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Bhagiratha ( Sanskrit : भगीरथ , IAST : Bhagīratha ) is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty in Hindu literature . He is best known for his legend of bringing the sacred river Ganges , personified as the Hindu river goddess Ganga , from heaven upon the earth, by performing a penance.

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66-523: King Sagara , the great-grandfather of Bhagiratha, once performed the ashvamedha sacrifice, but the sacrificial horse was stolen by Indra . The deity had the animal sequestered in Patala , where Sage Kapila was performing a penance . The 60,000 sons of Sagara discovered the horse in Patala, whereupon they disturbed Kapila with their hoarse noises. Infuriated, the 60,000 sons of Sagara were reduced to ash by

132-429: A herculean task of establishing his reach and form, then with his first step covers the earth, with second the ether, and the third entire heaven. विष्णोर्नु कं वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यः पार्थिवानि विममे रजांसि । यो अस्कभायदुत्तरं सधस्थं विचक्रमाणस्त्रेधोरुगायः ॥१॥… viṣṇōrnu kaṃ vīryāṇi pra vōcaṃ yaḥ pārthivāni vimamē rajāṃsi | yō askabhāyaduttaraṃ sadhasthaṃ vicakramāṇastrēdhōrugāyaḥ ||1|| I will now proclaim

198-494: A lump of flesh, which developed into 60,000 children after being cut into thousands of effulgent pieces by Shiva . Sagara embarked on a triumphal tour with his sons, and started a war of conquest. After conquering the northern regions of the land, he moved towards the south, his object being Māhiṣmatī, the kingdom of the Hehayas . He is stated to have destroyed the realm of his father's usurpers completely in battle. According to

264-621: A number of Bengali accounts tell how Dilipa dies without begetting an heir. This story may first be attested in the Bengali-script recension of the Sanskrit Padma Purana ; it recurs in the influential, probably fifteenth-century CE Bengali Krittivasi Ramayan , and thereafter in other texts from Bengal such as Bhavananda's Harivansha , Mukundarama Chakravartin's Kavikankanachandi , and the sixteenth-century Ramayana by Adbhutacharya. Dilipa's lack of an heir troubles

330-459: A poison to her, due to which she remained pregnant for seven years. When Bahuka died in the hermitage, Yadavi was ready to follow him in his funeral pyre , but was prevented by Aurva, who promised her that her child would grow up to become a great and fortunate emperor. Yadavi delivered shortly. As the poison ( gara ) given to her by her co-wife had immobilised her pregnancy, Aurva named her son Sagara (Sa-with, gara-poison). Sage Aurva conducted

396-588: A special form of Vishnu. Each of these special forms is given a special name in texts such as the Agni Purana and the Padma Purana . These texts, however, are inconsistent. Rarely, Vishnu is depicted bearing the bow Sharanga or the sword Nandaka . He is depicted with the Kaustubha gem in a necklace and wearing Vaijayanti , a garland of forest flowers. The shrivatsa mark is depicted on his chest in

462-528: A well-dressed jewelled man. He is typically shown with four arms, but two-armed representations are also found in Hindu texts on artworks. The historic identifiers of his icon include his image holding a conch shell ( shankha named Panchajanya ) between the first two fingers of one hand (left back), a war discus ( chakra named Sudarshana ) in another (right back). The conch shell is spiral and symbolizes all of interconnected spiraling cyclic existence, while

528-454: Is Vishnu is the all. Vishnu is described to be permeating all object and life forms, states S. Giora Shoham, where he is "ever-present within all things as the intrinsic principle of all", and the eternal, transcendental self in every being. The Vedic literature, including its Brahmanas layer, while praising Vishnu do not subjugate others gods and goddesses. They present an inclusive pluralistic henotheism . According to Max Muller , "Although

594-538: Is born with poison') is a king of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism . The son of Bahuka , he ruled the city of Ayodhya , with two wives, and 60,001 sons. Saagar was born to Bāhuka, and his wife, Yadavi, at the ashrama of Sage Aurva , while seeking refuge in the hermitage from the attacks of Tālajaṅgha, the king of Hehaya . While Yadavi was in the seventh month of her pregnancy, her co-wife administered

