India GO
Vishnu: the preserver, his ten avatars and his temples
विष्णु
Vishnu is the preserver of the world in the Hindu trinity and, for Vaishnavas, the Supreme God. In Vaishnava belief, whenever dharma (the order of things) weakens, he descends as an avatar to restore it: Rama and Krishna are the most worshipped of the ten. He is also called Narayana and Hari, his consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and his mount is Garuda, the eagle.
Story
Ten avatars, from the fish that saved the first man from the flood to Kalki who is yet to come. The Bhagavad Gita is spoken by his eighth avatar; one of the most visited temples on earth, Tirumala, belongs to his form Venkateswara.
Family and companions
Festivals
✅ How to recognise Vishnu
He is usually shown dark blue, with four arms.
- Conch and discus — The shankha (conch) and the Sudarshana chakra (discus), the two attributes almost every image carries, with a mace and a lotus in the other hands.
- Reclining on Shesha — Asleep on the coils of the serpent Shesha on the ocean of milk, with Lakshmi at his feet. This is the form at Srirangapatna, Srirangam and Thiruvananthapuram.
- Garuda — The eagle he rides; a Garuda pillar or shrine often faces the sanctum of a Vishnu temple.
- Shaligram — A black fossil stone from the Gandaki river in Nepal, worshipped as Vishnu himself.
The ten avatars
The list varies by tradition (some put Balarama or Jagannath in place of Krishna or the Buddha), but the most widely accepted order is this one. In the tradition, nine have already appeared, and Kalki is yet to come.
| Matsya | The fish that saved the first man, Manu, from the flood. |
| Kurma | The tortoise that held up the mountain when the ocean was churned. |
| Varaha | The boar who raised the earth from the cosmic waters. |
| Narasimha | Half man, half lion, who saved the boy Prahlada from his father; the story behind the [Holi](/en/festivals/holi/) bonfires. |
| Vamana | The dwarf who covered the world in three strides and sent King Mahabali below; Kerala's [Onam](/en/festivals/onam/) celebrates Mahabali's yearly return. |
| Parashurama | The warrior-sage with an axe. |
| Rama | Hero of the Ramayana; his victory over Ravana is [Dussehra](/en/festivals/dussehra/). See [Rama](/en/deities/rama/). |
| Krishna | Speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. See [Krishna](/en/deities/krishna/). |
| Buddha or Balarama | Depending on the tradition. |
| Kalki | The rider on a white horse who will come at the end of the present age, the Kali Yuga. |
Vishnu temples
Many of his greatest temples are in the south, where Vishnu is worshipped under local names.
Mysuru
[Sri Ranganathaswamy at Srirangapatna](/en/mysore/ranganathaswamy-temple-srirangapatna/), consecrated in 984, gave the island town its name; inside is Adi Ranga, the first of the five shrines of the reclining Vishnu along the Kaveri.
Delhi
The [Laxminarayan temple (Birla Mandir)](/en/delhi/laxminarayan-temple/), built in 1933–1939 for Lakshmi and Narayana; Gandhi agreed to inaugurate it on condition that people of every caste be admitted.
Across India
Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, the temple of his form [Venkateswara](/en/deities/venkateswara/) and one of the most visited temples on earth; Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam, the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams (sacred Vishnu sites); Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram; the Jagannath temple at Puri; and Badrinath in the Himalaya, open from about late April to early November.
Festivals
[Ram Navami](/en/festivals/ram-navami/) marks Rama's birth in spring, and the month of [Kartik](/en/festivals/kartik-month/) in autumn is sacred to Vishnu, with lamps offered every evening. His avatars carry many of the year's big festivals: Holi, Onam, Dussehra and [Janmashtami](/en/festivals/janmashtami/).
❓ FAQ
What is Lord Vishnu the god of?
Preservation: he sustains the world and protects dharma, descending as an avatar whenever order is threatened. Brahma creates and Shiva dissolves; Vishnu keeps.
Who is Vishnu's wife?
Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. In the south Vishnu is often shown with two consorts, Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi, the earth; at Tirumala, Venkateswara's consorts Padmavati and Bhudevi are both held to be forms of Lakshmi.
What is the difference between Vishnu and Shiva?
Vishnu preserves, Shiva dissolves and transforms. Vishnu acts in the world through avatars; Shiva is the ascetic on Kailash, usually worshipped as a lingam. Vaishnavas hold Vishnu supreme, Shaivas Shiva.
What is the Vishnu mantra?
Om namo Narayanaya, "homage to Narayana", the eight-syllable mantra of Vaishnavism.