________________
VISHNU
HINDUS are either Vaishnavites (followers of eagle is also called Suparna. In the Rig Veda, Vishnu). Saivites (followers of Siva) or Sāktās Suparna is the attribute of the sun. This in(those who offer worship to Sakti, the Divine Mother). This would indicate the great impor- In the Puranic period, Vishnu became a very tance of Vishnu, probably the most popular of influential god, the most important of the Hindu the Hindu gods. Though in the Hindu Trinity Trinity. According to Dr. Banerjea, this new he comes after Brahmā, Vishņu remains pre- Vishnu was the amalgam of three god-concepts eminent. He is the Protector-God. Of the three (the man-god Vasudeva-Krishņa, the Vedic Sungods of the Hindu Triad, Vishņu, being the Pre- god Vishyu and the cosmic god Nārāyana of the server, appears most humane. In his sympathies Brāhmaṇas). and attributes, he is very humane and so he is Vishụu is conceived in his five main aspects the most popular.
Para the highest, Vyuha the emanatory, Vibhava The Rig Vedic Vishnu is conceived as the sun the incarnatory, Antaryāmin the inner controller in its three stages-rising, zenith and setting. The of all beings, and Arochă the iconic representaVedic Vishnu strides through the heavens in three tion of the god. steps. This is Vishnu's great deed and constitutes Vishnu's supreme task is that of preservation. his great glory. With these three steps Vishnu, His incarnations avatāras) were necessary to a solar deity, courses through the three divisions carry out the supreme work of preservation of the of the universe, "the god being manifest in a three- human race. Whenever the forces of Evil began sold form, as Agni on earth, Indra or Väyu in the to rule the world of men, Vishnu, the Great atmosphere and Surya in the sky.' He is said to Preserver, left the Heavens, descended to the world have taken these three steps for the preservation of men and rescued men from Evil. Sometimes and benefit of mortals. The zenith is appro- he assumed forms for the attainment of particular priately called Vishnu's place. His third step objectives. A study of Vishnu's incarnations would cannot be seen with human eyes. It is here that show that some of these forms are cosmic in charIndra dwells.
acter, while some are obviously based on historical The idea of swift motion is consistently as events. Historical personages came to be endowed sociated with Vishnu in the Vedas.
with divine attributes and later came to be regardHis association with sacrifice made him an im- ed as incarnations of the deity himself. It is also portant deity later as the importance of sacrifices of interest to note the evolution of these incarnaincreased. In post-Vedic literature, the wheel in tions from the lower to higher forms of life-fish his hand is compared to the Sun. The Eagle, (Matsya), tortoise (Kurma), boar (Varaha), to (Garuda), the king of the birds, is his vehicle. The half-man, half-animal (Narasimha), to the Dwarf
28
