Meaning: ‘I bow to the Lord who lives in the hearts of all. The divine light awakens kindness and love within the one who recites and helps him to overcome challenges easily.
Vishnu is the preserver and upholder of dharma in Hinduism. He is the supreme self in Vaishnavism and one of the three supreme deities (trimurti) in Hinduism. Vishnu in essence means the giver and provider of things.
Along with Brahma, the creator and Shiva, the destroyer, Lord Vishnu is one of the three main male deities in Hinduism and they are together known as the TRIMURTI. Being a part of the Trinity, He has taken ten incarnations to save the planet and the good people from the hands of evils, demons or Asuras time and again. Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity, is the wife and active energy of Vishnu. When Lord Vishnu incarnated on the Earth as the avatars : Rama and Krishna, Lakshmi incarnated as his respective consorts : Sita (Rama’s wife) and Rukmini (Krishna’s wife).
Also known as Narayana (means the dweller of water and the dweller of human beings), Vasudeva and Hari, Lord Vishnu is usually depicted as a pale blue being having the dark complexion of water-filled clouds and having four arms. His incarnations of Rama and Krishna also have a similar depiction.
He holds a ‘padma’ (lotus flower) in his lower left hand, the ‘Kaumodaki gada’ (mace) in his lower right hand, the ‘Panchajanya shankha’ (conch) in his upper left hand and the ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ ( the discus weapon) which is considered to be the most powerful weapon according to Hindu Religion, in his upper right hand.
Vishnu’s mount (Vahana : on which the Lord Vishnu travels) is Garuda, the eagle. Vishnu is commonly depicted as riding on his shoulders.
The actual number of Vishnu’s auspicious qualities is countless, although his six most-important “divine glories” are :
‘Jnana’ (Omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously.
‘Aishvarya’ (Sovereignty), derived from the word ‘Ishvara’ which means unchallenged rule over all.
‘Shakti’ (Power or Energy), the capacity to maintain or challenge dharma.
‘Bala’ (Strength), the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue.
‘Virya’ (Vigour), the power to retain immateriality as the Supreme Spirit or Being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations.
‘Tejas’ (Splendor), which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by spiritual effulgence.
Other important qualities attributed to Vishnu are :Gambhirya (inestimatable grandeur), Audarya (generosity) and Karunya (compassion).
We know for a fact that the divine powers listen to our prayers when made from the core of the heart. So, to pray with a pure heart and mind is very important. According to ‘Bhagavatham’, “Of the different types of prayers, the prayers to Lord Vishnu are best.”
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