One of the great Purāṇas (see Purāṇas) of Hinduism (see Hinduism), the Viṣṇu Purāṇa is a work of the late third or early fourth century CE. It is a work dedicated essentially to the greatness of the god Viṣṇu (see Viṣṇu) and is, therefore, particularly sacred to Vaiṣṇavas, worshippers of Viṣṇu (see Vaisnavism). In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Viṣṇu is the omnipotent deity. In fact, he is synonymous with the ultimate absolute Brahman (see Brahman) as he is in the Bhagavadgīta (see Bhagavadgīta). The Viṣṇu Purāṇa tells of the creation of the universe by Viṣṇu. The Great God is the navel of the universe and reaches from the heavens to its depths. The Purāṇa tells of Viṣṇu's incarnation (see Avatars of Viṣṇu) on earth as the Lord Kṛṣṇa (see Kṛṣṇa) and of the way the universe will be absorbed into Viṣṇu at the end of the age. According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, God is one and the same with Brahmā (see Brahmā) as he creates, Viṣṇu as he preserves, and Śiva (see Śiva) as he destroys. All are elements of the same universal sacrifice, or process of creation, life, and the destruction that will lead to new life.
