Narayana · The preserver
Vishnu
Vishnu, the preserver, rests on the serpent Shesha in the ocean of milk and comes into the world whenever dharma falls. Chant his mantra, keep his days, and see when to worship him next in your city.
- His day
- Thursday
- Next: Thu 29 Oct
- Next Vishnu day
- Satyanarayan Puja
- Today · Mon 26 Oct
1 of 10 · The fish · Satya Yuga
Matsya
When a great flood was to drown the world, Vishnu came as a fish, warned the king Manu, and towed his boat, with the seeds of life and the seven sages, to safety. He also saved the Vedas from the waters.
His story in full →2 of 10 · The tortoise · Satya Yuga
Kurma
When the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk for the nectar of immortality, the mountain they used as a churning rod began to sink. Vishnu became a tortoise and held it up on his back.
His story in full →3 of 10 · The boar · Satya Yuga
Varaha
The demon Hiranyaksha dragged the earth, Bhudevi, to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Vishnu came as a boar, killed the demon and raised the earth up on his tusks.
His story in full →4 of 10 · The man-lion · Satya Yuga
Narasimha
Hiranyakashipu could be killed by neither man nor beast, by day nor by night, indoors nor out. When he struck a pillar to mock his son Prahlada’s faith, Vishnu burst from it as a man-lion at dusk, on the threshold, and destroyed him.
His story in full →5 of 10 · The dwarf · Treta Yuga
Vamana
King Bali had won the three worlds. Vishnu came to his sacrifice as a small boy with an umbrella and asked for as much land as he could cover in three steps; then he grew to fill the universe, and covered earth and sky in two.
His story in full →6 of 10 · Rama with the axe · Treta Yuga
Parashurama
Born to the sage Jamadagni, he was given an axe by Shiva and humbled the kings who had grown cruel. His birthday falls on Akshaya Tritiya, and he is said to live on still, in meditation.
His story in full →7 of 10 · The prince of Ayodhya · Treta Yuga
Rama
The ideal king, who kept his father’s word and went into exile with Sita and Lakshmana. With Hanuman’s help he crossed to Lanka, defeated Ravana and brought Sita home; his return is remembered at Diwali.
His story in full →8 of 10 · The cowherd and teacher · Dvapara Yuga
Krishna
Born at midnight in a prison in Mathura and raised among the cowherds of Vrindavan, he killed the tyrant Kamsa, and on the battlefield of Kurukshetra taught Arjuna the Bhagavad Gita.
His story in full →9 of 10 · The awakened one · Kali Yuga
Buddha
In many Puranas the Buddha is counted as the ninth avatar, who taught compassion and turned people away from cruel sacrifices. Other lists give the ninth place to Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother.
His story in full →10 of 10 · The one to come · Kali Yuga
Kalki
At the end of this age, the Kali Yuga, Vishnu is to come as Kalki, riding a white horse with a blazing sword, to end the darkness and begin a new age of truth.
His story in full →Tap an emblem or a name to read about each avatar, in order through the four ages.
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
The full moon, when many families tell the story of Vishnu as Satyanarayan.
- Every Thursday
- Thu 29 OctHis day of the week
- Ekadashi
- Thu 5 Nov6:37 am to 8:48 am
- Ram Navami
- Thu 15 Apr11:04 am to 1:39 pm
- Krishna Janmashtami
- Wed 25 Aug12:01 am to 12:46 am, 26 Aug
- Anant Chaturdashi
- Tue 14 Sept6:05 am to 2:49 am, 15 Sept
Sing his aarti
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥
Om jai Jagdish hare, Swami jai Jagdish hare,
Bhakt janon ke sankat, das janon ke sankat, kshan mein door kare.
Glory to you, Lord of the world, Hari! In a moment you take away the troubles of your devotees and your servants.
हे जगत के स्वामी हरि, आपकी जय! आप अपने भक्तों और सेवकों के संकट पल भर में दूर कर देते हैं।
The best-known aarti in North India, sung to Vishnu and, in many homes, at the end of every puja.
Sing the whole aartiHis prayers
- Om Jai Jagdish HareHis aarti, sung at the end of pujaRead
- Vishnu SahasranamaHis thousand names, from the MahabharataSoon
A simple Thursday puja
Thursday, Guruvar, is kept for Vishnu, and many wear yellow and fast until evening. At home, a short puja before his image, or a picture of Narayana, is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Clean the place of worship and set his image there, on a yellow cloth if you have one.
- Bathe the image, or sprinkle it, with water or panchamrit, then dry it.
- Offer tulsi leaves, yellow flowers and sandal paste.
- Light a ghee lamp and incense.
- Chant Om Namo Narayanaya 108 times, or read his thousand names.
- Sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare, then share the prasad, with a tulsi leaf on it.
What you need
- His image or picture
- Tulsi leaves
- Yellow flowers and a yellow cloth
- Panchamrit or water
- A ghee lamp and incense
- A sweet or fruit as prasad
Prayers for the puja
- Vishnu SahasranamaSoon
Who is Vishnu
Vishnu is the preserver, who keeps the world in its order. With Brahma the creator and Shiva the destroyer he makes up the Trimurti, and to his devotees, the Vaishnavas, he is the supreme lord, Narayana.
He rests on the serpent Shesha in the ocean of milk, with Lakshmi at his feet, and holds the conch, the discus, the mace and the lotus. Whenever dharma declines he comes into the world as an avatar; ten are the best known, from the fish Matsya to Kalki, who is still to come.
