A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.2110

c5.2110

In the Brāhmanas Vishnu acquires new attributes, and is invested with legends unknown to the Vedas, but still very far distant from those of the Purānas. In Manu, the name is mentioned, but not as that of a great deity. In the Mahā-bhārata and in the Purānas he is the second member of the triad, the embodiment of the Satwa-guna, the quality of mercy and goodness, which displays itself as the preserving power, the self-existent, all-pervading spirit. As such, his votaries associate him with the watery element which spread everywhere before the creation of the world. In this character he is called Nārāyana, ‘moving in the waters,’ and is represented pictorially in human form slumbering on the serpent Sesha and floating on the waters. This, too, is the position he assumes during the periods of temporary annihilation of the universe.