Sri Vishnu

Manifestation

The Supreme Being (Brahman) has eternally manifested as a triad of three couples of which Vishnu represents the Divine role as the Lord, Preserver, Sustainer of the bounteous creation which is represented by His consort Lakshmi. He has incarnated as Rama, Krishna, Narasimha etc. frequently to vanquish evil and re-establish the primacy of Dharma. The Mūrti in our temple is a smaller replica of the original at the 11th cent. CE Varadarāja Temple (Kanchipuram). He is one the principal Hindu deities that forms the divine trinity: Brahma – the creator; Vishnu – the preserver; and Shiva – the transformer.

Physical Attributes

• His blue body indicates that He is all-pervading like the skies.
• His yellow clothes represent the color of the earth, the lightening, and the sun because He is present within and outside the entire creation.
• He reclines on a seven hooded cobra Sesha with infinite coils, representing eternal time with endless weeks.
• His mount, the eagle Garuda, represents His all-pervading nature and ability to be present everywhere at all times to oversee the universe and ensure its well-being.
• In his four arms, He carries a mace and a discus as weapons (to vanquish evil-doers whether they are near or far), a conch shell (representing the primeval sound and victory of good over evil, and ability to uphold the entire universe comprised of the five elements) and a lotus (symbol of purity and spirituality).

Qualities

• All-mighty, compassionate and loving protector and nourisher of the Universe.
• Deeply caring of His worshipers, and promoter of family values.

Ways of Worship and Types of Devotees

He is worshiped directly with Lakshmi or through His incarnations by most Hindus (called Vaishnavas) in the world. Vaishnavas often see all other Deities through the lens of Vishnu-Lakshmi, practice partial fasting on the 11th day of each of the two phases of every lunar month (Ekaadashi), and adorn their forehead with a ‘U’ mark representing His footprint. Within the ‘U’ mark can be a dot, a vertical line etc., representing Lakshmi. Many Vaishnavas are vegetarians. A seven-day recital of the inspiring narratives of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is also sometimes sponsored by Hindus. The Tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum) is sacred to the Vaishnavas.

Avatar of/Related to

According to Vedic traditions, Vishnu is considered one of the 12 Ādityas or sons of Aditi. Later traditions see Him as the Sustainer of the Universe who is eternally existent and who incarnates from time to time to vanquish the wicked and re-establish the primacy of Hindu Dharma.

Regions most worshiped

Major ancient temples exist in Kanchipuram (Varadarāja Temple), Trichy (Shrirangam Temple), Thiruvananthapuram (Anantapadmanābhasvāmī Temple), Tirupati (Bālājī) – all in South India, Badrināth (Himalayas), Budhanilakantha (Nepal). Practically all the ancient Vishnu temples in Pakistan, North India and Bangladesh were destroyed by outside invaders. Modern temples in these regions are typically devoted to his principal Avataras like Ram, Krishna and Narasimha.

Well-Known Stories

These occur in scriptures like the Vishnu Purāṇa, Bhāgavata Purāṇa and several Pāñcharātra and Vaikhānas Āgamas.

