Viṣṇu

The Hindu (see Hinduism entries) god Viṣṇu is both the “pervader” and preserver: he pervades all things and preserves the order of the universe. He is known by his four arms, his conch, his powerful flaming discus weapon, and the lotus. He rides on the eagle Garuḍa and is accompanied by the embodiment of his śakti (see Śakti), his consort Śrī (see Śrī) or Lakṣmī (see Lakṣmī). For his worshippers or Vaiṣṇavas (see Vaisnava), he is the source of the elements of creation—the Supreme god who becomes incarnate when his presence is required, whether as Kṛṣṇa (see Kṛṣṇa). Rāma (see Rāma) or several other avatāras (see Avatars of Viṣṇu). He contains the universe in his being and is the universal Absolute, Brahman (see Brahman, see Viṣṇu Purāṇa). As he is the creator, his consort Lakṣmī is the creation, the manifestation of Viṣṇu's energy.

Viṣṇu is infrequently mentioned in the ancient Vedas (see Vedas), but in the ṛg Veda (see ṛg Veda) it is he who takes the giant steps by which Heaven and Earth are established (see Vāmana). Thus, already in the ṛg Veda, he is the pervasive one, the axis of the cosmos whose ritual pillar—like the liṇga (see Liṇga, Liṇga Myths) of Śiva (see Śiva) in other myths—reaches from the navel of the earth to the highest heavens. Viṣṇu is the essential sacrifice, he who in the Mahābhārata (see Mahābhārata) raises up the world in the manner of the earlier version of the creator as Prajāpati (see Prajāpati) and saves it from overcrowding. As Vaiṣṇavism (see Vaiṣṇavism) developed, Viṣṇu assimilated other early creator forms, including the Puruṣa (see Puruṣa) of the ṛg Veda (see Vedic Cosmogony) and the creator god Brahmā (see Brahmā) as the Brahman (see Brahman) within all things or Ātman (see Ātman) and, therefore, as the personification of creative energy itself or Nārāyaṇa (see Nāryaṇa). Finally, it is Viṣṇu who, as sun, wind, and rain, will absorb the universe at the end of the current age.

The mythology of Viṣṇu is rich. One important myth of the Jayākhya Saṃhitā tells how two demons stole the Veda (see Vedas), plunging the world into disorder. Viṣṇu restores the Veda by way of his own knowledge and kills the demons with sacred formulae or mantras (see Mantras) that reflect his creative energy or śakati. One creation story tells how Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī sleep on eternity embodied by the thousand-headed primal serpent śeṣa or Ananta (see Ananta). During his sleep, the world is “unrealized,” that is, it exists only as Viṣṇu's “thought.” When he awakens he meditates and begins the process of re-creation. When a lotus springs from his navel, Brahmā appears from it and becomes the actual creator of the world that Viṣṇu will preserve until the next destruction (see also Churning of the Ocean, Viṣṇu Purāṇa).