Vishnu
In the Vedas Vishnu distinguishes himself only for the 'three steps' with which he measures out the extent of the earth and heavens.
The significance of this act is amplified to include other functions in the epics, where Vishnu is equated with Prajapati, the creator and supreme god. As Prajapati he encompasses Brahma, Vishnu himself as preserver, and Shiva as destroyer. As the preserver he is the embodiment of the quality of mercy and goodness, the self-existent, all-pervading power which preserves and maintains the universe and the cosmic order, dharma.
Vishnu is the cosmic ocean, Nara, which spread everywhere before the creation of the universe, but is also called Narayana, 'moving in the waters'; in this character he is represented in a human form, sleeping on the coiled serpent Shesha, or Ananta, and floating on the waters. Brahma is sometimes said to have arisen from a lotus growing from his navel as he slept thus. After each destruction of the universe Vishnu resumes this posture. .
According to Vishnu's adherents, he is unlike Brahma and Shiva in that he has no need to assert his own superiority. Indeed, his mildness combined with his power proves him to be the greatest of the gods. As the preserver, Vishnu is the object of devotion rather than of fear, and this affection is similarly extended to his wife Lakshmi, goddess of fortune.
When Vishnu is not represented reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha, with Lakshmi seated at his feet, he is shown as a handsome young man with blue skin, dressed in royal robes.
He has four hands; one holds a conch shell or Sankha, called Panchajanya, which was once inhabited by a demon killed by Krishna; the second hand holds a discus or quoit weapon called Sudarsana or Vajranabha, also an attribute of Krishna's, given to him by Agni as a reward for defeating Indra; the third hand holds a club or mace called Kaunodaki, presented to Krishna on the same occasion; the fourth hand holds a lotus, or Padma. He also has a bow called Sarnga, and a sword called Nandaka. He is usually either seated on a lotus with Lakshmi beside him, or riding his vehicle, Garuda, who is half-man and half-bird. Vishnu's heaven, Vaikuntha, is on the slopes of the world-mountain Mount Meru. With a circumference of 80,000 miles, Vaikuntha is made entirely of gold and precious jewels. The Ganges flows through it, and is sometimes said to have its source in Vishnu's foot. Vaikuntha contains five pools, in which grow blue, red and white lotuses; Vishnu and Lakshmi are ensconced amid the white lotuses, where they both radiate like the sun.
Thus by concentrating his thought on the god a person can hope to merge his or her soul with him and earn release in a way that is far more attractive than the old discipline of austerities and yogic concentration. It is this which explains the enormous popularity of Krishna, who is the most widely worshipped avatar of Vishnu. It may be remarked in passing that this aspect of his cult has obvious similarities to Semitic beliefs in a saviour god and that the episodes of Krishna and the cowgirls resemble Dionysiac cults.
An interesting twist to the theory of bhakti is seen in the myth relating to Sisupala, King of Chedi, who hated Krishna so much that he thought of nothing else but him or Vishnu, even in his sleep and even as he lay dying And the consequence of this was that Sisupala too gained release, simply from concentrating his thoughts so exclusively on the God. Besides the avatars, Vishnu has a thousand names, the repetition of which is a meritorious act. Nevertheless, Vishnu's special function as preserver remains linked to the older beliefs and is exercised through his avatars, when he descends to earth as a great hero and saves mankind and the universe. As a mortal hero, Vishnu guards the righteous, destroys evil-doers and establishes the reign of law, dharma.
Though Vishnu existed as a god in Vedic times, his role as preserver is essentially a late development. It depends upon two assumptions First, the theory of samsara, which teaches that every human is born many times over and that each life represents a punishment or a reward for his previous life, according to how well he has followed his dharma, or the path of duty laid down for him in that particular condition of life. If in each life he has faithfully performed his duty, he may hope to progress steadily upwards, until he becomes a saint, or even a god. On the other hand, if he does not perform his duty he progresses as steadily towards life as a demon. The second assumption is that gods and demons represent the two poles of existence, and that both are active in the world, a constant struggle being carried on between the two forces. In the normal course of events, good and evil are evenly matched in the world; at times, however, the balance is destroyed and evil gains the upper hand. Such a situation is deemed unfair to humans and at such times it is Vishnu as preserver who intervenes by descending to earth in a human incarnation or avatar .
Such avatars are therefore not chance events, and during each one Vishnu has a specific task to perform. It is sometimes thought that Vishnu is called upon to descend to earth in this way once in each cycle of universal time. .
There are ten avatars in the present Mahayuga, the first four of which are said to have occurred during the Kritayuga, and the seventh, eighth and ninth of which are the best known. With the eighth incarnation, that of Krishna, which became very popular at a relatively late stage, a new and important idea is added to the older beliefs. Since Brabmanic times it had been believed that the progressive rise through countless lives to the level of god - 'to enter Indra's heaven' -should not be the ultimate aspiration; it was far better to practise austerities (yoga) until the point where the soul became entirely unattached to the individual and was able to fuse with the universal spirit. The achievement of this release (moksha) became the ultimate aim, only to be attained by certain gifted spirits, and it absolved them from the weary round of existences to which they were otherwise doomed. Now the Krishna myth introduced an important variant to this belief, for in the course of the Mahabharata the God explains that there is another route to release of the soul: this is through bhakti, or devotion to a particular god (in this case Krishna speaks only of devotion to himself, who as Vishnu can in any case be equated with the universal spirit).
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