Vishnu- Creator and Preserver of Life

According to Hindu belief there is one supreme god - Parambrahm. Parambrahm has no form or attributes. Parambrahm is shapeless. Parambrahm is the ultimate source of energy. But every deity has a physical form as well. Parambrahm's physical form is Sadashiv or Maheshwar. From Sadashiv, the form of energy- Shakti(Mahakali) originated. Mahakali is also known as Prakriti(nature). From Sadashiv and Prakriti, all three Lords are believed to be originated. These three lords together are known as Tridev. These three lords are- Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh.

The role of tridev in this universe is as follows:

1. Brahma- Lord Brahma is responsible for creation of life.
2. Vishnu- Lord Vishnu is responsible for preserving life.
3. Mahesh- Lord Mahesh, also known as Rudra, is responsible for destruction.

It is the general rule of this universe, that whenever anything is created, it needs to be preserved and then destroyed. These three lords are responsible for these three different tasks of creation, preservation and destruction as stated above. Whenever a life is created it is preserved and when its goal of coming into form ends, that life is destroyed.

To elaborate, we can take the example of a human being. First, the child is born(creation), then that child grows up and lives his life(preservation) and then the child grows old and dies(destruction).

The second task after creation is preservation which is done by Vishnu. Due to this Vishnu is also known as Palanhaar(one who preserves life of a being). This task of preservation is tough one and requires a lot of knowledge, power and wisdom.

I have been reading Vishnupuran since last few weeks and I found out that all three lords are ultimately one. These can be referred to as three forms of same energy. Their task as a whole is same. Ultimately, we can say that Lord Vishnu is Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva is Lord Brahma and Lord Brahma is Lord Vishnu.

According to Vishnupuran, when Lord Vishnu is awake during daytime,he creates and preserves life and when night approaches, he destroys all forms of life on earth and goes to sleep. But, this is to note that Vishnu's duration of day and night is different from human's days and nights.

According to Vishnupuran, there are four yugas, namely- satyug, tretayug, dwaparyug and kalyug. A yuga is a form of measurement of time. One yuga consists of hundreds of years and these four yugas together are known as chaturyuga. One day of Vishnu comprises of a thousand chaturyugas. People born in one yuga are destroyed in the same yuga. When the life forms of one yuga are destroyed completely another yuga starts. Current yuga is kalyug.

So, as per the Vishnupuran, it is Lord Vishnu who runs the universe, he is the one responsible for every creation, preservation and destruction.

Vishnu is known to have different forms and different names. Some of them are as follows:

1. Krishna: Krishna is worshiped as eighth form of Vishnu. He is known as the destroyer of the demon Kans, his maternal uncle who was known to be a very evil and bad personality.
2. Kalki: Kalki is known as tenth form, who will be born at the end of kalyug to destroy everything on earth.
3. Rama: Rama is seventh form of Vishnu, who was born to Dasarath and Kaushalya. Rama is known as the destroyer of the demon Ravana.
4. Varaha: Varaha is the form of Vishnu known to take the form of a boar to protect Goddess Earth.
5. Narasimha: Narasimha is the form of Vishnu, who is known to restore Dharma on earth. He was incarnated in the form of part lion and part human to destroy evil.
6. Dhanvantri: Dhanvantri is god of Ayurveda. He is worshiped across India in order to gain good health.
7. Hayagreev: Hayagreev is known as a horse headed form of Lord Vishnu.
8. Parashuram: Parashuram is the sixth form of Vishnu, who was born as a Brahman and is known to possess traits of a Kshatriya, also known as Kshatriya-Brahman.
9. Mohini: Mohini is a female form of Lord Vishnu, who acquired the pot of amrita(elixir of immortality) from demons and gave it back to the gods.
10. Dasavatara: It refers to ten primary forms of Vishnu.