660-463: Is equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a close friend of Indra. Elsewhere in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Upanishadic texts, Vishnu is equivalent to Prajapati, both are described as the protector and preparer of the womb, and according to Klaus Klostermaier, this may be the root behind

726-728: Is freedom and life. The Shatapatha Brahmana elaborates this theme of Vishnu, as his herculean effort and sacrifice to create and gain powers that help others, one who realizes and defeats the evil symbolized by the Asuras after they had usurped the three worlds, and thus Vishnu is the saviour of the mortals and the immortals ( Devas ). To what is One Seven germs unripened yet are heaven's prolific seed: their functions they maintain by Vishnu's ordinance. Endued with wisdom through intelligence and thought, they compass us about present on every side. What thing I truly am I know not clearly: mysterious, fettered in my mind I wonder. When

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792-515: Is one of the principal deities of Hinduism . He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism , one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism . Vishnu is known as The Preserver within the Trimurti , the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva . In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the universe . Tridevi

858-515: Is stated to be the energy and creative power ( Shakti ) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the supreme being is with qualities ( Saguna ), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman , and

924-441: Is the bond to the wide-striding one: the wellspring of honey in the highest step of Viṣṇu. आहं पितॄन्सुविदत्राँ अवित्सि नपातं च विक्रमणं च विष्णोः । बर्हिषदो ये स्वधया सुतस्य भजन्त पित्वस्त इहागमिष्ठाः ॥३॥ ऋग्वेद १०-१५-३ 3. I have found here the forefathers good to find and the grandson and the wide stride of Viṣṇu. Those who, sitting on the ritual grass, share in the pressed soma and the food at (the cry of) "svadhā", they are

990-635: Is the primary focus of the Vaishnavism-focused Puranas genre of Hindu texts . Of these, according to Ludo Rocher , the most important texts are the Bhagavata Purana , Vishnu Purana , Nāradeya Purana , Garuda Purana and Vayu Purana . The Purana texts include many versions of cosmologies, mythologies, encyclopedic entries about various aspects of life, and chapters that were medieval era regional Vishnu temples-related tourist guides called mahatmyas . One version of

1056-658: The Garuda Purana Saroddhara ) . Perumal ( Tamil : பெருமாள் )—also known as Thirumal (Tamil: திருமால் ), or Mayon (as described in the Tamil scriptures)— was accepted as a manifestation of Vishnu during the process of the syncretism of South Indian deities into mainstream Hinduism. Mayon is indicated to be the deity associated with the mullai tiṇai (pastoral landscape) in the Tolkappiyam . Tamil Sangam literature (200 BCE to 500 CE) mentions Mayon or

1122-731: The Garuda Purana Saroddhara , a commentary or 'extracted essence' written by Navanidhirama about the Garuda Purana (i.e. not the Purana itself, with which it seems to be confused): The Fish , the Tortoise , the Boar , the Man-Lion , the Dwarf , Parasurama , Rama , Krisna , Buddha , and also Kalki : These ten names should always be meditated upon by the wise. Those who recite them near

1188-558: The Krittivasi Ramayan he is merely a lump of flesh) until he encounters the crippled sage Ashtavakra , who transforms him into a beautiful, strong child/youth. The Krittivasi Ramayan even goes on to describe Bhagiratha being bullied at school for having two mothers rather than heterosexual parents. Some of the texts too use the story to provide a folk-etymology for Bhagiratha's name, claiming that it comes from bhaga ('vulva'). A sculpture of Bhagiratha can be seen beneath

1254-518: The Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads . It is unclear when these texts were composed, and estimates vary from the 1st-century BCE to 17th-century CE for the texts. These Upanishads highlight Vishnu, Narayana , Rama or one of his avatars as the supreme metaphysical reality called Brahman in Hinduism. They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics to the methods of worship. Vishnu

1320-563: The Nirukta defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā ('one who enters everywhere'); also adding atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati ('that which is free from fetters and bondage is Vishnu'). In the tenth part of the Padma Purana (4-15th century CE), Danta (Son of Bhīma and King of Vidarbha ) lists 108 names of Vishnu (17.98–102). These include the ten primary avatars (see Dashavarara , below ) and descriptions of

