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{{Short description|The lotus attribute of Vishnu}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = Vishnu holding lotus flowers, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg
| caption = Painting of Vishnu holding multiple lotus flowers
| affiliation = [[Vaishnavism]]
| script = पद्म
| script_name = [[Devanagari]]
| texts = [[Vishnu Purana]]
}}
'''Padma''' ({{Lang-sa|पद्म|lit=Lotus|translit=Padmā}}) is one of the four attributes borne by [[Vishnu]] in his iconography.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Easwaran |first=Eknath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfQ5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT171 |title=Vishnu and His 1000 Names |date=2017-10-17 |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |isbn=978-93-86348-87-6 |language=en}}</ref> It is associated with Vishnu's [[Kshira Sagara|abode]] upon water, as well as his role in creation and birth.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Burlington Magazine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/875819 |website=JSTOR | year=1968 | volume=110 | issue=788 | pages=629–631 | jstor=875819 |issn=0007-6287}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CjvF88iEE8C&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA93&dq=lotus+vishnu&hl=en |title=The Ancient South Asian World |last2=Heuston |first2=Kimberley Burton |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-522243-2 |pages=93 |language=en}}</ref>

== Mythology ==
In the [[Vishnu Purana]], in the beginning of time, [[Brahma]] is described to have been created within a lotus blooming from the navel of Vishnu. The ''padma'' is hence prominent in the Vaishnava narrative of [[cosmogony]], where Brahma is instructed by Vishnu to start generating the universe and the rest of creation. The lotus is regarded to be a representation of dharma, the cosmic law, as well the epitome of purity, as it rose beneath the impure seabed towards the sun.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdkswFlJtjQC&pg=PA99 |title=Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent |date=2003-04-24 |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |isbn=978-0-89281-870-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9cSlaLMlgEC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA24&dq=lotus+narayana&hl=en |title=The Book of Vishnu |date=June 2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-306762-7 |pages=24 |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Samudra Manthana|Samudra Manthanam]], when [[Lakshmi]] chooses Vishnu as her eternal consort, she throws a garland of lotuses around his neck, and is also eulogised as the lotus-faced one.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhagat |first=Dr S. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJIjDQAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT83&dq=lotus+throat+vishnu&hl=en |title=Shrimad Bhagavata Purana |date=2016-09-18 |publisher=Lulu Press, Inc |isbn=978-1-365-40462-7 |pages=83 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Debroy |first=Bibek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2J2EAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT52&dq=lotus+chest+vishnu&hl=en |title=Vishnu Purana |date=2022-06-30 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5492-661-7 |pages=52 |language=en}}</ref>

In the legend of the [[Gajendra Moksha|Gajendra Moksham]], the elephant Gajendra holds a lotus as an offering to Vishnu as he arrives to save his devotee from a crocodile.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mukherjee |first=Sreecheta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkM4DwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA22&dq=lotus+vishnu&hl=en |title=Temples of Bengal |date=2012-12-25 |publisher=Aesthetics Media Services |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref>

The realm of [[Krishna]], [[Goloka]], is evoked as [[Vrindavan|Vrindavana]] upon the earth, portrayed in the form of a lotus.

Vishnu is generally depicted as holding the lotus in his lower left hand, while his consort [[Lakshmi]] holds one in her right hand, and the goddess is also usually portrayed as sitting on the flower.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ph.D |first=Lavanya Vemsani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4fw2DAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA123&dq=lotus+vishnu&hl=en |title=Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names |date=2016-06-13 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-211-3 |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Vishnu and Parikshit.jpg|thumb|Vishnu seated upon a lotus and granting an audience to [[Parikshit]]]]
A [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] myth describes Vishnu's worship of [[Shiva]] with 1008 lotus flowers, offering one for each of his epithets. In order to test him, Shiva removed one lotus from the bunch so that Vishnu would be one short and the [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] would be incomplete. However, the omniscient Vishnu merely plucked one of his lotus eyes, placing it upon the [[lingam]]. Pleased, Shiva presents him with the [[Sudarshana Chakra]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vanamali |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |title=Shiva: Stories and Teachings from the Shiva Mahapurana |date=2013-10-04 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-62055-249-0 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 23}}</ref>

== Symbolism ==
[[File:Vishnu with Lakshmi on a lotus (6125133540).jpg|thumb|Vishnu and Lakshmi seated upon a lotus]]
It is believed that Vishnu's association of the lotus is derived from the flower's presence in the symbolism of his consort, [[Lakshmi]], for whom it represented water and fertility. Sculptures of Vishnu bearing a lotus are dated back to the fifth or the sixth century, presenting him with the epithets ''Padmanabha'' (the one with the lotus-navel), ''Pundarikaksha'' (lotus-eyed), and ''Padmapani'' (lotus-handed). Icons of [[Narasimha]] with a lotus growing out of the deity's head have been dated back to the mid-sixth century. On one level, the conch and lotus in Vishnu's hands signify his association with the waters as both a fertilising agent and a cosmic symbol. The [[Panchajanya|conch]] and the lotus are among the most auspicious symbols, and by themselves are often painted on either side of the entrance to a domestic building. The lotus also symbolises the earth and is even said to contain the universe, and hence it is especially appropriate as an emblem for the divine preserver of the universe. The [[Vishnudharmottara Purana|Vishnudharmottara]] specifically states that the lotus emerging from Vishnu's navel symbolises the earth, while the stalk represents the cosmic mountain, [[Meru Peak|Meru]], the axis of the universe. In Vishnu's hand, it symbolises water, and in Lakshmi's hand, wealth.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Art |first1=Los Angeles County Museum of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clUmKaWRFTkC&pg=PA41 |title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |last2=Pal |first2=Pratapaditya |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05991-7 |pages=41 |language=en}}</ref> A piece of the [[Varaha]] avatar of Vishnu and his consort [[Bhumi (goddess)|Bhudevi]] has also been discovered dating back to the third century. Bhudevi herself stands upon a lotus, while Varaha holds a lotus bud with his left hand to represent his effortless act of holding the earth.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Art |first1=Los Angeles County Museum of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clUmKaWRFTkC&pg=PA41 |title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |last2=Pal |first2=Pratapaditya |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05991-7 |pages=198 |language=en}}</ref>

== Literature ==
[[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] hymns often reference the padma as an attribute of Vishnu or [[Narayana]], offering allusions to his lotus feet,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LM4aAAAAYAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA106&dq=lotus+narayana&hl=en |title=The Brahmavâdin |date=1901 |publisher=M.C. Alasingaperumal |pages=101 |language=en}}</ref> lotus eyes, lotus navel,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sasidharan |first=G. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6zbDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT159&dq=lotus+eye+vishnu&hl=en |title=Not Many, But One Volume I: Sree Narayana Guru’s Philosophy of Universal Oneness |date=2020-04-08 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-0-14-349759-2 |pages=159 |language=en}}</ref> and lotus throat.

The [[Padma Purana]] is one of the eighteen major [[Puranas]] that is named after the attribute of Vishnu, and contains large sections dedicated to his praise.{{Vaishnavism}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Hinduism]]
[[Category:Vishnu]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Hindu symbols]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]

Padma (Vishnu) - Revision history

ImportMaster: robot: Create/update articles in Category:Hindu gods.