Vishnu

The Lord of Truth

Out of his navel blossoms a lotus, known as Padmanabham. The flower holds Brahma, the God of Creation and the embodiment of royal virtues or ‘Rajoguna’. Thus, the peaceful form of Lord Vishnu discards the royal virtues through his navel and makes the Sheshnag snake that stands for the vices of darkness or ‘Tamoguna’, his seat. Therefore Vishnu is the Lord of ‘Satoguna’ - the virtues of the truth.

Garuda, the Vehicle

The vehicle of Vishnu is the Garuda eagle, the king of the birds. Empowered with the courage and speed to spread the knowledge of the Vedas, Garuda is an assurance of fearlessness at the time of calamity.

Thousand names of Vishnu

Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the 'Vishnusahasranama' (Vishnu's thousand names), one well-known version of which is found in the Mahabharata. The character Bhishma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising Vishnu as the supreme god. These sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnusahasranama results in spiritual well-being and greater awareness of God.


References

  1. ↑ Karana Ocean
  2. ↑ Lord Vishnu (English) stephen-knapp.com। Retrieved : 29 April, 2016।
  3. ↑ fish
  4. ↑ tortoise
  5. ↑ boar
  6. ↑ the man lion
  7. ↑ the dwarf
  8. ↑ the angry man
  9. ↑ the perfect human of the 'Ramayana'
  10. ↑ Krishna's brother
  11. ↑ the divine diplomat and statesman
  12. ↑ An Introduction to Lord Vishnu (English) hinduism.about.com। Retrieved : 30 April, 2016।