Vishnu
<p ><b>Vishnu</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ˈ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >v</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ɪ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ʃ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >n</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >uː</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit" >Sanskrit</a>: <i>Viṣṇu</i>) is a popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_deities" title="Hindu deities" >Hindu deity</a>, the Supreme God of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishnavism" title="Vaishnavism" >Vaishnavism</a> (one of the three principal denominations of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a>) and one of the three supreme deities (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti" title="Trimurti" >Trimurti</a>) of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Flood_1996.2C_p.17_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-Flood_1996.2C_p.17-1" >[1]</a></sup> He is also known as Lord <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayana" title="Narayana" >Narayana</a> and Lord <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari" title="Hari" >Hari</a>. As one of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchayatana_puja" title="Panchayatana puja" >the five primary forms of God</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarta" title="Smarta" class="mw-redirect" >Smarta</a> tradition,<sup id="cite_ref-Flood_1996.2C_p.17_1-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-Flood_1996.2C_p.17-1" >[1]</a></sup> He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector"<sup id="cite_ref-Zimmer_1972_p.124_2-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-Zimmer_1972_p.124-2" >[2]</a></sup> within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti" title="Trimurti" >Trimurti</a>, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma(attribute)" title="Padma (attribute)" >padma</a>(lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada(weapon)" title="Gada (weapon)" class="mw-redirect" >gada</a> (mace) in the lower right hand, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchajanya" title="Panchajanya" >Panchajanya</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankha" title="Shankha" >shankha</a> (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudarshana_Chakra" title="Sudarshana Chakra" >Sudarshana Chakra</a> in the upper right hand.
Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikuntha" title="Vaikuntha" >Vaikuntha</a>, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha" title="Moksha" >Moksha</a>. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-3" >[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-4" >[4]</a></sup> Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksheera_Sagara" title="Ksheera Sagara" class="mw-redirect" >Ksheera Sagara</a> (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananta_Shesha" title="Ananta Shesha" class="mw-redirect" >Ananta Shesha</a>, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar" title="Avatar" >avatars</a>, the most famous of whom are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama" title="Rama" >Rama</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna" title="Krishna" >Krishna</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Krishna4_5-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-Krishna4-5" >[5]</a></sup>
The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashavatara" title="Dashavatara" >dashavatara</a>, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki" title="Kalki" >Kalki</a>, at the end of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga" title="Kali Yuga" >Kali Yuga</a>, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" title="Bhagavad Gita" >Bhagavad Gita</a> mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma" title="Dharma" >Dharma</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-6" >[6]</a></sup> to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti" title="Trimurti" >Trimurti</a> (three forms) is a concept in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a> "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma" title="Brahma" >Brahma</a> the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, preserver or protector and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva" >Shiva</a> the destroyer or transformer."<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-7" >[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-8" >[8]</a></sup> These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad"<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-9" >[9]</a></sup> or the "Great Trinity",<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-10" >[10]</a></sup> all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One" title="One" class="mw-redirect" >One</a> person the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Being" title="Supreme Being" >Supreme Being</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayana" title="Narayana" >Narayana</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svayam_Bhagavan" title="Svayam Bhagavan" >Svayam Bhagavan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-11" >[11]</a></sup>
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#cite_note-12" >[12]</a></sup> which means God who is the giver of mukti or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha" title="Moksha" >moksha</a> (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.</p>