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Jagannatha of Puri in Orissa is a Vaisnava deity
which draws huge crowds; especially during the annual car
festival. The image appears rather grotesque and is shaped out
of a log and has prominent eyes. Once in twelve years the
log-image is renewed, the log being brought every time
mysteriously. The insertion of some ancient relic into the new
image sanctifies it. It represents SrI Krsna with similar images
representing Balarama and Subhadra (Krsna's sister).
Panduranga Vitthala commonly known as Vighala or Vithoba is the
deity of the famous Visnu temple at Pandharpur in Maharashtra.
In fact, the word 'Vigha' is a corrupted form of the word Visnu.
Rakumabai (Rukmini) is his consort standing by his left side.
This is the form of the Lord Visnu revealed to a Brahmana,
Pundali by name because of his intense devotion to his parents.
Ranganatha, along with Varadaraja of KancIpuram and Venkatesa of
Tirupati, is the most popular aspect of Visnu worshipped in
South India. The well-known temple at SrIrangam in Tamilnadu is
the very heart of the Srivaisnava cult. This temple-at least the
original icon is said to have been born out of the ocean and
given by SrI Rama to Vibhisana. While carrying it from Ayodhya
to Lanka, Vibhisana placed it on the ground at the present site,
in order to rest a while. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately
for others!) it got firmly fixed there!
The image is of the Yogasayana type (lying on the serpent-bed in
Yoga) with only two hands, the right hand apparently supporting
the head. While the left rests on the serpent-bed.
The lotus with Brahma, the Ayudhapurusas (the weapons in human
form), the demons Madhu and Kaitabha who were killed by him, as
also some sages like Bhrgu and Markandeya are often depicted
along with the Lord.
Similar Yogasayana images are found in Srirangapatna of Kamataka
and Tiruvanantapuram of Kerala where it is known as Padmanabha
or Anantasayana.
Varadaraja, the king among the bestowers of boons, is another
aspect of Lord Visnu which is very popular. Also known as
Karivarada, it represents that aspect of the Lord responsible
for saving Gajendra, the elephant king, from the death-clutches
of the crocodile.
He is shown as riding on his vehicle Garuda and in the act of
discharging the discus. The elephant Gajendra with its foot
caught by the powerful teeth of the crocodile is also shown.
Sometimes a human figure with its hands in obeisance is also
shown near the crocodile, to represent the Gandharva (a demigod)
who had been delivered from his curse which had resulted in his
birth as a crocodile.
The temple of SrI Varadaraja at Kanclpuram in South India is one
of the most important and famous Visnu temples.
Venkatesa, also known as Venkatesvara Snnivasa or Balaji of
Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is perhaps the most popular of all
the Hindu deities in our country and the temple on the Tirupati
hills gets fabulous income. The word Vengadam of Tamil origin
signifies a hill. So VenkateSa is the Lord of the hill. The
story goes that Lord Visnu as Varaha (the boar) decided to
continue his stay on the earth and that Garuda brought down the
hill of Vaikuntha to earth for the Lord's residence. Lord
Srinivasa or Venkatesa, another aspect of Visnu, also manifested
himself there at that time to reside on the earth for the good
of mankind.
The image is said to be an Udbhavamurti (spontaneously
manifested) and does not conform to known Agama traditions. As
regards the exact nature and form of the image, doubts exist,
some opining that it represents Harihara, and others considering
it as Subrahmanya or even DevL
Visvaksena or 'the all-conquering' is an aspect of Visnu, which
occupies the same place in Vaisnava tradition as Ganesa in the
Saiva tradition. He is worshipped at the beginning of any
undertaking, to avoid obstacles. He is shown with four hands,
wearing Sankha, Cakra and Gada in three hands and the fourth
exhibiting the Tarjanimudra (threatening finger pose). The right
leg is usually hanging down from the pedestal.
Visvaksena is also depicted sometimes as the gatekeeper or chief
attendant of Lord Visnu. He is shown standing on a white lotus
and with long matted hair as also a beard. He represents the
worldly sciences.
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