The triad concept is one of the main concept of Hinduism. Hindus believe in trinity: the three forms of God and Goddesses, three gunas, the three bodies, the three states of mind and more. The trimurti (three forms) is the concept of three deities Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh (Lord Shiva) who run the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance and destruction. In particular Hindu God Brahma creates, Lord Vishnu preserves and Lord Shiva is responsible of degeneration. This is how they maintain the prakriti and the cycle goes on and on.
Lord Vishnu as Preserver
Lord Vishnu – the preserver, is like the father who takes care of the family as well as he is the supreme god brahman. He is the god of protection, who restors the dharma and preserves good. He is the controller of entire cosmos and threat to evil forces. Lord Vishnu incarnates on earth fighting against adharma in order to maintain the harmony.
In Bhagavad Gita Lord has said
यदायदाहिधर्मस्यग्लानिर्भवतिभारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्यतदात्मानंसृजाम्यहम्॥४-७॥
I would take birth again and again whenever loss of dharma happens.
Most importantly Lord Krishna (One of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu) himself said this in Gita (one of the main scripture of hinduism and known as song of God).
This is the shloka 7 from chapter 4.
Incarnations
Image taken from wikipedia
Certainly Lord Vishnu is the most incarnated God amongst Hindu Gods who takes birth to unburden the earth. Puranas like agni purana, bhagawad, garuda purana, matsaya purana, narad purana and many more has confirmed this by describing the avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu. Dashavatara are the ten main avatars of Lord Vishnu namely Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Parashurama, Narasimha, Vamana (the dwarf), Matsya, Kurma, Varaha (the boar) and finally he will be Kalki in kaliyug.
His various incarnation stories state beautifully how he protected the universe number of times specially as Lord Rama in Ramayana and Krishna in Bhagawad & Mahabharata. These characters are so colorful and inspiring that describes the victory of virtues & dharma over negativity & demons. Lord Vishnu’s stunning avatars are not only limited to human form. Going beyond he took the form of fish in matsaya avatar, lion face in narsimha avatar and tortoise in kurma avatar. Many ancient Hindu Texts say the glory of Lord in the form of wonderful stories.
Mantras and Stotras of Lord Vishnu
In Sanskrit Vishnu means ‘all pervasive’. He represents the sattva of the three gunas rajas, sattva and tamas. He is the one who always nurtures all thus to praise God many stotras and mantras are there. The 9 Powerful Mantras of Lord Vishnu are. https://gurukulgyanonline.com/2020/05/31/powerful-vishnu-mantra/
Consort, Vehicle and Other Forms
Goddess Lakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu and his vehicle is Garuda. This couple of the Hindu Gods is worshipped in many parts of india at different occasions and festivals. She is also known as ‘Shri’ so the Lord Vishnu is ‘Shripati’. In spite of many incarnations mentioned above he is the one who played an important role in distribution of nector (amrita). He made sure that only Devta will get the amrit originated from samudra manthana. So he took the female form named ‘Mohini’ to distract demons and to distribute nector amongst Gods. Other than this his one of the pictures depicts half Vishnu and half Shiva called ‘Harihara’. He is the brother of Lord Indra (King of Hindu Gods) called ‘Upendra’. Above all, he is quite a significant God who played many amazing roles for Dharma.
Pleasant Form of Lord Vishnu And Symbolism
शान्ताकारम् भुजगशयनम् पद्मनाभम् सुरेशम्
विश्वाधारम् गगनसदृशम् मेघवर्णम् शुभाङ्गम्।
लक्ष्मीकान्तम् कमलनयनम् योगिभिर्ध्यानगम्यम्
वन्दे विष्णुम् भवभयहरम् सर्वलोकैकनाथम्॥
His appealing form is the embodiment of Bliss for devotees.
Meghavarna Lord Vishnu
He is megha varna: megha means cloud and varna is color. The color of his skin is of color of the clouds. The blue color is the color of infinite, formless and one in which everything exists like a sky. It is the color of throat chakra (Vishuddhi chakra) that is the chakra of truth, communication, and expression.
Chaturbhuja
Vishnu is chaturbhuja which means the one who has four arms (chatur means four and bhuja is arm). He is holding shankha (conch), Chakra (disc), Gada (mace) and Padma (lotus) in his four hands.
