- First incarnation of Vishnu: Matsya or the Fish incarnation : in this form Vishnu saved the Saint Vaivaswata, the hindu variety of the biblical Noah (or vice versa).
- Second incarnation of Vishnu: Kurma or the Turtle incarnation : at the Churning of the Ocean, Vishnu as Koorma (or Kurma) offered his back as a pivot on which to rest the Mount Mandara, used as a churning stick by gods and demons. More information also on the Kurma page.
- Third incarnation of Vishnu: Varaha or the Boar incarnation of Vishnu : he killed the demon Hiranyaksha, recovered the stolen Veda’s and released the Earth from the bottom of the ocean.
- Fourth incarnation of Vishnu: Narasingha or the Lion incarnation : as a creature who was half-lion and half-man, Vishnu killed the demon Hiranyashasipu, brother of Niranyaksha, who had gained the boon of immunity from attacks by man, beast or god.
- Fifth incarnation of Vishnu: Vamana or the Dwarf incarnation : he killed the demon Bali, who had gained dominion over the Earth and had chased the gods from the heavens. More can be read on the Vamana page.
- Sixth incarnation of Vishnu: Parasurama : he killed the King Kartavirya, who had stolen the holy cow Kamadhenu, which could grant all desires.
- Seventh incarnation of Vishnu: Ram : he killed the demon King Ravana, who had abducted Sita. More on Ram can be read on the Ramayana page.
- Eigth incarnation of Vishnu: Krishna : he killed Kansa, son of a demon and the tyrannical King of Mathura. More on Krishna can be read in the Life of Krishna.
- Ninth incarnation of Vishnu: Buddha : Vishnu incarnated to remove suffering from the world. More on Buddha can be read on the Buddha page. While some Hindus may oppose to seeing Buddha as a Vishnu incarnation, many other Hindus in fact embrace Buddha as such and worship Buddha both in Buddhist temples as in Hindu temples.
- Tenth Incarnation of Vishnu: Kalki : still to come at the end of the Kaliyuga or the present age of decline, when Vishnu will appear in person on Earth, seated on a white horse, Kalki, which is his tenth incarnation.
काई. श्री दामोदर विठ्ठल भुतकर
संस्थापक, लक्ष्मी नारायण मंदिर
शेक 1842- 1905
सर्वे सुखीना भवंतु
सर्वांचें स्वगत / Welcome All
By Bus- 45 mins
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आज दिनांक : July 3, 2024
Who is Lord Vishnu?
Vishnu is a Hindu god, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Narayana and Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, he is conceived as “the Preserver or the Protector” within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
Vishnu is one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon and, along with Brahma and Shiva, is considered a member of the holy trinity (trimurti) of Hinduism. He is the most important god of Vaishnavism, the largest Hindu sect. Indeed, to illustrate Vishnu’s superior status, Brahma is, in some accounts, considered to have been born from a lotus flower which grew from Vishnu’s naval. A complex character, Vishnu is the Preserver and guardian of men (Narayana), he protects the order of things (dharma) and, when necessary, he appears on earth in various incarnations or avatars to fight demons and fierce creatures and so maintain cosmic harmony.
Vishnu represents Sattvaguna and is the centripetal force as it were, responsible for sustenance, protection and maintenance of the created universe.
Etymologically speaking, the word ‘Vishnu’ means ‘one who pervades, one who has entered into everything.’ So he is the transcendent as well the immanent reality of the universe. He is the inner cause and power by which things exist.
Lord Vishnu iconography:
Vishnu resides in the milky waters of Vaikunth on a bed made of the coils of the thousand hooded great serpent, Adishesha of infinite dimensions. Goddess Lakshmi, his consort attends upon him. Symbolically the ocean stands for bliss and consciousness, the serpent for time, diversity, desire and illusion, and the goddess Lakshmi for the material things and powers of the creation.
The colour of Vishnu is the colour of a dark blue cloud. It is the colour of the sky, denoting his cosmic dimensions and his connection with the Vedic gods of rain and thunder and his relationship with the earth. He is usually depicted with one face, four arms, usually in a standing posture or in a resting posture. He wears a necklace made of the famous Kaustubha gem that rests on his left chest and another garland of flowers and gems by name Vaijayanti.
His four arms hold sankha (a conch), chakra (discus), gada (mace) and padma (lotus) respectively. The conch stands for the five elements, the sound of AUM, salagrama, goddess Lakshmi, the waters, purity and perfection. The discus is the terrible weapon of Vishnu which he used to destroy the evil and protect the righteous. It symbolically represents the light bearing sun, which illuminates and removes darkness. It also stands for higher consciousness which destroys all illusions. The mace represent the power of knowledge while the lotus symbolizes beauty, harmony, purity, water element, creation and self realization.
Garutman or Garuda, the mighty bird-vehicle of Lord Vishnu is a minor deity invariably found in all the Vaishnava temples.
Another deity invariably found in the Vishnu temples, especially in the South, is Hanuman the monkey-god. The Ramayana pictures him as a highly erudite, cultured and refined person. He is as strong as he is wise, and as devoted as he is strong and wise, a rare combination indeed.
Lord Vishnu Mantra
“Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya”
(ॐ नमोः नारायणाय. ॐ नमोः भगवते वासुदेवाय)
Following is an overview of the 10 principal avatars of Vishnu:
Other Lord Vishnu Avatars
These are gods who descended into this world for a specific task and with an aspect of Lord Vishnu. Mention may be made of Dattatreya, Kapila, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Hayagriva, Naranarayana, Vedavyasa and Yajna.