Lord Vishnu

Vishnu is the preserver, the second of the trimurti, and in the home he is more often kept in one of his forms than as Vishnu himself. This collection is the four-armed Vishnu directly: standing, reclining on Ananta, and paired with Lakshmi. For the specific avatars, the links below take you to their own collections.

The forms we make

Standing Vishnu, four-armed and crowned, holding the shankha, chakra, gada and padma, the conch, discus, mace and lotus. In brass and in antique finish. The four attributes are the fastest way to read a Vishnu, and worth checking they are crisp in the photograph, since they are the detail a cheap casting loses.

Ananta-Sajya, Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesha with Lakshmi at his feet, the cosmic sleep between creations. A wider, lower composition than a standing figure, so measure the full base.

Lakshmi Narayan, Vishnu with Lakshmi as consort, the form most kept in Vaishnava households; those are gathered in Lakshmi Narayan idols.

Vishnu charan, the feet in silver plate, kept where a full figure will not fit.

His forms have their own collections

Most people arriving here actually want an avatar, so worth pointing the way. Krishna and Ram are the eighth and seventh avatars. Tirupati Balaji is Vishnu as Venkateswara, the most kept form of all in South India. Jagannath is a form of Krishna, and therefore of Vishnu, with its own tradition. Each has its own page because each is a distinct devotional world.

Which material

Brass if the murti will receive abhishek or be handled daily, since it tolerates water, milk, kumkum and turmeric and cleans indefinitely. It darkens between cleanings, which is oxidation rather than damage. See brass idols.

Antique finish suits the standing Vishnu particularly, giving the four-armed form a sculptural weight. It carries a deliberate patina, so dry dusting only, never a cleaning paste, which strips the finish rather than restoring it. See antique finish idols.

Size and placement

Five to six inches suits most home mandirs; the 12 inch antique standing figure is a statement piece needing a dedicated surface. Measure including the crown, and check the width, since four arms and their attributes make the silhouette broader than a plain figure.

The northeast is the quadrant associated with the household shrine in the vastu tradition, which has a genuine textual lineage. Facing conventions are custom rather than text.

As a gift

A Lakshmi Narayan pair is the more common gift than a solo Vishnu, since it carries prosperity alongside preservation and suits a wedding or a housewarming. See wedding gifts and griha pravesh and housewarming gifts; for volume, corporate gifts or the bulk order enquiry page. To furnish the mandir, pooja essentials; for the wider pantheon, god idols and figurines.

Before you order

• Check the four attributes are crisp: shankha, chakra, gada, padma. It is the detail a poor casting loses.
• Measure the width and the crown, not just the height.
• Buy brass if the murti will be bathed; antique finishes are for display.
• Wanting Krishna, Ram or Balaji? Those are separate collections, linked above.
• The Ananta-Sajya reclining form is wide and low. Measure the full base.