ஸ்ரீமதே ஸ்ரீலக்ஷ்மிந்ருஸிம்ஹ பரப்ரஹ்மணே நம:

ஸ்ரீமதே ராமானுஜாய நம: ஸ்ரீமதே நிகமாந்தாய ம்ஹாதேசிகாய நம:

ஸ்ரீமதே ஆதிவண் சடகோப யதீந்த்ர மஹாதேசிகாய நம:

ஸ்ரீமதே ஸ்ரீவண் சடகோப ஸ்ரீவேதாந்ததேசிக யதீந்த்ர மஹாதேசிகாய நம:

ஸ்ரீமதே ஸ்ரீலக்‌ஷ்மிந்ருஸிம்ஹ திவ்ய பாதுகாஸேவக ஸ்ரீவண் சடகோப ஸ்ரீ நாராயண யதீந்த்ர மஹாதேசிகாய நம்:

Lord Vishnu, considered as one of the Holy Trinity, finds mention in all the four Vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Vedas. Vishnu means "one who pervades", that is one who is to be seen in everything. Among the myriad names of Vishnu - Hari, Narayana, Ranganatha are very popular. There is a verse in the purana which says that the name of Hari has such power to wipe out sins that even the most sinful man cannot commit enough sins which cannot be wiped out by the mere utterance of the word Hari! Vishnu Sahasranama also says that Hari is everything and that the sure solace in this world is to chant His holy name.

The word Narayana is a combination of the words, Nara and Ayana. It means one who has made the casual waters "His Abode" and on who is the abode of all the human beings and also one who is the final goal of all human beings.

Lord Vishnu is also known as Ranganatha. "Ranga" refers to the arena or the stage or theatre. "Natha" means the Lord, the master, the controller. Thus, the word Ranganatha conveys beautifully the meaning that the Lord is the Sutradhari, who controls the world. The Lord is the universe which He has Himself created and which He manipulates as per His pre-ordained decisions. Thus, the word Ranganatha conveys the cosmic reality as perfornified by the Lord.

Sriman Narayana, the Supreme Lord is said to be all pervading, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He is all powerful and at the same time all merciful. Vishnu is depicted to have five different aspects. They are Paratva (or supreme), Vyuha (or emanation), Vibhava (or incarnation), Archa (or icon) and Antaryami (or in-dweller). Paratva refers to Sri Vaikuntham where the Lord is present as Para Vasudeva with His inseparable consort, Sri Mahalakshmi and nityasuris like Ananta, Garuda, Visvaksena, etc. In the Vyuha, He manifests Himself in four forms for the well being of mankind. These four forms are known as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Anirudha. Sri Krishna is Vasudeva, His brother Balarama is Sankarshana; Pradyumna and Anirudha are His son and grandson respectively. Later on these vyuhas went upto 24 and the 24 vyuha images of Vishnu, as per description found in the Patala Khanda of the Padma Purana are as follows.

Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vaamana, Sridhara, Hrishikesa, Padmanabha, Damodara, Samkarshana, Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Anirudha, Purushottama, Adhokshaja, Nrusimha, Achyuta, Janardhana, Upendra, Hari, Sri Krishna

Vibhava form refers to the divine descent of the Lord into this world in different avataras as Sri Nrusimha, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna etc. The archavatara refers to His diefication in the temples where He is worshipped in the idol form. For example, at the Periya Koil at Srirangam, Tirumalai and at Kancheepuram, He is worshipped as Sri Ranganatha, Sri Srinivasa and Sri Varadaraja respectively.

Bhagavata refers to nine types of devotions. They are -

  1. Sravana - listening to the expositions of the Glory of God and hearing His divine names mentioned by others.
  2. Kirtana - where the God is praised through hymns and chants.
  3. Smarana - in this the greatness of the Lord is enjoyed by remembering Him, thinking of Him and contemplating His effulgence and divine grace through our mind's eye.
  4. Padaseva - here we worship His lotus feet and cling on to it as the only salvation to swim through this samsara sagar.
  5. Archana - in this method, flowers are offered to the Lord along with the chanting of His name.
  6. Vandana - in this we offer obeisance to the divinity.
  7. Dasya - this refers to the unquestioning attitude of servitude like that of the slave to the master.
  8. Sakhya - here the devotee claims friendship with the Lord and wants to enjoy and command all the rights that one can exercise with a true friend.
  9. Atma-nivedana - This is the ultimate in bhakti when one offers one's own self to the Lord.

Any offering can be bought and given to the Lord. But the most precious gift is to offer oneself - that is unconditonally surrender to the Lord. Vaishnavism says that the Lord is both the goal and the way. He is the redeemer and the saviour. And the philosophy of Saranagathi is the essence of Vaishnavism.

Towards the end of Mahabharata war, Bhishma (while lying on a bed of arrows and waiting for uttarayana to dawn so as to give up his mortal coils) replied to Yudhishtra how a person can be liberated from the birth-death cycle and attain Mokhsha (refer the Preamble to Vishnu Sahasramam - starting with Bhishma Uvacha - readers are aware that Vishnu Sahasranamam has been embedded in the epic Mahabharata by the Sage Vyasa).

Jagathprabhum Deva Devam Anantham Purushothamam |

Sthuvan Nama Sahasraena Purusha:Sathathothitha: ||

and ending with

Vishnum Jishnum Maha Vishnum Prabhavishnum Maheswaram |

Anaega Roopa Thaithyaantham Namami Purushothamam ||

ஜகத்ப்ரபும் தேவதேவம் அனந்தம் புருஷோத்தமம் |

ஸ்துவன் நாம ஸஹஸ்ரேண புருஷ:ஸததோத்தித: ||

கடைசியில்

விஷ்ணும் ஜிஷ்ணும் மஹாவிஷ்ணும் ப்ரபவிஷ்ணும் மஹேஸ்வரம்

அனேக ரூப தைத்யாந்தம் நமாமி புருஷோத்தமம் |

Lord Vishnu Himself said: "I take on myself to provide for and protect those who are ever devoted to me and adore me ever in thought, without a thought for any other, for protecting the good and destroying the wicked and to establish the ethical way of life I assume birth from aeon to aeon."

As asserted and assured by Him, whenever dharma declines and adharma gets the upper hand, the Lord has been taking different incarnations at different times and re-establishing dharma.

One also cannot but wonder that these avataras also reflect the process of evolution from the lower to the higher orders in the stages of life (or civilisation). Just contemplate the various avataras taken by the Lord and see where your thoughts lead!

With the Holy traits of Lord Sri Vishnu as extolled by various puranas given in this page as an introduction (the few lines and examples given above touches but a bare minimum of His virtues - if I have to go on writing about Him, I do not know where or when will it end when He Himself is endless and all pervading!), I move on to the next section - namely the Vaishnavite Divya Desams.

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