Vishnu
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| VISHNU - THE PRESERVER |
Hindu gods and goddesses are phenomenal, but in due course
of time Vishnu, as God of all gods, acquired supremacy, which
continues till date. He is the central and the major deity
of the trinity, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Though technically
amongst these three chiefs gods known as creator, preserver,
and destroyer, Vishnu is the Preserver, for all practical
purpose he is deemed to be all-powerful, all knowing and all
present.
The name Vishnu comes from the root VISH,
which means, "to spread in all directions,
to pervade". He is the inner center, the core, the
nucleus, and the cohesive point through which everything exists.
He swells in everything, owns everything and overcomes any
thing
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| VISHNU IN HIS VISHWAROOP |
At the dawn of Aryan religion's formative stage, Vishnu is
found to be a god amongst so many other gods. But his rise
on the scale of worship and prayer is very rapid and already
before the end of the Vedic times, he rises to the highest
pedestal. The form and image of Vishnu as well as its significance
is explained in detail in Puranas and several other minor
Upanishads.
The two most common representations of Vishnu show him either
sleeping over the waves of the ocean on the coils of the serpent-deity,
named Shesh Nag, or standing on waves with four hands each
hand holding one of his four chief attributes.
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| VISHNU - THE PRESERVER |
About the four arms of Vishnu, GOPAL-UTTARTAPANI Upanishad says:
"In my lower right hand, which
represents the revolving or creative tendency, I hold the conch,
symbol of the five elements.
In the upper right hand, which represents the cohesive tendency
I hold the discus, shining like an infant sun, symbol of the
mind.
In the upper left hand, which represents the tendency towards
dispersion and liberation, I hold the lotus, symbol of the causal
power of illusion, from which the universe rises.
In my lower left hand, which represents the notion of individual
existence, is the mace, symbol of primeval knowledge."
The Conch (SHANKH) named PANCHJANYA is the fountain
that evolves the five elements, i.e., water,
fire, air, earth and sky or space. When blown it produces
a sound that is associated with primeval sound from which creation
developed.
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