Articles — Vishnu

Lord Vithal, or Panduranga Vittala, is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is worshipped in the world famous Pandarpur Rukmini Vithal Temple at Pandarpur in Maharashtra. There is an interesting story that explains about the incarnation of Lord Vithal at Pandarpur.Once a devotee named Pundalik was traveling to Kashi and reached the Ashram of Saint Kukkut. He asked the sage the way to Kashi. Kukkut Rishi said that he did not know the way to Kashi and he had never been there. Pundalik made fun of Kukkut Rishi for not knowing the way to Kashi and said that a holy...

Shri Pandurang ashtakam (Pandurangashtakam) Stotra is a very beautiful creation of Shri  Adi Shankaracharya. Pandurangashtakam stotra was composed in Sanskrit. It is sung in praise of God Panduranga who is standing on a brick for his devotees, to give them blessings, peace and happiness and every thing they deserve. God Panduranga is Lord Vishnu’s avatar. Adi Shankaracharya tells us why he worships God Panduranga. Shri Panduranga is also known as Vitthal , Vithal or Panduranga Vithal. Lord Vithal, or Panduranga Vittala, is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is worshipped in the world famous Pandarpur Rukmini Vithal Temple at Pandarpur in Maharashtra....

Lord Parshuram was the sixth Avatar of Vishnu. He was the son of sage Jamadagni and Renuka.Lord Parshuram was a devotee of Shiva and he received a Parshu (a weapon) from Lord Shiva as a boon thus the name Parshuram was given to him. Shiva also tought him war skills. As a child Parshuram was a keen learner and he always obeyed his Father Rishi Jamadgani. Parshuram was the first Warrior Brahmin and he is also called Brahmakshatriya (both Brahmin and Kshatriya means warrior). His mother Renuka Devi was a daughter of Kshatriya’s. After receiving a Parshu from Lord Shiva it became impossible...

Ekadasi or Ekadashi in Sanskrit means eleven. ‘Eka’ means “one” and ‘dasi’ is the feminine form of the word “dasa”, which means “ten”. Ekadashi is a sacred day, occuring twice a month in the Hindu calendar - on the eleventh day of the bright half - called Shukla Paksha and on the eleventh of the dark half called Vad Paksha (Padma Puran, Uttar Khand 36/5/80). A fast is to be observed on this day by all Hindus.On these auspicious days, devotees don't eat grains and beans, Anhydrous fast (Nirjala), which doesn't allow drinking water, is the most preferred way to fast...

108 Divya Desams are Vishnu temples that are mentioned [Mangalasasanam – Praising the glory of the lord] in the works of the Alvars. Divya Desams means a divine place. It is the term given to 108 temples of Lord Vishnu all over India and a few temples outside it. The mentioning of 108 Divya Desams is done in ancient Tamil writings by Tamil saints.Only 106 of these temples are in this material world. The other two being Paramapadam (at the feet of Lord Vishnu) and Vaikuntam (Lord Vishnu’s Holy abode). One of the remaining 106 (Salagrama) is in Nepal and...

The story of Tulsi, the medicinal plant, begins with Indra, the Lord of the Heavens.   Lord Indra, was the king of the Devas. But he realized that people no longer looked up to him at the main God. This worried him a lot. He knew that people now looked up at Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva to guide them. Indra knew that he could not hope to confront Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. They were after all the Gods of Creation and of Preservation. But Indra could not understand, why people liked Lord Shiva. He was after...

Garuda is one of principal animal deities in the Hindu Mythology. Kashyap, Garuda's father, had two wives: Kadru, the elder, and Vinata, Garuda's mother ..the younger. There was great rivalry between the two wives.. Once, they had an argument over the color of the horse Uchchaisravas, produced during the churning of the Milk Ocean just after the time of creation. Each chose a color and laid a wager on her own choice. The one who lost would become the other's slave. Kadru proved to be right and, as part of the agreement, imprisoned Vinata in the nether regions, Patala, where...

The one thousand names of Lord Vishnu and their meanings. Vishvam: He who is the universe, the virat-purusha vishnuh: He who pervades everywhere vashatkaarah: He who is invoked for oblations bhoota-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh: The Lord of past, present and future bhoota-krit: The creator of all creatures bhoota-bhrit: He who nourishes all creatures bhaavo: He who becomes all moving and nonmoving things bhootaatmaa: The aatman of all beings bhoota-bhaavanah: The cause of the growth and birth of all creatures pootaatmaa: He with an extremely pure essence paramaatmaa: The Supersoul muktaanaam paramaa gatih: The final goal, reached by liberated souls avyayah: Without destruction purushah:...