
32.^ForquotationdefiningthetrimurtiseeMatchett,Freda."ThePuras",in:Flood(2003),p.139.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

5/5