Tulsi is dear to him, and no offering to Vishnu is complete without a tulsi leaf.
- Narayana the refuge of all beings
- Hari he who takes away sorrow
- Jagannath lord of the world
- Padmanabha from whose navel the lotus grows
- Vasudeva he who dwells in all
- Achyuta the one who never falls
- Satyanarayan the lord of truth
ॐ नमो नारायणाय
Om Namo Narayanaya
I bow to Narayana: the Ashtakshari, the mantra of eight syllables.
नारायण को मेरा नमन: यह अष्टाक्षरी है, आठ अक्षरों का मंत्र।
शान्ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं विश्वाधारं गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम्।
लक्ष्मीकान्तं कमलनयनं योगिभिर्ध्यानगम्यं वन्दे विष्णुं भवभयहरं सर्वलोकैकनाथम्॥
Shantakaram bhujagashayanam padmanabham suresham, vishvadharam gaganasadrisham meghavarnam shubhangam,
Lakshmikantam kamalanayanam yogibhirdhyanagamyam, vande Vishnum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanatham.
I bow to Vishnu: calm, resting on the serpent, the lotus at his navel, lord of the gods, support of the universe, vast as the sky, dark as a rain cloud; beloved of Lakshmi, lotus-eyed, reached by yogis in meditation; who takes away the fear of worldly life, the one lord of all the worlds.
मैं विष्णु को नमन करता हूँ: जो शांत हैं, शेषनाग पर लेटे हैं, जिनकी नाभि में कमल है, जो देवताओं के स्वामी और संसार के आधार हैं, आकाश जैसे विशाल और बादल जैसे साँवले हैं; जो लक्ष्मी के प्रिय हैं, कमल जैसे नेत्रों वाले हैं और योगियों को ध्यान में मिलते हैं; जो संसार का भय दूर करते हैं और सब लोकों के एकमात्र स्वामी हैं।
Why he comes
Bhagavad Gita 4.7 and 4.8
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे॥
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata,
Abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham.
Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam,
Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge.
Whenever dharma declines, Arjuna, and wrong rises up, I bring myself forth. To protect the good, to destroy the wicked and to set dharma firmly again, I am born age after age.
हे अर्जुन, जब-जब धर्म घटता है और अधर्म बढ़ता है, तब-तब मैं स्वयं को प्रकट करता हूँ। सज्जनों की रक्षा, दुष्टों के नाश और धर्म को फिर से दृढ़ करने के लिए मैं हर युग में जन्म लेता हूँ।
The order is the traditional one. Many lists name Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother, as the ninth avatar in place of the Buddha.
What his symbols mean
The conch, Panchajanya
Its sound is the first sound of creation, and it calls to dharma.
The discus, Sudarshana
The spinning wheel of time and of the mind, which cuts through evil.
The mace and the lotus
The mace, Kaumodaki, is strength used to protect; the lotus is purity, rising clean from the mud.
Shesha and the ocean of milk
He rests on the serpent of endless time, on the ocean from which all things come, at peace while the world turns.
His stories
Across India
Puri, Odisha
Vishnu as Jagannath, lord of the world, drawn through the streets on huge chariots at the Rath Yatra each summer.
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
Vishnu as Venkateshwara on the seven hills of Tirumala, one of the most visited temples in the world.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Vishnu reclining on Shesha at Srirangam and at Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram; Vaikuntha Ekadashi draws crowds to pass through the gate of heaven.
Maharashtra
Vishnu as Vithoba at Pandharpur, where the warkaris walk for weeks to reach him on Ashadhi Ekadashi.
North India
Satyanarayan Puja on the full moon, with its story read aloud and prasad of sheera, and Om Jai Jagdish Hare at the end of every puja.
Badrinath, Uttarakhand
Vishnu as Badri Narayan in the Himalaya, one of the four Char Dham, open from spring to the first snows.
His temples
- Tirumala Venkateswara TempleTirupati, Andhra Pradesh
- Sri Ranganathaswamy TempleSrirangam, Tamil Nadu
- Jagannath TemplePuri, Odisha
- Badrinath TempleChamoli, Uttarakhand
- Padmanabhaswamy TempleThiruvananthapuram, Kerala
- Vithoba TemplePandharpur, Maharashtra
Questions
When is Anant Chaturdashi in 2027?
Anant Chaturdashi is on Tuesday 14 September 2027 in New Delhi, with the muhurat 6:05 am to 2:49 am, 15 Sept. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Which day is Vishnu’s?
Thursday, Guruvar. Ekadashi, the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, is his fast twice a month.
What is Vishnu’s mantra?
Om Namo Narayanaya, the eight-syllable Ashtakshari. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, the twelve-syllable mantra, is chanted too.
What are the ten avatars of Vishnu?
Matsya the fish, Kurma the tortoise, Varaha the boar, Narasimha the man-lion, Vamana the dwarf, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, the Buddha (or Balarama in many lists) and Kalki, who is still to come.
Why is tulsi offered to Vishnu?
Tulsi, holy basil, is held to be dear to him and a form of Lakshmi; an offering of food to Vishnu is not complete without a tulsi leaf.
Who is Satyanarayan?
Vishnu as the lord of truth. His puja, with the reading of the Satyanarayan Katha, is done on the full moon and at weddings, housewarmings and other new beginnings.