represents the aspect of
the Supreme Reality that
preserves and sustains
the universe. Although
there are variations in
images and pictures of
Lord Vishnu, He is
generally symbolized by
a human body with four
arms. In His hands He
carries a conch (shankha),
a mace (gada), and
discus (chakra). He
wears a crown, two
earrings, a garland
(mala) of flowers, and a
gem around the neck. He
has a blue body and
wears yellow clothes.
The Lord is shown
standing on a
thousand-headed snake
(named Shesha Nag), and
the snake stands with
its hoods open over the
head of the Lord.
The four arms
indicate Lord's
omnipresence and
omnipotence. The two
front arms signify the
lord's activity in the
physical world and the
two back arms signify
His activity in the
spiritual world. The
right side of the body
represents the creative
activities of the mind
and the intellect. The
left side symbolizes the
activities of the heart;
that is, love, kindness,
and compassion.
A conch in the upper
left hand indicates that
the Lord communicates
with His devotees with
love and understanding.
When blowing His conch,
He reminds his devotes
to live in this world
with kindness and
compassion towards all
living beings. A chakra
in His upper right hand
conveys the idea that
the Lord uses this
weapon to protect His
devotees from evil. The
mace denotes energy and
a mace in the Lord's
left lower hand
signifies that He
sustains the manifest
world by the energy that
He holds in Himself. His
front right hand is
depicted bestowing grace
on His devotees.
The snake denotes the
mind and the thousand
heads of the snake
signify innumerable
desires and passions of
an individual. Just as a
snake destroys its
victim by its venom, an
uncontrolled mind
destroys the world by
the venom of its
possessiveness. The Lord
has controlled all
desires, and this is
symbolized by showing
Him seated on the two
coils of the snake. When
a sincere devotee of the
Lord controls his
desires, the Lord
fulfills the devotee's
genuine desires and
helps him on his path.
The blue sky in the
background of the Lord
suggests that He
pervades the entire
universe. The blue color
symbolizes infinity. The
blue body of the Lord
signifies that He has
infinite attributes. He
is nameless, formless,
and immeasurable. The
color yellow is
associated with earthly
existence and the yellow
clothes of the Lord
signify that He
incarnates Himself on
this earth to uphold
righteousness and
destroy evil and
unrighteousness.
A flower garland
around the Lord's neck
is a symbol of the
devotee's adoration for
the Lord. A gem
decorating His neck
signifies that the Lord
fulfills all genuine
desires of His devotees
and provides for their
needs. The crown is a
symbol of the Lord's
supreme power and
authority. The two
earrings signify the
dual nature of creation,
such as knowledge and
ignorance, happiness and
unhappiness, and
pleasure and pain.
The worship of Lord
Vishnu is very popular
among Hindus, especially
among the followers of
the Vaishnava tradition
(Vaishnavism). He is the
second member of the
Hindu Trinity, with Lord
Brahma and Lord Shiva as
the other two. Lord
Vishnu is also known by
other names, such as
Vasudeva and Narayana.
The following ten
incarnations of Lord
Vishnu are described in
Hindu mythology and are
popular among Hindus.
These incarnations
reveal the help rendered
by God during various
stages of human
evolution. As shown
below, the first two
incarnations are in the
animal form, the third
one is half-human and
half-animal, and the
fourth and the
subsequent ones are all
in human form. These
incarnations relate to
human evolution from
aquatic life to human
life, and are consistent
with the modern theory
of evolution suggested
by science:
Matsya
(fish)---saves
Sage Manu from
floods and
recovers the
Vedas from
demons.
