Chief God of Early Hinduism

By N M Gangoli

One of the chief God of early Hinduism is Vishnu (the preserver). The two other chief gods are Brahma (the creator) and Shiva (the destroyer).

In this article I will be focusing on Vishnu (the preserver).

The chief god of early Hinduism Vishnu is said to pervade all. He is said to have an inconceivably large form. In one of the scripture He says:

"All the world I have placed within my own self,

And my own self have I placed within all the worlds…

All the vital airs have I placed within my own self,

And my own self have I placed within all the vital airs."

In others Vishnu pervades the universe and is to be found in all its forms.

Vishnu is the one who enters the body of every living being. As long as the Lord exists in a body in this form the body has life, and with the departure of this form, the body perishes.

As I said earlier the chief god of early Hinduism Vishnu is said to have descended to this earth in the form of incarnations or avatars. There are to be ten such incarnations of which nine have already come and gone and the tenth, Kalki, will set foot on earth at the end of this Kalyug (or the age of Kali where evil is predominant on this Earth).

These ten incarnations are

i) The incarnation of the Fish - this is a story similar to that of Noah's ark in Christian theology.

ii) Incarnation of the tortoise - Vishnu assumed this form to help the devas (gods) to obtain the nectar of immortality that was hidden below the Ocean of Milk.

iii) Incarnation of the Boar - The asura Hiranyaksha used to torture all living beings and also - according to a boon granted by Brahma - he could not be killed by any living being. However the boar had been left out from this list. Hence Vishnu assumed the form of a boar to kill the asura Hiranyaksha.

iv) Incarnation of the man-lion (Narasimha) - This is the half lion and half human form in which Vishnu - the chief god of early Hinduism - manifested himself to kill the demon king Hiranyakashipu.

v) Incarnation of the dwarf - Vishnu assumed this form to consign the great demon king Bali to the nether world.

vi) Incarnation of the warrior-man (Parasurama) - This was a human form of a warrior with an axe. Parashurama killed 21 generations of kshatriyas (the warrior caste) to avenge the death of his father. He fulfilled his vow to restore power to the priestly caste and then took to meditation.

vii) Incarnation of Rama - Rama is one of the two most worshipped incarnations of Vishnu in the modern days in India (the other being Krishna). Rama vanquished the demon king Ravana in his lifetime.

viii) The incarnation of Krishna - Krishna is perhaps the avatar most worshipped and venerated by the Hindus. He killed his evil uncle Kansa, played an active role in the great epic, the Mahabharata and also expounded the Path of Karma yoga to the great warrior Arjuna. Karma yoga (on the path of selfless, detached action) is one of the ways to attain God according to the Hindu faith.

ix) Incarnation of the Buddha - The Buddha - the founder of Buddhism - is accepted by some of the accounts as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.

X) Incarnation of Kalki - This is the tenth incarnation of Vishnu and is the only one yet to come. According to the Hindus the Kali-age (kalyug) is only in its first quarter at present and Kalki will set foot on this Earth at the end of this age.

Vishnu - the chief god of early Hinduism - will assume this incarnation to uphold virtue and righteousness (dharma) and vanquish the evil doers during this Kalyug, where evil and wickedness flourish.

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