Who is Vishnu?

Sri Vaishnava (Vishishtadvaita): Ramanuja

For Sri Vaishnavas, Vishnu, called Narayana, is the one Supreme Lord, full of good qualities, with Lakshmi always at his side. The tradition names five forms in which he is present: the supreme form in Vaikuntha (para), the four emanations (vyuha), the avatars (vibhava), the inner ruler who dwells in the heart (antaryamin), and the images set up for worship in homes, villages and towns (archavatara). Souls and the world are his body, and he is their inner ruler.

Sources for this reading

• Sri Bhagavad-Gita with Sri Ramanujacharya's Visishtadvaita commentary, translated by A. Govindacharya (Madras, 1898) (Ramanuja's first proem, pp. 6–7 (the Lord of Sri) and its note on p. 9 (God's five aspects: para, vyuha, vibhava, antaryamin, archavatara); the translator's table of the Visishtadvaita categories after Lecture VII, explanation (H), p. 258 (leaf n262), checked on the page image)
• R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems (Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner, 1913), § XV, Ramanuja: Īśvara, the internal controller of all, has Lakshmi, Bhu and Lila for his consorts and appears in five modes: Para in Vaikuntha, the four Vyuhas, the Vibhava (the avatars), the Antaryamin who “dwells in the heart”, and images “set up in houses, villages, towns” (p. 53); Ramanuja's doctrine of God as a person “having for his body the individual souls and the inanimate world” (§ 50, p. 57). Bhandarkar died 1925: public domain. Title page leaf n1. Checked on the page images (leaves n55, n59). (pp. 53 and 57 (leaves n55, n59))

Dvaita (Madhva)

For Madhva, Vishnu is the only independent reality. In Bhandarkar's account of the system, the Supreme Soul is “independent of every thing, and one only”, and “entirely different from the individual souls and the inanimate world”. Everything else, souls, matter, Lakshmi and the gods, depends on him. Souls stay distinct from him for ever. Liberation is Vishnu's gift, reached through knowledge of him and love for him.

Sources for this reading

• R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems (Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner, 1913), § XVI, Madhva: God's “independent majesty” (§ 50, p. 57); the Supreme Soul “independent of every thing, and one only”, “entirely different from the individual souls and the inanimate world”, Lakshmi “entirely dependent on him” (§ 51, pp. 59–60); souls distinct from each other and from the Supreme Soul, Vishnu bestowing moksha, and love of God leading to moksha (pp. 60–61). Bhandarkar died 1925: public domain. Quoted verbatim; checked on the page images (leaves n59, n61, n62, n63). (§§ 50–51, pp. 57–61 (leaves n59–n63))
• S. Subba Rau (tr.), The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Sri Madhwacharya (Madras: Thompson and Co., 1904), introduction: Madhva's scheme of reality, in which the one independent reality is Vishnu and all else is dependent. The translator's death year has not been found, so nothing is quoted. Summarised in our words. (introduction, p. x)

Smarta

Smarta families worship Vishnu as one of the five forms of the panchayatana puja, beside Shiva, the Goddess, Surya and Ganesha. Their greatest teacher, Shankara, taught Advaita. For him the one highest Self is worshipped under different forms and qualities, and the fruits of worship differ with them; Brahman itself is free from all such limits.

Sources for this reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Smarta sect” (allegiance in worship to the five major gods, Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Surya and Ganesha, in the pancayatana puja; Shankara, the proponent of Advaita, their greatest teacher). Read in the Wayback Machine copy (snapshot July 27, 2026). Cited, not copied.
• Brahma Sutra 1.1.11, Shankara's commentary, in George Thibaut (tr.), The Vedânta-Sûtras with the Commentary by Sankarâkârya, Part I (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 34, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1890): Brahman apprehended under two forms, qualified by limiting conditions and free from them; the one highest Self, the Lord distinguished by different qualities, is the object of devotion, and the fruits differ with the qualities. Thibaut died 1914: public domain. Summarised in our words; checked on the page images (leaves n190–n191). (pp. 61–62 (leaves n190–n191))

Gaudiya Vaishnava (Chaitanya's followers)

The Gaudiya tradition reverses the usual order. The Bhagavata Purana says that the avatars are “portions or emanations of the Person; but Krishna is the Lord Himself”. For the followers of Chaitanya, Krishna is the highest God; the usual avatars come from his own forms, and Vishnu is a form that Krishna himself takes.

Sources for this reading

• A Prose English Translation of Srimadbhagabatam, Books I–VI, edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt (Calcutta: Elysium Press, 1895–96) (Book I, chapter III, p. 9 (leaf n12); quoted verbatim, checked on the page image)
• R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems (Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner, 1913), § 68, the doctrines attributed to Chaitanya: Krishna “the highest god”; “All the usual incarnations spring from one or other of the Vyūhas”, his forms; with sattva predominant, “Kṛṣṇa becomes Viṣṇu”. Bhandarkar died 1925: public domain. Checked on the page image (leaf n86). (§ 68, p. 84 (leaf n86))

Sources

• Om Jai Jagdish Hare, refrain
• Bhagavad Gita, 4.7
• Bhagavad Gita, 4.8
• The Vishnu Purana, a system of Hindu mythology and tradition, translated by H. H. Wilson (London: John Murray, 1840) (book 1, chapter 9 (Lakshmi rises from the churned ocean))
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Vishnu” (temple images: seated with his consorts Lakshmi and Bhumidevi, or reclining on the serpent Shesha on the cosmic ocean, or standing with the conch, discus, club and lotus; he manifests a portion of himself whenever needed to protect dharma; his avatars, particularly Rama and Krishna; Hari among his names). Read in the Wayback Machine copy (snapshot August 18, 2026). Cited, not copied.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, “bhakti” (devotion to Vishnu based on his avatars, particularly Krishna and Rama). Read in the Wayback Machine copy (snapshot July 25, 2026). Cited, not copied.
• Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic, by W. J. Wilkins (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink; London: W. Thacker, 1882) (chapter IV, “Vishnu and Lakshmi”, p. 98 (leaf n117): “As Brahmā's special work is creation, that of Vishnu is preservation”; p. 101 (leaf n120), the Varaha Purana passage on Vishnu as protector of the three worlds. Checked on the page images)
• Festival guide “Vaikuntha Ekadashi” in this library, with the Pujadeep calendar rules ekadashi and vaikuntha-ekadashi.

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