1386-466: The Puranas in the table below. However, this is a complicated process, and the lists are unlikely to be exhaustive because: The Dashavatara is a list of the so-called Vibhavas , or '10 [primary] Avatars ' of Vishnu. The Agni Purana , Varaha Purana , Padma Purana , Linga Purana , Narada Purana , Garuda Purana , and Skanda Purana all provide matching lists. The same Vibhavas are also found in

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1452-584: The Sagarputras (Sons of Sagara) were commanded to find the horse. When the 60,000 sons circled the Ashtadiggajas and found the horse grazing near the sage, they made a great hubbub. When the furious sage opened his eyes to glare at them, they were immediately burned to ashes. Generations later, one of Sagara’s descendants, Bhagiratha , undertook the task of freeing the souls of his ancestors from Patala. He pursued this task by performing tapas to

1518-600: The Sri Vaishnava denomination of Hinduism, Perumal is venerated in popular tradition as Venkateshwara at Tirupati , and Sri Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam . Vishnu is a Rigvedic deity , but not a prominent one when compared to Indra , Agni and others. Just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda are dedicated to Vishnu, although he is mentioned in other hymns. Vishnu is mentioned in the Brahmana layer of text in

1584-698: The Trivikrama , which is one of the lasting mythologies in Hinduism since the Vedic times. It is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves , which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the celebrated three steps or "three strides" of Vishnu. Starting as a small insignificant looking being, Vishnu undertakes

1650-508: The Upanayana ceremony of Sagara, and taught him the Vedas . Once, Yadavi wept to hear the boy address the sage 'father', and when he enquired her of her sorrow, she told him about his real father and heritage. Sagara sought to win back his birthright. The people of Ayodhya , who lived in fear of Tālajaṅgha, sought the counsel of Vasishtha , who advised them to bring Sagara back to reconquer

1716-482: The Vishnu Purana , King Sagara performed the ashvamedha yajna to establish his suzerainty of the earth. Indra , the king of the devas , grew fearful over the results of the yajna, and so he decided to steal the sacrificial horse near a mountain. He left the horse at Patala near the sage Kapila , who was engaged in a deep meditation. King Sagara’s 60,000 sons, and his son Asamañjasa , collectively known as

1782-707: The "dark one" and as the Supreme deity who creates, sustains, and destroys the universe and was worshipped in the plains and mountains of Tamilakam . The verses of Paripadal describe the glory of Perumal in the most poetic of terms. Many Poems of the Paripadal consider Perumal as the Supreme god of Tamils . He is a popular Hindu deity among Tamilians in Tamil Nadu , as well among the Tamil diaspora . Revered by

1848-621: The Bhṛguprasravaṇa mountain. After a century of thus, the sage Bhrigu appeared, and blessed Sagara that one of his wives would give birth to 60,000 sons, and the other to one, who would add to the glory of the dynasty. Sumati chose to bear the 60,000 sons, and Keshini decided to bear the one son. The sons of Sumati are described to be predicted to be unrighteous in character, while the son of Keshini would be righteous. The king and his queens returned to Ayodhya , and in due course, Keshini delivered one son called Asamañjasa . Sumati gave birth to

1914-547: The King Sagara. Kapila's ashrama is located at Sagar Island and hosts the annual Ganga Sagar Mela and bathing rituals on Makara Sankranti day every year. While flowing towards Patala, the Ganga flooded the ashrama of Sage Jahnu . To punish the haughtiness of the goddess, the sage swallowed the river. It was with the insistent entreaties of Bhagiratha that the sage consented to push the river out through his ear, which offered

1980-690: The Vedas, thereafter his profile rises and over the history of Indian scriptures, states Jan Gonda , Vishnu becomes a divinity of the highest rank, one equivalent to the Supreme Being. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of the Rig Veda, such as 1.154.5, 1.56.3 and 10.15.3. In these hymns, the Vedic scriptures assert that Vishnu resides in that highest home where departed Atman (Self) reside, an assertion that may have been

2046-427: The Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr (Sun god), who also bears the name Suryanarayana . Again, this link to Surya is a characteristic Vishnu shares with fellow Vedic deities named Mitra and Agni, wherein in different hymns, they too "bring men together" and cause all living beings to rise up and impel them to go about their daily activities. In hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu

