Vishnu | Lord Vishnu | Vishnu Shaligram

Lord Vishnu is a Hindu god, who is the Supreme God of Vaishnavism and one of the three principal gods of Hinduism. He is also one of the three supreme deities known as Trimurti of Hinduism. Vishnu is also known as Hari and Narayana. Lord Vishnu is conceived as the preserver and the protector within the Hindu Trinity of divinity. He is a preserver and guardian of men i.e. Narayana. Vishnu protects the order of things i.e. dharma.

Whenever necessary he appears on the earth in different avatars (incarnation) to fight with demons to maintain cosmic harmony and peace. There is a total of 10 incarnations of Vishnu are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narsimha, Vamana, Parshurama, Ram, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Lord Vishnu represents Sattvaguna and he is responsible for sustenance, protection & maintenance of the created universe. The consort of Vishnu is Goddess Lakshmi/ Laxmi who is the goddess of wealth.

Iconography of Lord Vishnu

Generally, Vishnu resides in the milky ocean or Kshir Sagar in Vaikuntha on the bed of coils of a great serpent. Symbolically, this milky ocean stands for consciousness & bliss. Whereas the serpent stands for time, diversity, illusion & desire. Goddess Lakshmi is for all the material things and powers of the creation. The skin colour of Vishnu is dark blue or black complexion. He is usually depicted with four arms holding sankha (a conch), chakra (discus), Gada (mace) and Padma (lotus) respectively. Vishnu usually appears in a standing posture or in a resting position. The bird-vehicle of Lord Vishnu Garutman or Garuda.

Vishnu Incarnations/ Avatars of Lord Vishnu

Primarily there are 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu who came in this world for a special task. Apart from these 10 avatars of Vishnu, the other avatars are Dattatreya, Kapila, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Hayagriva, Naranarayana, Vedavyasa and Yajna. An overview of the 10 principal avatars of Lord Vishnu is given below-

Matsya or Fish (First incarnation of Vishnu): In Matsya Avatar, Vishnu saved the Saint Vaivaswata who is the Hindu variety of the biblical Noah (or vice versa).

Kurma or Turtle (Second incarnation of Vishnu): At the Churning of the Ocean, Vishnu in his Kurma or Koorma Avatar offered his back as a pivot on which to rest the Mount Mandara, used as a churning stick by gods and demons.

Varaha or the Boar (Third incarnation of Vishnu): In Varaha or the Boar avatar, Vishnu killed the demon Hiranyaksha and recovered the stolen Veda. He also released the Earth from the bottom of the ocean.

Narasimha or Lion (Fourth incarnation of Vishnu): In his Narasimha Avatar as a creature who was half-lion and half-man, Lord Vishnu killed the demon Hiranyashasipu, brother of Hiranyaksha, who had gained the boon of immunity from attacks by man, god and beast.

Vamana or the Dwarf (Fifth incarnation of Vishnu): In this incarnation, Vishnu killed the demon Bali. Bali had gained dominion over the whole Earth and chased the Gods from the heavens.

Parasurama (Sixth incarnation of Vishnu): Parasurama killed the King Kartavirya, who stole Kamadhenu (the holy cow). This holy cow Kamadhenu could grant all desires.

Ram (Seventh incarnation of Vishnu): Lord Ram is the 7th avatar of Vishnu who killed the demon king Ravana, who had abducted Sita.

Krishna (Eigth incarnation of Vishnu): The Krishna Avatar of Vishnu killed Kansa who was the son of a demon and the King of Mathura.

Buddha (Ninth incarnation of Vishnu): Buddha is the 9th incarnation of Vishnu who came to remove suffering from the world.

Kalki (Tenth Incarnation of Vishnu): The 10th avatar of Vishnu is still to come at the end of the Kaliyuga or the present age of decline. It is believed that when Vishnu will appear in person on the Earth as Kalki Avatar, he will be seated on a white horse.

Vishnu Shaligram / Maha Vishnu Shaligram

The term Vishnu is dissolved as the Veveshti Vyaapnoti it Vishnuh-That which pervades everywhere is Vishnu. People who see the Chaturbhj Mahavishnu Shaligram or Lakshmi Shaligram gets eternal peace. The worshipper of Lakshmi Narayan Shaligram gets rid of the fear of ghosts, snakes and all other evil spirits.

Vishnu Shaligram is considered as the most powerful Shaligram and works like a shield and drives evil away. If you are worshipping Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi automatically comes to stay there. Devotees of Lord Vishnu remains always free from any legal cases. Mahavishnu Shaligram is one of the very powerful Shaligrama and thus it should be worshipped with utmost devotion.

Why Worship Vishnu and Vishnu Shaligram

Vishnu Shaligram Shila is very exotic, powerful, extremely attractive, brilliant, emits very high radiance, auspicious and has an extraordinarily high energy level. Worshipping of this Shila brings immense perseverance, endurance and the individual create wealth at a very high level through creativity, innovation, professionalism and immense good luck.

The Vishnu Shaligram Shila also increases attraction & charisma tremendously. Along with Vishnu Shaligram, you should also worship Laxmi Shaligram Shila and Mahalakshmi Yantra for best results. This Shila is extremely smooth, lustrous, perfectly shaped, small sized, cold to touch and has flawless impressions. Other benefits of worshipping Mahavishnu Shaligram is-

- To increases charisma & attraction tremendously.
- For protection against enmity, occult and evil forces.
- For innovation, professionalism, creativity & immense good luck.
- For peace, prosperity, abundance & happiness.