Lord Vishnu

 

Lord Vishnu

The donkey and Agudengba walked all the way, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, and came to India at the southern end of the snowy area. The donkey was very surprised to see many cows being worshiped as sacred cows here.

Agudemba said to the donkey: Consecrating cows as gods is related to Indian religious beliefs. Hinduism is divided into three major sects, namely Vishnu, Shiva and Pakti. It can be said that Vishnu has the highest status and has the greatest influence among the three major sects. Among the three main gods, Vishnu is in charge of the "living" of all living beings, and is the great god who maintains and protects him. Compared with Brahma, who is in charge of "life", and Shiva, who is in charge of "destruction", Vishnu's image is more wealthy. The combination of power and rights is the ideal form that all living beings pursue and worship.

Agudemba and the donkey came to an ancient temple. He said to the donkey: There are many sculptures and paintings here. You can see that Vishnu is often with Brahma and Shiva, either standing or sitting. Vishnu is in the center and has a prominent position. Sometimes in the boundless sea of milk, the thousand-headed divine snake Shesha will coil up as a snake bed, and Vishnu will lie on it, leisurely; Vishnu's wife sits at his feet and massages him; on his navel A lotus stretches out, with Lord Brahma sitting on it, showing that the two gods are one. Vishnu sometimes rides on the roc, soaring in the universe and observing everything.

The Vishnu that Donkey sees from these paintings is tall and mighty, holding a conch, a divine wheel, a divine hammer, a divine bow, etc. in his four hands. Vishnu appears as a king, with rich clothes and crown, clad in gold and silver, blue-black complexion, face like a full moon, eyes like a torch, his chest is decorated with gems from the sea of milk, and he wears a garland of holy threads.

Agudemba said: The legendary Vishnu is powerful in the three realms, but this was not the case at the beginning. In the period of Vedicism and early Brahmanism, he was humble and was not taken seriously, and there were few dedicated hymns to him. He is just the son of the two gods of heaven and earth, a small god and a dwarf.

Agudumba told the donkey about the legendary Vishnu.

Once, Tuoluo led the army of gods to fight against the army of demons, destroying castles, digging dikes, and fighting for cattle. During this period, there are narratives about the god of fire burning the wasteland, the god of wine emboldening him, and the god of medicine curing all diseases. However, when the divine army and the demonic army fought, the latter actually won. According to the rules: the divine army had to leave the heaven and give way to the demonic army.

At this critical moment, Vishnu came forward to do misfortune. He admitted defeat, but asked for a three-step ground to gain a foothold. The devil thought highly of himself and agreed to his request. As a result, Vishnu crossed the earth boundary in the first step and crossed the boundary in the second step. After crossing the void, there was nowhere to put his feet when he took the third step. The devil had no choice but to take it with his head, and was kicked into the ground by Vishnu.

Agudemba said: This story shows that the devil is stupid and easy to deceive, but he keeps his promise; Vishnu is extremely wise, but he is treacherous. Although Vishnu's cleverness in deceiving people was just a small trick, Vishnu's status rose from this and he became an important staff officer in the war camp of the divine army, often helping the divine army defeat the demonic army.

During the period of Brahmanism, Vishnu became the most important god, occupying the center of the three realms. In the battle with the demonic army, his role became more and more important, surpassing that of Dhara.

After the Middle Ages, Brahmanism developed into Hinduism, and Vishnu became the protagonist in the "Purana", and then became the "leader" of Hinduism after the Middle Ages and the supreme being in the minds of Hindus. It created the image of Vishnu as the master, and also created the system of the three main gods of Hinduism. In epic and Puranic mythology, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together constitute the three-phase god of "birth", "dwelling" and "destruction". "Birth", "dwelling" and "destruction" are actually the three aspects of energy of one god. "Dwelling" is particularly important. "Birth" is for "dwelling", and "destruction" is for "dwelling" again. Vishnu is most respected by believers. It's logical.

"Vishnu" is the omnipresent god who controls all worldly affairs. Only by worshiping him can believers enjoy happiness in this world and the next.

In order to save the world, Vishnu incarnated and descended to earth many times, the main ones being as many as 24 times, 10 of which had a huge impact. There are 10 most representative incarnations, namely fish, turtle, pig, human lion, dwarf, axe-wielding Rama, Krishna, Rama, Buddha and Kalgi. The 9th incarnation of Buddha and the 10th incarnation of Kalki.

The two important incarnations of Vishnu are: Krishna and Rama. Krishna and Rama are quite historical and can almost be regarded as historical figures in early India; axe-wielding Rama and Buddha are also incarnations of Vishnu. The former has historical connotations and the latter has cultural connotations.

There are many "Purāṇas" in the Hindu system, and there are 36 major and minor Puranas. Generally speaking, there are 18 major Puranas. The themes and content of this type of literature are legends about Indian gods and royal families. In almost every one of these Puranas there are legends of Vishnu's miracles.

As a great god, Vishnu plays the most important role. He rules over the universe, protects the world, shows mercy to all things, combines gods and kings, and is even known as the only embodiment of the three-phase god. He combines creation, maintenance and destruction, and has the most followers.

The donkey listened to Agudengba's narration, but seemed to understand. Agudemba then sang to the donkey a popular snowy folk song "Vishnu, Our Lord God":

 

Vishnu, our Lord God,

He is righteous and good at strategy,

He is upright and adaptable;

He will not rest on his laurels,

He always moves with the times.

He sympathizes with the weak,

Also punishes the strong,

He is compassionate and kind,

He also hates evil as much as he hates it.

 

Vishnu, our Lord God,

He convinced the whole world,

He is followed by believers.

He has made great achievements and ruled the world,

He protects the world and takes pity on all things.

He combines god and king,

He is the only embodiment of the three-phase god,

He has the largest number of followers.