Vishnu
Indian mythology · deity · preservation, cosmic order
One of the principal deities of Hinduism, the preserver who descends to earth as avatars whenever cosmic order (dharma) is threatened. A minor solar figure in the Vedas who becomes supreme in Vaishnava Puranic tradition.
Stories
The Bhagavad Gita
On the eve of the Kurukshetra war, the warrior Arjuna despairs at fighting his own kin. His charioteer Krishna reveals himself as God and teaches the paths of duty, knowledge, and devotion.
The Churning of the Ocean of Milk
Gods and demons churn the cosmic ocean with Mount Mandara as the rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. Treasures emerge, Lakshmi among them, along with a poison so deadly that Shiva must swallow it, turning his throat blue.
The Flood and the Fish
A tiny fish in Manu's washing-water asks for protection and outgrows every vessel, then reveals itself as Vishnu. Warned of the deluge, Manu builds a ship and lashes it to the great fish's horn; towed over the drowned world, he carries the seeds of every living thing into the new age.
Prahlada and the Man-Lion
The demon emperor Hiranyakashipu, unkillable by man or beast, indoors or out, by day or night, tortures his own son for worshipping Vishnu. When he demands to know if this god lives even in a palace pillar, the pillar bursts: Narasimha, neither man nor beast, kills him at twilight on the threshold with claws that are no weapon.
Vamana and the Three Steps
The demon king Mahabali's generosity rivals heaven itself, so Vishnu comes to his sacrifice as Vamana, a dwarf asking three paces of land. Against Shukra's warning the king grants it; two strides cover earth and sky, and Bali offers his own head for the third, winning in defeat a kingdom below and one promised return each year.
Dhruva and the Pole Star
Turned away from his father's lap at five years old, Dhruva walks into the forest to seek a place no one can take from him. Taught by Narada, he stands in meditation until Vishnu himself appears and sets him in the northern sky: the fixed star around which all others turn.
Garuda and the Nectar
To free his mother from slavery, Garuda storms heaven itself for the pot of amrita, scattering the gods and dousing the fire that guards it. Vishnu, impressed that the bird takes the nectar without drinking a drop, asks only his friendship; Indra's thunderbolt costs him a single feather, shed out of courtesy.