Vishnu

Vishnu is the preserver in the Hindu triad, the deity who upholds order and descends as avatars when the world is in danger. He is shown with four arms holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus, resting on the serpent Shesha or riding the eagle Garuda, with Lakshmi at his side. Vaishnava tradition honours him as the supreme lord. In Odisha his worship is most visible in the cult of Jagannath, and in shrines such as Ananta Vasudeva at Bhubaneswar, Alarnatha at Brahmagiri and Nilamadhava at Kantilo. Observances such as the Ekadashi fasts and the Kartika month of Panchuka are kept in his honour.

The earliest account of Vishnu is in the Rigveda, where he is praised as the one who crossed the universe in three strides. In the Puranas, including the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, he becomes the supreme deity who rests on the cosmic ocean on the serpent Shesha, with a lotus rising...