Shri Vishnu

Who Shri Vishnu is

Vishnu is the preserver within the Hindu trinity — where Brahma creates and Shiva destroys, Vishnu sustains, and descends to earth in avatar form whenever dharma (righteous order) is seriously threatened, to restore balance.

The ten avatars (Dashavatara)

Ten avatars are traditionally counted: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha (in many traditions), and Kalki, an avatar yet to come at the end of the current age. Each responds to a specific crisis rather than following any fixed pattern — which is part of why Vishnu is seen as endlessly adaptable in service of dharma.

Iconography

Vishnu is depicted reclining on the many-headed serpent Shesha, floating on the cosmic ocean of milk (Kshirasagar), with his consort Lakshmi at his feet. He holds four symbols: a conch (Panchajanya), a discus (Sudarshan Chakra), a mace (Kaumodaki) and a lotus. His vehicle is the eagle Garuda.

How he's worshipped

Vishnu is worshipped directly and, very commonly, through his avatars — a Rama or Krishna devotee is, in that sense, a Vishnu devotee too. Major temples include Tirupati (as Venkateswara) and Badrinath. The Om Jai Jagdish Hare aarti, addressed to him as Jagdish (lord of the universe), is sung in nearly every Hindu household.