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2112-424: The acquisition of punya . Yama goes on to describe the nature of sin, as well as the various hells that exist. The deity instructs the king to worship Vishnu, who is the equivalent of Shiva, and informs him of his future of freeing his ancestors from Naraka by causing the descent of the Ganga. In most accounts of Bhagiratha, he is born to his father Dilipa and his unnamed mother in an unremarkable fashion. However,

2178-653: The avatar (or incarnation) within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trimurti . The avatars of Vishnu descend to empower the good and to destroy evil, thereby restoring Dharma and relieving the burden of the Earth. An oft-quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu: Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth. For

2244-681: The cosmology, for example, states that Vishnu's eye is at the Southern Celestial Pole from where he watches the cosmos. In another version found in section 4.80 of the Vayu Purana, he is the Hiranyagarbha , or the golden egg from which were simultaneously born all feminine and masculine beings of the universe. The Vishnu Purana presents Vishnu as the central element of its cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or goddess Shakti are. The reverence and

2310-485: The discus symbolizes him as that which restores dharma with war if necessary when cosmic equilibrium is overwhelmed by evil. One of his arms sometimes carries a club or mace ( gada named Kaumodaki ) which symbolizes authority and power of knowledge. In the fourth arm, he holds a lotus flower ( padma ) which symbolizes purity and transcendence. The items he holds in various hands vary, giving rise to twenty four combinations of iconography, each combination representing

2376-618: The diseased are called relatives. Apparent disagreements concerning the placement of either the Buddha or Balarama in the Dashavarara seems to occur from the Dashavarara list in the Shiva Purana (the only other list with ten avatars including Balarama in the Garuda Purana substitutes Vamana, not Buddha). Regardless, both versions of the Dashavarara have a scriptural basis in the canon of authentic Vedic literature (but not from

2442-463: The earth. In the Narada Purana , King Bhagiratha appeases Yama , and holds a discussion with him regarding the nature of righteousness. Yama offers the king various modes of being righteous, including offering employment and donating wealth to Brahmins , building Vishnu and Shiva temples, rituals that should be performed for the aforementioned two deities, donating food to the hungry, and

2508-562: The eldest. Janhu flooded the Naga Kingdom with waters of river Ganga . This infuriated the Naga King who burnt all the sons of Sagara in anger. Sagara then place Bhagiratha , his grandson, on throne and left for penance. Vishnu Vishnu ( / ˈ v ɪ ʃ n uː / ; Sanskrit : विष्णु , lit.   'All Pervasive', IAST : Viṣṇu , pronounced [ʋɪʂɳʊ] ), also known as Narayana and Hari ,

2574-463: The essence in every being and everything in the empirically perceived universe. In this Brahmana, states Klaus Klostermaier, Purusha Narayana (Vishnu) asserts, "all the worlds have I placed within mine own self, and my own self has I placed within all the worlds." The text equates Vishnu to all knowledge there is (Vedas), calling the essence of everything as imperishable, all Vedas and principles of universe as imperishable, and that this imperishable which

2640-419: The favour of the matted-haired, blue-throated deity Shiva , as no one except him would be able to sustain her. Heeding her words, the king then performed a penance that lasted for a millennium for Shiva at Kailasa , and sought his cooperation in allowing Ganga to flow through his hair. Shiva granted him the boon, and stood in position, even as the torrent of Ganga's stream rushed upon his hair. Ganga flowed along

2706-510: The fiery eyes of the sage. The responsibility of performing the funeral rites of these sons passed down from generation to generation, until it was acquired by Bhagiratha, who upon his ascension to the throne of Ayodhya , went to practice austerities in the Himalayas, to invoke the goddess Ganga . Ganga told Bhagiratha that were she to descend from Svarga to the earth, the force of her fall would be difficult to sustain. She asked him to obtain

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2772-417: The first-born of holy Law approached me, then of this speech, I first obtain a portion. (...) They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly-winged Garutman. To what is One, sages give many a title. — Rigveda 1.164.36–37, 46 The Shatapatha Brahmana contains ideas which Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism has long mapped to a pantheistic vision of Vishnu as supreme, he as

2838-475: The form of a curl of hair. He generally wears yellow garments. He wears a crown called the Kiritamukuta . Vishnu iconography shows him either in standing pose, seated in a yoga pose, or reclining. A traditional depiction of Vishnu is as Narayana , showing him reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha floating over the divine ocean Kshira Sagara , accompanied by his consort Lakshmi , as he "dreams

