Cult of Gods

Vishnu

Hindu tradition. See the whole pantheon.

Domains
preservation, the universe's order
Symbols and attributes
Conch, discus, mace, lotus; Garuda
Partner
Lakshmi
takes avatar as
Krishna
Vishvarupa Vishnu, Kashmir or Himachal, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection.
Vishvarupa Vishnu, Kashmir or Himachal, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection.

Key myth

A minor Vedic god who 'strides the three worlds'; by the Puranic period he is supreme for Vaishnavas, who understand him as descending into the world in avatars (including Rama and Krishna) whenever order fails.

Where sources differ or caution applies. For Vaishnavas, Vishnu is the supreme being; for others, one of the Trimurti. The relationships between the figures change with tradition.

Primary sources

  • Rigveda 1.154
  • Bhagavata Purana
  • Bhagavad Gita 4.7-8

All sources for the Hindu pantheon

Place in the family graph

Choose a deity to see where it comes from. Dashed lines are links the sources describe that are not parent and child.

Dyaus PitarPrithviIndraAgniVarunaSuryaYamaUshasVishnuLakshmiShivaParvatiSaraswatiGaneshaKartikeyaDurgaKrishna

More traditions

Odin rides to Hel, W. G. Collingwood, after the Poetic Edda.NorsePapyrus of Ani, British Museum (New Kingdom), a Book of the Dead.EgyptianA chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.MesopotamianFolio 309r of the Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin), c. 800.Celtic (Irish)

Elsewhere in the world

Deities in other traditions who share a theme with Vishnu: wisdom, writing and divination, sea and waters. This is overlap in one area only.

Norse

Odin

wisdom, poetry, war

Norse

Frigg

foresight, marriage, motherhood

Norse

Ægir

the sea, brewer of the gods' ale

Norse

Rán

drowning, the sea's net

Egyptian

Nun

the primeval waters

Egyptian

Isis

magic, protection, motherhood

Compare across cultures