• Gajendra-moksha: An elephant’s foot was caught by a crocodile while he was bathing in an ocean. The elephant fervently prays to Vishnu to save him from being dragged into the water after all other means failed him. Vishnu appears and frees the elephant and grants Moksha to both the creatures who had been reborn due to a curse from the past lives. This story indicates that in Hindu Dharma, the Lord shows compassion and grants Moksha not only to humans, but also to other creatures out of His love for the entire creation.
• Rantideva, an ideal Vaishnava: During a prolonged famine, a Vaishnava King named Rantideva gave his entire food and drink to whosoever approached him, including a barbarian and a dog, merely to follow his desire to serve others and worship Vishnu, while staying hungry himself. His piety and self-sacrifice earned him a place in heaven and set an example for all Vaishnavas.
• Dashavatara: The most well known stories of Vishnu are through His ten primary manifestations. Dasha: 10, avatara: manifestations. Each avatara of Vishnu came to earth at a time of chaos. Through His power of sustenance, he provided solace, protection, and restore order at the time of extreme need. There are various versions of this list, but the most common include these forms:
  1. Matsya – fish: To save Manu from the cyclone with every species of plants and animals for the sustenance of life.
  2. Kurma – tortoise: During Samudra manthan (see Shiva story) to bear the weight of the mountain.
  3. Varaha – boar: Helped carry the weight of land to avoid it from sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
  4. Narasimha – half-man/half-lion: To defeat Hiranyakashyapa, a destructive king who could not be killed by any one type of being.
  5. Vamana – dwarf: To humble King Bali’s disproportionate power over all the lands.
  6. Parashurama – warrior (with axe): The first warrior AND saint in Hindu history. He carried out duties of Brahmins and Kshaitryas.
  7. Ram – King/”Ideal person”: King of Ayodhya – part of Ramayana, one of the most widely read and adored shaastras/scriptures of Hinduism. Came to defeat Ravana and other destroyers of the land.
  8. Krishna – all-knowing: Key player in Mahabharata, the second and biggest epic in Hinduism. He helped the Pandavas defeat the Kauravas in the biggest war of dharma vs adharma (right vs wrong / good vs evil). He also sang the Bhagavad Gita, which is still revered, studied, and embodied by people all over the world.
  9. Buddha – enlightened being: Siddhartha was born to a royal family. After seeing the suffering of humans, He renounced the material world and began a path of penance and severe ascetism. He is known as the awakened or enlightened one. Buddhism follows his beliefs of nonviolence, knowledge, and ideal conduct.
  10. Kalki – destroyer of chaos: This form has not yet appeared and is said to arrive at the end of this era, when only chaos and evil remains.

Fascinating Facts

• The largest religious structure in the world is the Angkor Wat temple in Kampuchea, Cambodia dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
• The erstwhile Kings of Nepal were considered the earthly representatives of Lord Vishnu. The national airlines of Indonesia is named after Garuda, His vehicle. He is also considered the guardian Deity of Sri Lanka.
• Most of the scholarly teachers of Vedānta (Hindu Theology) like Ramanujacharya, Nimbarka, Madhvacharya etc. were worshippers of Vishnu.

Other Popular Names

• Narayaṇa – refuge and foundation of all humans
• Hari – remover of sorrows
• Achut – imperishable or indestructible
• Ish – divine, ruler
• Jagadish – ruler of the world

Popular/Well-known Prayers

• “Om Namo Nārāyaṇāya” (Om! Salutations to Nārāyaṇa) is a short mantra chanted popularly. Vaishnavas can simply chant names of Vishnu like ‘Hari’ repeatedly’.
• The Purusha Sūkta in the Vedas, the Uttara-Nārayaṇa Sūkta in Yajurveda.
• Vishnu Sahasranāma (Sanskrit) in the Bheeshma Parva (Book 12) of the Mahabharata. It contains approximately 1000 names of the Lord and is considered one of the most revered Sanskrit hymns. Chanting it along with a study of Bhagavad Gita is considered sufficient to grant Moksha (Liberation) according to Shankarāchārya.
• Divya Prabandham, a collection of 4000 hymns in the Maṇipravalā language (Sanskrit nouns with verbs from Tamil and other South Indian languages) composed by 12 saints and set to melody.
• A popular verse for chanting, prefixed to the Vishnu Sahasranāma-

Shaanta-kaaram bhujanga shayanam, padma-naabham suresham|

Vishvaadhaaram gagana-sadrisham, megha-varṇam shubhaangam |

Lashmi-kaantam kamala-nayanam yogibhir-dhyaana-gamyam|

Vande Vishnum bhava-bhaya-haram, sarva-lokaika-naatham ||

I bow to Vishnu, the One Lord of the Universe, who gives peace, who reclines on the cobra Shesha (Time), from whose navel arises a lotus (bearing Brahmā), the Lord of all gods, the support of the universe, all-pervading like the sky, having the color of the clouds and a beautiful form, whose consort is Lakshmi, whose eyes are beautiful like the lotus flower and who is meditated upon by the Yogis.