- Shankha is the sound of God that represents the manifestation, the birth, the life, and the start.
- Chakra is the weapon of Lord Vishnu that never returns back without killing the target. That is the indicator of termination.
- Gada represents the power, the power to discipline, the power to regulate and the power of knowledge.
- Padma the lotus is the symbol of liberation, purity and enlightenment.
The four arms are the four pillars of life. They are Dharma, artha, kaama, and moksha.
These arms are the four vedas: Rig veda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Artharvaveda.
The four ashrams Brahmcharya, Grahastha, Vaanprastha and Sanyaas are the four arms. Brahmcharya is that where we gain knowledge and in grahastha we become householder. Vaanprastha is retirement and Sanyaas where we leave this world and do sadhana to renunciate.
On deeper aspect his arms represent the three powers of cosmos and the one behind the powers. These powers are the power of creation, power of sustenance, power of destruction and the chaitanya.
Bhujagshayanam
Naaraayan rests on the snake called ananta. Ananta means who has no end. He is reclining on the sheshanaag, the serpent with multiple heads. When he comes as Lord Rama, sheshnaaga is Lakshman. In his form of Lord Krishna, Balrama is the sheshnaaga.
Abode: Ksheersagar
Abode of the Lord Vishnu is Ksheer Sagar (the ocean of milk) where the lord resides with his consort Lakshmi Devi. Although the ocean is like the formless consciousness yet it has secrets inside it. Like on churning (samudra manthan) many things came out. It has everything Halaahala (poison) and at the same time Amrita (Nectar), Goddess of wealth and on the other hand goddess of poverty, everything in all aspects. Ksheer Sagar is the shunya (zero) from where everything begins and everything ends.
Srivatsa
Naarayan bears the sign of Srivatsa on his chest where the Goddess Lakshmi resides. It is the sign of love and care that Lord Vishnu carries on his chest. Some says it is related to Shri (Lakshmi Devi) but some says it is the sign formed when Rishi Bhrigu kicked him on chest. Instead of being angry Lord bare that kick as the symbol of care towards the rishi. He has respect for all the Gurus and Rishis so he took the attack as token of love.
Accessories
Lord Vishnu wears the rare gem Kaustubha and the Vanmala. His crown is the symbol of supreme power and his earrings are the both sides of coins: good and bad, happy and sad, life and death. His earrings are the symbol of existence of two.
The Sleep Of Lord Vishnu – Yoga Nidra
Lord Vishnu reclines over the Sheshnaaga in Ksheer Sagar in the state of Yoga Nidra. A state where one stays conscious while sleeping. His sleep signifies being in his own reality, in nothingness. Like after the destruction and before the creation there is deep silence.
Yoga Nidra ends with the beginning of the next cycle of creation. That creation is illustrated as blooming lotus which rises from his navel and Lord Brahma (the God of creation) is seated over there. This is why Lord Vishnu is Padmanaabha (Padma means lotus and Naabha means Navel).
Hindu believes that Lord Vishnu’s yogic sleep starts on the 11th day of the waxing moon of Ashadha month and lasts for four months till the 11th day of the waxing moon of Kartik month. This period of four months is called Chaturmaas reserved for sadhana, fasting, mantra chanting, meditation penance, charity and religious vows. This is the time to uplift oneself spiritually and be on the path of self realization.
As the Yoga Nidra ends Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi reunite. This is the signification of unity of prakriti and purusha. In India Hindu performs marriage ceremony after chaturmaas, at the time of creation and union.
The Vishvaroopa – Universal Form of Lord Vishnu
The Viraat Rupa or the Vishvarupa of Lord Vishnu is the supreme expression of God where whole universe is contained in Him. This form is the form that describes all forms is of Him. “He is in everything and everything is in him.”
Lord Krishna showed the Viraatrupa to Arjuna in Mahabharat to clear his confusion, doubts and attachment so that he can fight for dharma.
Vishnu is the inner and outer of the devotee. It is upto the devotee which path he chooses nirguna (formless) or saguna (having form) as both will reach to the Lord Vishnu :). Make your heart the abode of Lord purifies the mind and enlightens the intellect.
Therefore Chant the Vishnu Mantra! Meditate on Lord Vishnu! Be one with Him!
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