The peace-loving deity of the Hindu Trinity, Vishnu is the Preserver or Sustainer of life with his steadfast principles of order, righteousness and truth. When these values are under threat, Vishnu emerges out of his transcendence to restore peace and order on earth.
The preserver god of the Trinity has four hands. The first holds a conch shell (sankha) indicating spread of the divine sound "Om"; one holds a discus (chakra), a reminder of the wheel of time, and to lead a good life; one holds a lotus (Padma) which is an example of glorious existence and the fourth hands holds a mace (gada) indicating the power and the punishing capacity of the Lord if discipline in life is ignored.
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| Lord Vishnu |
His vehicle is the swift-flying bird Garuda which can spread the Vedic knowledge with great courage. The dark color of the Lord represents the passive and formless ether, a great quality for a pervading god. He rests on the bed of the powerful, coiled serpent, Seshanag who represents the sleeping universe. Lord Vishnu is also known as Hari, the remover.
The 10 Avatars:
Vishnu’s earthly incarnations have many avatars.
His ten avatars are:
- Matsyavatara (fish)
- Koorma (tortoise)
- Varaaha (boar)
- Narasimha (the man lion)
- Vaamana (the dwarf)
- Parasurama (the angry man)
- Lord Rama (the perfect human of the Ramayana)
- Lord Krishna (the divine diplomat and statesman),
- and the yet to appear 10th incarnation called the Kalki avatar.
Lord Vishnu's consort is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth .
Lord Vishnu Mantras:
1) ‘Om namo Narayanaya (ॐ नमो नारायणाय)
This Mantra is taken from Kriyayogasar, a Vaishnavite sub-(upa) Puran. ‘Om namo Narayanaya’, the eight letter mantra is named Narayan mantra. A synonym for it is mantraraj. This mantra is believed to symbolise the eight images of Vishnu, namely the five cosmic elements, the sun, the moon and the host performing the sacrificial fire (yadnya), as also the eight matras of the Omkar. The Vaishnavite saint, Ramanujacharya was initiated with this mantra.’
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Narayana is the name of Vishnu, the preserver if the world. After the Creation, it is the energy of the Vishnu, which maintains order of the universe. It is Vishnu who regularly takes on a human form and incarnates in earth to benefit mankind. People who are closely involved in the running of the world and maintaining the harmony of life are drawn to this aspect of God.
Prostrations to Lord God, Vasudeva
Bhagavan means Lord, referring to Vishnu. Vasudeva, meaning, “He Who abides in all things and in Whom all things abide,” is a name of Krishna. Krishna is one of the most loved of all deities. He is considered to be a world teacher for he is the source f the Bhagavad-Gita Gita, one of the most popular of all the Eastern religious texts. People are drawn to Krishna because of his playfulness and joyful nature.
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3)
shaanta-kaaram bhujaga-shayanam padma-naabham suresham
vishwa-dhaaram gagana-sadrisham megha-varanam shubhaangam.
lakshmi-kaantam kamala-nayanam yogi-bhi-dhyaana-agamyam
vande vishnum bhava-bhaya-haram sarva-lokaika-naatham.
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Meaning of the Vishnu Mantra:
I sing praise to Lord Vishnu.
He who has the peaceful (shaanta-)
demeanor and visage (-kaaram).
He who sleeps and reposes (-shayanam)
on the serpents (bhujaga-).
He who has a lotus shaped (padma-) navel (-naabham).
He who is the master and lord
of all the gods (suresham).
I pray to the Lord Vishnu.
He who holds (-dhaaram) the
universe (vishwaa-) in his hands.
He whose vision (-sadrasham) exceeds
beyond all the skies (gagana-).
He whose color and visage (-varanam) is
changeable like the clouds (megha-).
And he who is filled with goodness (shubh-)
in every part (-aangam) of his body.
I sing praise to the Lord Vishnu.
He who is the husband (-kaantam)
of the goddess of wealth (-lakshmi).
He whose eyes (-nayanam) are surreal
like a lotus flower (kamala-).
And he who yogis yearn to reach (-agamyam)
through meditation (-dhyaana).
I sing praises (vande-) to the Lord Vishnu (-vishnum).
He who removes (-haram) all our fears (-bhaya)
due to our inborn nature (-bhava).
And he who is the master (-naatham) of the
entire (-sarva) universe and creation (-lokaika).