2904-439: The form of an Avatar (incarnation) to restore the cosmic order and protect dharma . The Dashavatara are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu. Out of these ten, Rama and Krishna are the most important. Vishnu (also spelled Viṣṇu, Sanskrit : विष्णु ) means 'all pervasive' and, according to Medhātith ( c.  1000 CE), 'one who is everything and inside everything'. Vedanga scholar Yaska (4th century BCE) in

2970-468: The forms of a swan [Hamsa], a tortoise [ Kurma ], a fish [ Matsya ], O foremost of regenerate ones, I shall then display myself as a boar [ Varaha ], then as a Man-lion ( Nrisingha ), then as a dwarf [ Vamana ], then as Rama of Bhrigu's race, then as Rama , the son of Dasaratha, then as Krishna the scion of the Sattwata race, and lastly as Kalki . Specified avatars of Vishnu are listed against some of

3036-523: The goddess Ganga , and succeeded in causing her to descend from Svarga upon the earth as the river Ganges , and performing the funeral rites for the 60,000 perished sons at Patala. After the death of his sons, Sagara abdicated the throne of Ayodhya, anointing Amshuman , the son of Asamañjasa, as his successor. He retired to the ashrama of Aurva, and started to perform a penance to cause the Ganga to descend upon his son's ashes. In Jain tradition, Sagara

3102-420: The goddess the epithet Jahnavi . After completing the funeral rites of his ancestors, Bhagiratha governs once more as king, and his people were wealthy and prosperous under his reign. The Mahabharata states that the king had a great efficacy of gifting cows, offering hundreds of thousands of cows and their calves to the sage Kohala. He marries his famous daughter, Haṃsī, to the sage Kautsa, before departing

3168-600: The gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig Veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute." The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism , related to Vishnu theology. There are 14 Vaishnava Upanishads in

3234-408: The gods, because it has been prophesied that Vishnu will be born to Dilipa's line, and this prophecy cannot come true unless Dilipa has a child. Therefore, through the advice of a sage or god, two of Dilipa's widows have sex with one another and in this way one gets pregnant and gives birth to Bhagiratha. However, the baby is deformed (in the Padma Purana version, for example he is boneless, while in

3300-672: The head stream of the river is called Bhagirathi by locals, till it meets the Alaknanda river at Devprayag . The mythical pātāla where the sage Kapila meditated is identified with the Sāgar Island, at the confluence of the Bhagirathi stream of the Ganges (flowing by Kolkata and revered as Ganga) and the Bay of Bengal. The sea ( sam-udra ) is called Sāgara in honour of Bhagiratha's ancestor

3366-442: The heroic deeds of Visnu, who has measured out the terrestrial regions, who established the upper abode having, wide-paced, strode out triply… The Vishnu Sukta 1.154 of Rigveda says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to the mortals and the third is the realm of the immortals. The Trivikrama describing hymns integrate salvific themes, stating Vishnu to symbolize that which

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3432-476: The kingdom. The masses waited outside the ashrama of Aurva for five days to bring their plea to Sagara. With the blessings of the sage, and accompanied by the people, Sagara fought Tālajaṅgha, reconquered his kingdom, and crowned himself as the king. Sagara had two wives called Sumati and Keshini. As he had no issue for long, Sagara, with his two wives, went to the Himalayas , and started to perform tapas at

3498-586: The latter encompassing the Bhagavad Gita ), and Rama (most notably in the Ramayana ). Krishna in particular is venerated in Vaishnavism as the ultimate, primeval, transcendental source of all existence, including all the other demigods and gods, such as Vishnu. In the Mahabharata , Vishnu (as Narayana ) states to Narada that He will appear in the following ten incarnations: Appearing in

3564-523: The matted hair of Shiva for a thousand years. Bhagiratha performed another penance to please Shiva, until the deity shook his hair and allowed a single drop to descend upon the Indo-Gangetic plain , which became the Ganges. For Bhagiratha, the river flowed along the plain to Patala, and performed the funeral rites of Sagara’s sons. This episode is referred to as Bhagīrathaprayatnam , literally meaning, "Bhagiratha's labour". To commemorate his efforts,

