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| It is not clearly known when or how the worship of Vishnu began. In the ]s, and the information on ] beliefs, Vishnu is listed as a lesser god, strongly associated with ]. It was only later in Hindu history that he became a member of the ] and one of the most important deities of the religion. | It is not clearly known when or how the worship of Vishnu began. In the ]s, and the information on ] beliefs, Vishnu is listed as a lesser god, strongly associated with ]. It was only later in Hindu history that he became a member of the ] and one of the most important deities of the religion. | ||
| ==Names== | |||
| Like all Hindu deities, Vishnu has a number of names, perhaps more than any other, collected in the ] ("Vishnu's thousand names"), which occurs in the ]. The names are generally derived from the supposed ''anantakalyanaguna''s (infinite auspicious attributes) of the Lord. Fourteen of Vishnu's names have a special status: | |||
| #achyuta | |||
| #ananta | |||
| #kesava | |||
| #narayana | |||
| #madhava | |||
| #govinda | |||
| #vishnu | |||
| #madhusudana | |||
| #trivikrama | |||
| #] | |||
| #sridhara | |||
| #hrshikesha | |||
| #padmanabha | |||
| #damodara | |||
| Other important names: | |||
| #gopala | |||
| #vasudeva | |||
| #anantasayana | |||
Revision as of 17:15, 9 March 2004
Vishnu is a Hindu God. He is the second god of the Trimurti (also called the Hindu Trinity), along with Brahma and Shiva. In later belief, he was attended to by the vasu. In later times, he has been identified with Bhumiya.
Theological attributes and more
Vishnu is the all-inclusive deity, known as purusha or mahä purusha, paramätma antaryämi and He is the shèshin in whom all souls are contained. He is Bhagavat where bhâga is Divine Glory.
Vishnu possesses six such divine glories, namely,
- jñäna
- aishvarya
- shakti
- bala
- vërya
- tèjas
Relations with other gods
Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Shakti is the samvit of god, while the other five attributes emerge from this samvid and hence Shakti is the god's ahamata Thus this Shakti of god is personified in mythological lore and is called Shri or Lakshmi, and She is said to manifest herself in, 1] kriyäshakti, and 2] bhütishakti of god. Hence Vishnu can not part with His own personality or creativity i.e., ahamta, which in its feminine form is called Sri or Lakshmi. He therefore needs consort Goddess Lakshmi to be with Him always, untouched by any. Thus goddess Lakshmi has to accompany Vishnu in all His incarnations.
His mount is Garuda, the eagle. He, along with the rishis, helped broker the truce between Vritra and Indra.
Depiction
Vishnu is usually depicted as a four-armed humanoid with blue skin, often sitting or resting on a lotus flower. He also has a shapeless, omnipresent form called Hari.
Worship
Vishnu is the chief god of Vaishnavism.
It is believed that he manifested himself as a human being in ten Avatars. He is frequently worshipped in the form of these avatars.
It is not clearly known when or how the worship of Vishnu began. In the Vedas, and the information on Aryan beliefs, Vishnu is listed as a lesser god, strongly associated with Indra. It was only later in Hindu history that he became a member of the Trimurti and one of the most important deities of the religion.
Names
Like all Hindu deities, Vishnu has a number of names, perhaps more than any other, collected in the Vishnu sahasranama ("Vishnu's thousand names"), which occurs in the mahabharata. The names are generally derived from the supposed anantakalyanagunas (infinite auspicious attributes) of the Lord. Fourteen of Vishnu's names have a special status:
- achyuta
- ananta
- kesava
- narayana
- madhava
- govinda
- vishnu
- madhusudana
- trivikrama
- vamana
- sridhara
- hrshikesha
- padmanabha
- damodara
Other important names:
- gopala
- vasudeva
- anantasayana
| Hindu deities and texts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gods |  | |
| Goddesses | ||
| Other deities | ||
| Texts (list) | ||