Vishnu

Vishnu lying on Ananta with Lakshmi

Vishnu represents the cohesive tendency of the Indian Trimurti, is known as the preserver of the Universe, while Brahma is its creator and Shiva the destroyer. He is the supreme deity, the supreme and only Brahman for Vaishnavas.
The etymology of the name Vishnu is traced back to the root vis, to permeate, the god who is all-pervasive.
It is generally known and revered in his major incarnations or avatars that I have already discussed in a previous post.

Currently in India the most revered deity are Rama and Krishna, respectively the seventh and eighth avatars of Vishnu.
His images represent him lying on snake Sheshanaga or Ananta, the Serpent residue or Infinity  (see photo) or standing with four arms.
The image of Vishnu  in general has the following features.
On the chest to the right is a lock of hair call Shrivatsa and the jewel Kausthubha, Treasure of the ocean that is the universal consciousness that has emerged from the churning of the cosmic ocean or Samutramanthan.

The four arms represent - as in all the images of Hindu gods - the domain of the four directions of space, but also the four Vedas, the four goals of life, the four stages of human life, the four castes, the four yuga or eras.
In the lower right hand Vishnu holds the conch, symbol of the origin of life and is linked to the primordial ocean and the primordial sound, the syllable AUM.
In the right high hand is placed Sudarshana (Nice to see), it is the chakra, ultimate weapon of Vishnu consisting of six rays that represent the six seasons of the hindu year.
In his left high hand there is the bow and  in the lower left hand Kaumodaki, the mace, the power of knowledge.
The color of the god is blue and usually  there is  a veil on his hips called pitambara, his wife is the goddess of fortune Lakshmi and his Vahan or  vehicle is Garuda the eagle with the human body.

Vishnu is known as the god of a thousand names, each linked to a condition or a manifestation of the god. These names are listed and explained in Vishnusahasranama, which means the thousand names of Vishnu and is a part of Mahabharata.
Among them I remember: Vishva, He who is everything, Bhutakrit, Maker of all beings, Bhutabhrit, The support of all creatures, Bhutabhavana, The essence of all beings, Hari, The thief, Bhakta Vatsala, Lover of  his devotees, Mahamaya, The supreme magician, Bhagavan,  Full of glory, Anandi, Bringer of  joy, Narayana, The Son of man.

Hanuman, the Monkey God

Hanuman - Templum in Cochin - Kerala

The stories of Hanuman, god-monkey strong, brave, loyal devotee of Ram, seventh avatar of Vishnu, are a lot. The Ramayana - great Indian epic poem that tells of the struggle between Rama and Ravana, demon who abducted Sita, the wife of God – reserve him an entire chapter, Sundara Chanda.
As usual the Indian traditions, several versions of the same story. But that is something like this.
The beautiful Apsara (celestial nymph) Punjikasthala because of a curse of  Brihaspati, a sage man to whom she had disobeyed, was embodied in a monkey, Anjana, the daughter of vanara (monkey) Kunjara.
Anjana married Veerakesari, heroic monkey, but they not managed to have a child.
After many prayers, Shiva and Parvati heard the couple and promised them that, with the help of Vayu the God of wind, they would have a strong and faithful son.
According to one tradition, one day picked up the clothes of Anjana, Vayu was fascinated by the beauty of the girl's body. She rebelled him, but Vayu said he would not have touched her and that - like wind – he had already entered into her and the child was conceived so desired. In another tradition, Shiva had indicated to the couple a mango tree whose fruit, once it had been offered them by Vayu, it would conceive a child in the womb of Anjana.
The two went at the mango tree, and after much prayer, the wind had bent a tree branch so as to enable Anjana to catch and eat the fruit that enabled her to conceive Hanuman.In Ramayana of Valmiky it is tell that the King of Ayodhya, Dasaratha, was performing severe austerities and relentless rites for the blessing of a child. Shiva, pleased with his devotion, gave to the king three parties of sacrifical food for his three wives, Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi.
But the food of Kaikeyi fell and Vayu, God of wind, flew up to Anjana intent in prayer, she ate the food and conceived Hanuman.
Once the baby was born he was immediately lively and voracious, one day, seeing the sun and thinking it was a fruit he tried to catch it to eat. Indra was very angry for that gesture and struck the child with a thunderbolt fell down. In the fall the God monkey broke his jaw, hence the name Hanuman as hanu in Sanskrit means just jaw. Hanuman is strong, fast and flies like the wind (his father), but due to a curse of Brahma, who chastised him as he disturbed the meditation of some saints,  he is not aware of his own powers until someone else reminds him as did Ram in the Ramayana.
This also teaches us the unlimited power that lies unused within each one of us, just to be aware of them.
Hanuman - considered by some an incarnation of Shiva - is called also Anjaneya, i.e. Anjana’s son and he is celebrated during the Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on full moon day of the month of Chaitra (March-April) and prayer on him is the Hanuman Chalisa.