Vishnu

Vishnu  also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions.

The Vishnu Sahasranama describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of and beyond the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within.

In the Puranas Vishnu is described as being the color of clouds (dark-blue), four-armed, holding a lotus, mace, conch and chakra. Vishnu is also described as having a 'Cosmic Form' which is beyond the ordinary limits of human sense perception in the Bhagavad Gita.

It is also within the Puranas that the information regarding Vishnu's avatars is given. Nine of these avatars, or 'incarnations' are described as having occurred in the past, with one still to happen at the end of Kali Yuga. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose being to rejuvenate Dharma and vanquish negative forces.

In the Dvaita[4] Vaishnava traditions, Vishnu is the Supreme Being. Within the Advaita traditions, Vishnu is viewed as one of many 'forms' of the ultimately formless Brahman, however Smarta adherents worship Vishnu as one of the five principal forms. In virtually all the Sanatana Dharma traditions, Vishnu is worshipped, either directly or through the Narasimha, Rama and Krishna avataras.

In the Trimurti, Vishnu is responsible for the maintenance or 'preservation' of the universe, with the other roles of creation and destruction being under the care of Brahma and Shiva, respectively.

Etymology
The traditional Sanskrit explanation of the name Viṣṇu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle, to enter", or also (in the Rigveda) "to pervade", and a suffix nu, translating to approximately "the All-Pervading One". An early commentator on the Vedas, Yaska, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as 'vishnu vishateh; one who enters everywhere', and 'yad vishito bhavati tad vishnurbhavati; that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu.'

Adi Sankara in his commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama (Swami Tapasyananda's translation, Ramakrishna Math publications) states derivation from this root, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Visnu"). Adi Sankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root Viś means 'enter into.'"

Regarding the suffix, Manfred Mayrhofer  proposes that the nasal is analogous to jiṣṇu "victorious". Mayrhofer further suggests that the name goes back to an already Indo-Iranian *višnu, and was replaced by rašnu in Zoroastrian Iran.

The root viś is also associated with viśva "all" (possibly by popular etymology, the word is generally believed to derive from Indo-Iranian *vi-k'o-, influenced by sarva "all", but a minority opinion does, indeed, derive viśva as from vik'-so, (J. Knobloch (1980)).

Suggestions involving other roots include vi-ṣṇu "crossing the back", vi-ṣ-ṇu "facing towards all sides" and viṣ-ṇu "active", as well as attempts to explain Vishnu as an amalgate of two unrelated words, or as being derived from a non-Aryan root  The name is continued in Prakrit veṇhu, viṇhu.


Vishnu in Smriti and Shruti

Maha-Vishnu depicted as resting on the causal ocean, with countless universes emanating from his skin pores. Copyright BBTI
[edit] In the Vedas
In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he assists in killing Vritra, and with whom he drinks Soma. His companionship with Indra is still reflected by his later titles Indrānuja and "Upendra", both referring to Vishnu as being the brother of Indra. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with Light, or even his identification with the Sun.

The most celebrated act of Vishnu in the Rigveda is the 'three steps' by which he strode over this (universe) and in three places planted his step. The 'Vishnu Sukta' of the Rig Veda (1.154) says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to men and the third is in the heights of heaven (sky). This last place is described as Vishnu's supreme abode in RV 1.22.20:

The princes evermore behold / that loftiest place where Visnu is / Laid as it were an eye in heaven. (trans. Griffith)
Griffith's "princes" are the sūri, either "inciters" or lords of a sacrifice, or priests charged with pressing the Soma. The verse is later quoted as expressing Vishnu's supremacy by Vaishnavites,

(In the Rigveda the Sun is not a high-ranking deity, c.f. e.g. RV 2.12.7,

He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, he, O men, is Indra. (trans. Griffith)
where Indra appears as senior to the Sun.)

One early commentator, Aurnavabha, who is mentioned by Yaska in his Nirukta, interprets the three steps as the different positions of the sun at his rising, culmination, and setting. Though such solar aspects have been associated with Vishnu by tradition as well as modern-scholarship, he was not just the representation of the sun for in Rigveda he traverses in his strides both vertically and horizontally.

