| Welcome to the Wonderful World of Vishnu |
| Go Home.... Back to Cover Page On to the First... In the Hindu religion, Vishnu is known as a peace maker; the Shanti (Peace) Deva (God). Vishnu's role is to balance the world when the forces of Dharma in the world are threatened. Vishnu will reincarnate himself in an earthly form in order to restore balance. Vishnu carries the conch, disc, mace and lotus flower. Each object has a specific meaning: In one hand, Vishnu holds a seashell or conch called Panchajanya, meaning "Five," symbolizing the five elements: water, fire, air, earth and space.  |
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In another hand, Vishnu holds the discus, or chakra, which is a divine weapon that Vishnu uses to slay demons.  |
 In another hand, Vishnu holds
his club-like weapon, the mace,
Kaumodaki, which he also uses to battle demons. |
| Finally, Vishnu often holds a lotus, a symbol of purity and perfection. It is also common to see Vishnu depicted as standing or seated on a lotus flower. An ancient myth tells us that the universe itself was created from Vishnu's lotus navel. |  |
| My first story covers Vishnu's
seventh incarnation, Rama.
Rama was born
to defeat the rakshasa king Ravana. Vishnu as Rama, his consort
Lakshmi reincarnated as Sita and Sesha as his brother, Lakshmana.
Rama did many other great deeds, but Vishnu was begged by Indra to come
back to this world in order to set Dharma, truth and justice, back in
balance. |
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The second avatar is Krishna,
the 8th incarnation of Vishnu.
Krishna was
the 8th son of princess Devaki and was born to defeat her cousin, the
rakshasa king Kamsa. This rakshasa murdered Devaki's first six
sons because of the prophecy that one of his nephews would murder
him. Devaki's seventh son (Balarama, who is actually the
incarnation of Sesha) was able to escape and Krishna was
secretly exchanged for the daughter of a cowherder. Krishna was
raised by the cowherders and was known to be fond of his adoptive
mother, his flute and the village girls. |
| The third avatar that I discuss
is Vishnu's 9th incarnation, Siddhartha Gautama.
Siddhartha was the son of a King, whose birth was very
auspicious. He was destined to either be a great ruler or great
religious teacher. You can guess which path he chose. He
was trained by great ascetics and asked to take their place but never
found complete satisfaction with their practices. He was destined
to find his own path: Buddhism. |
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The last avatar of Vishnu
discussed, is Kalki.
Kalki comes at the end of the world or the
Kali Yuga, which is the age of the world, where all truth, or Dharma,
has been lost. He comes to smite down the wicked and start the
world anew. You will have to read my final story to see how he
fits in here. |
