Lord Vishnu

The ten main incarnations (dashavtar) of Lord Vishnu, their mission, characteristics and implied meaning are as follows.

Commonly it is said that in the ritualistic worship of a deity, it is offered its favourite item; for example, Ganapati likes red flowers, Shankar bel and Vishnu tulsi.

The lotus is a symbol of creation. The energy which emanates from Vishnu’s navel, that is from the Para mode of speech is depicted as a lotus.

Lord Viththal’s idol is dark complexioned with protruding eyes and stands on a brick with hands held on the waist.

It was Vishnu who started the tradition of the Guru and the disciple.

During the ritual of sandhya the twenty-four Names recited are - Keshav, Narayan, Madhav, Govind, Vishnu, Madhusudan, Trivikram, Vaman, Shridhar, Hruíhikesh, Padmanabh, Damodar, Sankarshan, Vasudev, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Puruíhottam, Adhokshaj, Narsinha, Achyut, Janardan, Upendra, Hari and Shrikrushna.