In hymns I.22.17, 1.154.3, 1.154.4 he strides across the earth with three steps, in VI.49.13 , VII.100.3 strides across the earth three times and in I.154.1,I.155.5,VII.29.7 he strides vertically, with the final step in the heavens. The same Veda also says he strode wide and created space in the cosmos for Indra to fight Vritra. By his stride he said to have made dwelling for men possible, the three being a symbolic representation of its all-encompassing nature. This all-enveloping nature, assistance to Indra and benevolence to men were to remain the enduring attributes of Vishnu. As the triple-strider he is known as Tri-vikrama and as Uru-krama for the strides were wide. (The reference to the three strides of Vishnu in the Rig Veda is most possibly a prototype for the later legend of Vamana.)

In the Vedas, Vishnu appears not yet included in the class of the Adityas (unless it is implied that he is identical with Surya, and included as the eighth Aditya), but in later texts he appears as heading them.

It is inexplicable how Vishnu (and Shiva) rose to the prominence enjoyed currently by referring only to the Vedic hymns as Indra and Agni are invoked far more. It must be remembered that these hymns are liturgical in nature and meant primarily for the Soma sacrifice, especially dear to Indra. They may not represent the popular religion of those times as Jan Gonda cautions. Gonda also gives an elaborate theory of how the notion of Vishnu spread over various hymns contains the germs of future attributes. In some Rgvedic hymns, Indra seeks the help of Vishnu in destroying Vritra, indicating that he is not sufficient to accomplish it on his own. (This story can be found in later epics and Puranas with ever increasing emphasis on Vishnu's role, till in the Bhagavata Purana, Vritra is a warrior, philosopher and devotee in whose comparison Indra is a pale figure.)


Vishnu in the form of Satya NarayanaIn another interpretation, the characteristic of Vishnu as the Supreme God appeared much earlier in the Vedic texts. For example, the following Vedic hymns express that point of view:

1. Purusha Sukta of Taittiriya Aranyaka (3.13.2) also refers master of Hri and Lakshmi (Vishnu) as Purusha, the Supreme God.

2. Visvakarma Sukta of Rig Veda (10.82) refers to Vishnu indirectly as the Supreme God.

10.082.06: The waters verily first retained the embryo in which all the gods were aggregated, single deposited on the navel of the unborn (creator), in which all beings abide. The reference to the navel of the unborn is an indication of reference to Vishnu.
3. The Rig Veda (1.22.20) states, oṃ tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padam sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ: "All the suras (i.e., the devas) look always toward the feet of Lord Vishnu."

Agni is the lowest among devatas and Vishnu is the highest. All other devatas except Lord Vishnu and Agni Deva occupy positions between them. A similar view of Agni as the youngest deity and Vishnu as the oldest deity, in one interpretation, is even expressed in the Chamakam, the last lines in the famous Saivite Vedic hymn, Shri Rudram.

In the Brahmanas
By the age of the Brahmanas, various stories can be found associating Vishnu with the Sacrifice. The sacrifice being the core of interest for these texts, this association goes a long way in explaining the importance of Vishnu. How this association came about is not clear, but the various stories in the Brahmanas seem to explain a fait accompli. Vishnu is said to have become the most important of all gods by truly 'understanding' the meaning of the sacrifice before all else. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, he is described as winning the sacrifice back from Asuras as a dwarf, where the kernel of the Vamana incarnation can be seen. Aitareya Brahmana: 1:1:1 mentions Vishnu as the Supreme God.


In the Upanishads
The Upanishads that form the philosophical culmination of the Vedas are dated at approximately 900 BCE. The puportedly oldest of these texts are the Chhandogya and Brhadaranyaka Upanishads. The former does not name Vishnu and the latter mentions him as part of ritual to obtain an exceptionally wise and learned son along with other deities. The slightly later Katha-upanishad, however, describes Vishnu in prominence -

He who has no understanding, who is unmindful and always impure, never reaches that place, but enters into the round of births. But he who has understanding, who is mindful and always pure, reaches indeed that place, from whence he is not born again. But he who has understanding for his charioteer (intellect), and who holds the reins of the mind, he reaches the end of his journey, and that is the highest place of Vishnu.

His rise to supremacy is apparent in the epics (Mahabharata, Ramayana, and from this period he may be considered a manifestation of the Singular God. Thus, according to this interpretation, the division in Hinduism of Vaishnavism and Shaivaism appeared only with the Puranas, where Vishnu's descents in ten principal Avatars become his distinguishing characteristic.


In the Bhagavad Gita
In the Bhagavad Gita the avatara Krishna teaches Arjuna in regards to the nature of the Supreme being and the differrent processes of Yoga, ultimately culminating in devotional surrender:

"I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed."
"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe."
"If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form."
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not despair."[