Divinity · ◇ Light

Vishnu

Narayana · The Preserver · Mohini

coreattestedc. 400 BCE – 400 CE (epics and Puranas)Hinduism

The preserver, second of the Trimurti, who descends in avatar after avatar wherever the order of the world tilts toward ruin. In the churning of the ocean he is everywhere at once: the counsel that brokers the truce, the tortoise Kurma whose back bears the mountain, and the enchantress Mohini whose single glance decides who drinks immortality.

Light92

Wisdom88

Grace87

Influence83

✦Signature powerDivine DomainHolds sovereign power over a sphere of the living world.

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Its universe

The mythic order Vishnu belongs to, who comes before and after in the story of this world.

The Ocean of Milkwhat is churned
- Vishnuthe pivot of the churning
  - The Devasthe tail end
  - The Asurasthe head end
    - Rahuone swallow from forever
- Shivawho keeps the poison

Voices & connections

Figures bound to Vishnu, family and rivals within the myth, and the thinkers and writers who shaped how we know them.

The Amritaassociated with Rahuenemy of

Relics & objects

Sacred and cursed things that belong to the world of Vishnu.

The AmritaSacred

Read the story

Illustrated chapters where Vishnu appears. Start reading in a click.

Illustrated storyThe Churning of the OceanCursed into weakness, the gods cannot win immortality by force — so they invite their enemies to help churn it out of the Ocean of Milk, with a mountain for a churning-rod, the serpent king for a rope, and Vishnu as the tortoise underneath it all. What rises first is not nectar but Halahala, the poison of everything, and Shiva must drink it and hold it in his throat forever. The nectar comes last, and is won by a single enchanting glance.Begin reading →