Vishnu

About Vishnu

Vishnu reclines on the thousand-hooded serpent Shesha in the cosmic ocean, sky-blue like a rain cloud, with a lotus rising from his navel that cradles Brahma. His four arms hold the Panchajanya conch, the Sudarshana discus, the Kaumodaki mace, and a lotus. The Kaustubha gem rests on his chest, yellow silk wraps his waist, and Lakshmi sits at his side. He rides Garuda, the eagle king. When dharma falters, he descends as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Rama, and Krishna. Devotees chant his thousand names from the Mahabharata's Vishnu Sahasranama, and offer Tulasi leaves no other deity may share.