Gods Of The Vedas

The Vedas: An Exploration

- Lakshmi Devnath

The Purusha Sukta, A Vedic hymn extols the preeminence of the Purusha who is unanimously identified as Narayana. Purusha Sukta along with other hymns in the Vedas promulgates the pantheistic view of creation. An analysis of the Vedic hymns reveals that Lord Vishnu, is, in reality, the sum and substance of the verses. They clearly establish the supremacy of Vishnu. In fact, he is extolled as the highest God par excellence in the Rig Veda – an adjective applied to none other than Vishnu. A sampling of the verses given below reveals the veracity of this statement.

‘Three of these worlds Vishnu strode; thrice did he plant his foot’; ‘The whole of this universe was gathered in the dust of His footsteps’; ‘Vishnu, the Guardian of all, he whom none can deceive, made three strides and henceforth established the Dharma (an obvious reference to the Trivikrama)’; ‘As the eyes spread out as it was in the sky so do the wise ones see the supreme state of Vishnu’; ‘The ever prayerful and awakened wise realized that the Supreme state of Vishnu.’ Yaska, the master of etymology, explains the literal meaning of the word Vishnu as immanent and the all-pervasive Principle who spreads over all the planes of existence.