Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God. The Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatma (supreme soul) and Parameshwara (supreme God). It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of —and beyond— the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and
governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called 'Preserver of the universe'. In the Puranas, Vishnu is described as having the divine colour of water filled clouds, four-armed, holding a lotus, mace, conch (shankha) and chakra (wheel). Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvarupa) which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination]
The Puranabharti also describes each of thee Dasavatara of Vishnu. Among these ten principal avatara described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future, at the end of Kali Yuga. In the commentary of creator Brahma in Vishnu Sahasranamam, he refers to Vishnu as "Sahasrakoti Yuga Dharine", which means that these incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales,the avatars and their stories show that god is indeed unimaginable,unthinkable and unbelievable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma] and vanquish negative forces,the forces of evil that threaten Dharmma, as also to display His divine nature in front of the conditioned/fallen souls. In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshiped directly or in the form of his ten avatara,most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna. The Trimurti (English: ‘three forms’; Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer."These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity". Of the three members of the Trimurti, the Bhagavata Purana, which espouses the Vaishnavite viewpoint, explains that the greatest benefit can be had from Vishnu. Name
The 11th century Javan statue of Vishnu mounting Garuda, mortuary deified depiction of King Airlangga
A 13th century Cambodian statue of Vishnu
The name Viṣṇu is Rigvedic, denoting a minor deity personifying light and the Sun, often invoked as a companion of Indra, in four instances (especially in RV 6.69) in a dvandva compound, Indraviṣṇu. The name has no certain etymology; it is unattested in Iranian (but Iranian Rašnu is perhaps an indication that the name existed in Indo-Iranian and was replaced in Iranian). The most common interpretation is as vi-snu- from vi- "apart, across" and the zero grade of sānu "summit, ridge, mountain-top", as in "he who steps across / spreads out the mountains", c.f. RV 1.62.5c (of Indra):
vi bhūmyā aprathaya indra sānu ("Thou Indra, hast spread out the earth's high ridges");
but connection to the verbal root viṣ "to be active, work, perform" has also been suggested. The traditional explanation of the name Viṣṇu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle" (cognate with Latin vicus, English -wich "village"), or also (in the Rigveda) "to enter into, to pervade", glossing the name as "the All-Pervading One".[citation needed] An early commentator on the Vedas, Yaska, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as vishnu vishateh "one who enters everywhere", and yad vish*to bhavati taddjwojopwjepq, "that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu."[citation needed]
Vishnu itself is the second name in the Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu. Adi Sankara in his commentary on the sahasranama states derivation from viś, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Visnu",). Adi Sankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viś means 'enter into.'" Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: "The root Vis means to enter. The entire world of things and beings is pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra 'whatever that is there is the world of change.' Hence, it means that He is not limited by space, time or substance. Chinmayananda states that which pervades everything is Vishnu."
