Vishnu

Vishnu, also known as Narayana and Hari, is the supreme god in Hinduism. He is the Absolute truth (Parabrahman), Supreme self (Paramatma) and Ultimate reality in Vaishnavism, the largest denomination of Hinduism. He is considered as one of the principal deities, generally a representation of the Trimurti, the supreme trinity of Hinduism.

He is venerated as the Supreme Being in Vaishnavism and as Purushottama or Supreme Purusha in many ancient sacred texts like the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata (including Bhagavad Gita), etc. The Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatma (supreme soul) and Parameshvara (supreme god). It describes Vishnu as the all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of—and beyond—the past, present, future, the creator, preserver, destroyer of all existences, one who supports, preserves, sustains, governs, rules the universe and originates and develops all elements within.

Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, the supreme god who is the giver of mukti (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees, the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, he is the "Teacher of the Universe". The Bhagavata Purana declares that Narayana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who engages in the creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma, who is the god of rajas-guna, who engages in the preservation of 14 worlds within the universe as Vishnu, who is the god of sattvas-guna, who engages in the destruction of 14 worlds within the universe as Shiva, who is the god of tamas-guna.

This Narayana is Vishnu himself, who incarnates in various avataras. In the Bhagavata Purana, Purusha Sukta, Narayana Sukta, Narayana Upanishad, Mahanarayana Upanishad, he is the absolute truth.

Vishnu is the god of preservation. This means that he protects the universe from being destroyed. It is believed that Vishnu holds the Earth and all living organisms. According to Hindu religion, he has set foot and arrived on the Earth in nine forms called avataras, so far with one incarnation yet to come that is Kalki at the last to be Kali Yuga, to destroy evil. His most famous incarnations are Rama, Krishna, Parashurama, Narasimha.

Vishnu holds a lotus (Padma), the indestructible mace of Vishnu (Kaumodaki), a conch (Shankha), the unstoppable disc of Vishnu (Sudarshana Chakra) in each of his four hands. He is known to take many disguises such as having an eight-armed form (or) having a thousand forms, eyes, faces, mouths, arms as Sahasrshirsha. A universal form known to be Vishvarupa is the supreme form of Vishnu, where the whole universe is described as contained within him. but the three main forms of Vishnu are Karanodakshayi Vishnu (Mahavishnu), Garbhodaksayi Vishnu, Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, the other two are the expansions of Karanodakshayi Vishnu.

 Avataras 
There are 10 avataras of Vishnu (in the order they appeared):
 Matsya (fish)
 Kurma (turtle)
 Varaha (wild boar)
 Narasimha (half lion, half man)
 Vamana (dwarf)
 Parashurama (Hunter)
 Rama (king)
 Krishna (king)
 Buddha
 Kalki

A list may be given in one place but additional avataras may be mentioned the 24 avataras of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana in Canto 1, but mentions others elsewhere :
Adi Purusha
Sanaka Kumaras
Varaha 
Narada 
Nara and Narayana
Kapila 
Dattatreya 
Yajna 
Rishabha 
Prithu 
Hamsa
Hayagriva
Matsya 
Kurma 
Dhanvantari 
Mohini 
Narasimha 
Vamana 
Parashurama 
Vyasa
Rama 
Balarama and Krishna 
Sugata Buddha
Kalki.

 Iconography 
Vishnu holds four items in his four hands. He holds a conch in the upper left hand, which represents victory. He holds the Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand, which represents spiritual energy. In his lower left hand, a lotus (flower) represents peacefulness, and in his lower right hand, the Kaumodaki represents powers.


Temples of Vishnu



108 Divya Desams in the Indian subcontinent 
108 Abhimana Kshethrams in the Indian subcontinent 
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli
Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
Jagannath Temple, Puri
Badrinath Temple
Swaminarayan temples throughout the World
Candi Wisnu, Prambanan, Java, Indonesia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Birla Mandir, Dehli
Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple, Thiruvellarai 
Kallazhagar temple, Madurai
Guruvayur Temple, Thrissur
Ananthapura Lake Temple, Kasaragod
The Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple, KarnatakaAkshatha Vinayak, "Shree Vishnumurthy Temple Of Serenity and Mystery", Native Planet, 6-10-2016 is dedicated to god vishnu and is the ancient Tirta Kshetra. There is no other place like this anywhere in this Universe.

 Powers and abilities 
Vishnu has omniverse manipulation, absolute manipulation, meta manipulation, preservation. As the preserver, Vishnu can control anything and everything. The power to protect everything from anything is the reason he is also called the supreme protector of his devotees.

Absolute destruction: In the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu is also described as the creator, destroyer, and the preserver. As the destroyer, he can even destroy infinity or the omniverse.

Absolute creation: As the creator in the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu has the power to create everything, even infinity and beyond. The power to have limitless power upon seeing the supreme form of Vishnu. Arjuna describes him as having infinite prowess or power.

Absolute omnipotence : Vishnu has the power to do absolutely everything, even creating something that is bigger than infinity itself. In chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu shows Arjuna everything—all creation: time, space, past, present, future, the omniverse, existing and future humans, and more. It is beyond human imagination to actually comprehend it. 

Absolute omniscience: The power of Vishnu to have infinite wisdom experience and knowledge.

Absolute omnipresence: The power to be everywhere at every time including beyond the omniverse in both past, present, future. When Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu shows his supreme appearance, it is described being everywhere, yet people can't see it because they don't have the divine vision. Only sages, gods, Sanjaya, Arjuna are able to see this Vishvarupa.

Absolute formlessness: Vishnu's true form is described as formless, infinite, boundless, inapplicable, without shape and color, according to the Vishnu Purana.

Absolute immortality: Chapter 1 of the Vishnu Purana describes Vishnu being boundlessly above the concepts of death, birth, life, growth, age.

Absolute transcendence: The Vishnu Purana also describes Vishnu as being above all descriptions such as logic, time, space, etc. He is an infinite dimensional being according to the Vishnu Sahasranama.

References

Category:Hindu gods and goddesses