Vishnu (from Sanskrit Vifpu), major Hindu god and Supreme Lord for his devotees, the Vaishpavites. Vaishpavite philosophers regard Vishnu as the referent of the term ‘Brahman’ in the Vedic texts. Later texts attempt a synthesis of Vishnu with two other deities into a trimurti (‘three forms’ of the Absolute), with Brahma as Creator, Vishnu as Preserver, and Siva as Destroyer. This relatively unpopular idea is used by modern thinkers to speak of these gods as three forms of the formless Absolute. Madhva and Ramanuja regard Vishnu as the Highest Lord, possessed of infinite good qualities and superior to the qualityless Absolute of the nondualist thinkers. Vaishpavite thinkers identify Vishnu with the Purusa, the primeval, cosmic person, and Prajapati, Creator god, of the Vedas, and give him epithets that identify Vishnu with other representatives of a Supreme Being. He is Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of the Universe. Vishnu is best known for the doctrine of avatar, his ‘descents’ into the world in various forms to promote righteousness. Through this and the concept of vyuhas, aspects or fragments, Vaishpavites incorporated other deities, hero cults, and savior myths into their fold. He was a minor deity in the early Vedic literature, known for his ‘three strides’ across the universe, which indicate that he pervades all. During the epic period (400 B.C.–A.D. 400), Vishnu became one of the most popular gods in India, represented iconographically as dark-complexioned and holding a conch and discus. His consort is usually Laksmi and his vehicle the bird Garuda. See also AVATAR , BRAHMA. R.N.Mi.