3630-490: The most welcome arrivals here. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps kill the symbol of evil named Vritra . His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu. In section 7.99 of the Rigveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In

3696-605: The post-Vedic fusion of all the attributes of the Vedic Prajapati unto the avatars of Vishnu. In the Yajurveda , Taittiriya Aranyaka (10.13.1), " Narayana sukta ", Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of "Narayana Suktam" mentions the words paramam padam , which literally mean 'highest post' and may be understood as the 'supreme abode for all Selfs'. This is also known as Param Dhama , Paramapadam , or Vaikuntha . Rigveda 1.22.20 also mentions

3762-424: The primal Atman (Self) of the universe. There are many both benevolent and fearsome depictions of Vishnu. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient being sleeping on the coils of the serpent Shesha (who represents time) floating in the primeval ocean of milk called Kshira Sagara with his consort, Lakshmi. Whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces, Vishnu descends in

3828-564: The protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being age after age. Vedic literature, in particular the Puranas (ancient; similar to encyclopedias ) and Itihasa (chronicle, history, legend), narrate numerous avatars of Vishnu. The most well-known of these avatars are Krishna (most notably in the Vishnu Purana , Bhagavata Purana , and Mahabharata ;

3894-523: The qualities, attributes, or aspects of God. The Garuda Purana (chapter XV) and the " Anushasana Parva " of the Mahabharata both list over 1000 names for Vishnu, each name describing a quality, attribute, or aspect of God. Known as the Vishnu Sahasranama , Vishnu here is defined as 'the omnipresent'. Other notable names in this list include : Vishnu iconography shows him with dark blue, blue-grey or black coloured skin, and as

3960-402: The reason for his increasing emphasis and popularity in Hindu soteriology . He is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. तदस्य प्रियमभि पाथो अश्यां नरो यत्र देवयवो मदन्ति । उरुक्रमस्य स हि बन्धुरित्था विष्णोः पदे परमे मध्व उत्सः ॥५॥ ऋग्वेद १-१५४-५ 5. Might I reach that dear cattle-pen of his, where men seeking the gods find elation, for exactly that

4026-532: The same paramam padam . In the Atharvaveda , the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, but without the word Vishnu or his alternate avatar names. In post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called

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4092-500: The spout of almost every dhunge dhara ( hiti ) or tutedhara ( jarun, jahru, jaladroni ), two types of drinking fountain found in the old settlements of Nepal. Bhagiratha is pictured sitting, standing or dancing while holding or blowing a conch . A similar figure can be seen below the gargoyles in some temples in India. King Sagara Sagara ( Sanskrit : सगर , romanized :  Sagara , lit.   'one who

4158-536: The universe into reality." His abode is described as Vaikuntha and his mount ( vahana ) is the bird king Garuda . Vishnu was associated with the sun because he used to be "a minor solar deity but rose in importance in the following centuries." Particularly in Vaishnavism , the Trimurti (also known as the Hindu Triad or Great Trinity ) represents the three fundamental forces ( guṇas ) through which

4224-481: The universe is created, maintained, and destroyed in cyclic succession . Each of these forces is represented by a Hindu deity: The trimurti themselves are beyond three gunas and are not affected by it. In Hindu tradition, the trio is often referred to as Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh . All have the same meaning of three in one; different forms or manifestations of One person the Supreme Being . The concept of

4290-478: The worship of Vishnu is described in 22 chapters of the first part of Vishnu Purana, along with the profuse use of the synonymous names of Vishnu such as Hari, Janardana, Madhava, Achyuta, Hrishikesha and others. The Vishnu Purana also discusses the Hindu concept of supreme reality called Brahman in the context of the Upanishads ; a discussion that the theistic Vedanta scholar Ramanuja interprets to be about

4356-488: Was younger brother of Lord Ajitanatha (second Tirthankara ). He was born to Kshatriya King Jitashatru and Queen Vijayanti (Yasomati) of Ikshvaku dynasty in Ayodhya . He was the second Chakravartin ruler of Avasarpiṇī (present half of worldly time cycle as per Jain cosmology ) who conquered the world with his seven jewels. His queens were Sumati and Bhadra. He had sixty-thousand sons from his queens, Janhu being

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