Lord Vishnu's saga begins with Lord Shiva. Shiva was so infuriated by man's wickedness that he transformed himself into Bhairave, a wrathful form. Shiva, in the form of Bhairave, started his destructive rampage, he ripped out the hearts of humans and drank their blood. Vishnu came to the help of humanity, he asked Bhairave to stop slaughtering. Bhairava's response was, "I will go on killing until my6 bowl is filled with enough blood to quench my thirst." It was a common fact that Bhairave's bowl would never be full enough for his liking. In response to this, Lord Vishnu said, "Let me give you all the blood you need. You don't have to bleed mankind." Vishnu struck his forehead with a knife and let his blood flow into Bhairave's bowl. Vishnu continued to do this until one day, Bhairava finally realized that Vishnu was sacrificing himself for the sake of the world.
Vishnu as the incarnation Buddha
English: The Atha Naradiyamahapuranam is one of th...
Vyathara Trimuthi Temple dedicated to Lord Brahma,...Bhairave made a deal with Vishnu, that as long as the world was preserved he would not seek to quench his thirst. But the negative aspect was that if man became corrupt again, he would return and take every last drop of human blood.
Vishnu steams from Ishvara, Ishvara is called Brahma when he creates the universe, when he protects he is Vishnu and when he destroys he is Shiva. Together the three are the trinity. Vishnu is the preserver, he protects all of humanity and saves mankind from disaster which derives from our weaknesses.
Vishnu's devotee's usually pray to him to protect them, and when they pray for peace. Many Hindu's believe that some of the world's most famous peacemakers were avatars of Vishnu such as Jesus, Buddha and even Noah.
Vishnu is usually depicted with four attributes, a conch, disc, club and a lotus.