e yet threefold, creates, preserves, and destroys: therefore let the pious makes no difference between the three." In pictures Vishnu is represented as a black man with four arms: in one hand he holds a club; in another a shell; in a third a chakra, or diseus, with which he slew his enemies; and in the fourth a lotus. He rides upon the bird Garuda, and is dressed in yellow robes. This deity is worshipped not only under the name and in theform of Vishnu, but also in one of his many incarnations. Whenever any greatcalamity occurred in the world, or the wickedness of any of its inhabitantsproved an unbearable nuisance to the gods, Vishnu, as Preserver, had to layaside his invisibility, come to earth in some form, generally human, and, whenhis work was done, he returned again to the skies. There is no certainty as tothe number of times he has become incarnate. Ten is the commonly receivednumber, and these are the most important ones. Of these ten, nine havealready been accomplished; one, the Kalki, is still future. "Some of theseAvatars are of an entirely cosmical character; others, however, are probablybased on historical events, the leading personage of which was gradually endowed with divine attributes, until he was regarded as the incarnation of thedeity himself." These are Fish (Matsya), Tortoise (Kurma), Boar (Varaha),Man-Lion (Narasimha), Dwarf (Vamana), Rama-with-the-Ax (Parasurama),King Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and the future incarnation, Kalki. Preferencefor any one of these manifestations is largely a matter of tradition. Thus, Ramaand Krishna are the preferred ones. The classical narrative of Rama isrecounted in the Ramayana by the saga Valmiki, who is the traditional authorof the epic. Rama is deprived of the kingdom to which he is heir and is exiledto the forest with his wife Sita and his brother Laksmana. While there, Sita isabducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. In their search for Sita, thebrothers ally themselves with ...
