Per the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Mahavishnu (literally means “The Great Vishnu) is the sixteenth part of the luster of Lord Krishna who is Purusha, i.e., Supreme Consciousness. Radha is Prakriti who is the wife of Lord Krishna and the mother of Mahavishnu. So basically, he is a part of Supreme Consciousness that pervades the universe. The word Maha is also used to address Lord Vishnu to indicate reverence. In some verses, he is mentioned as Supreme Consciousness or Purusha.

Mahavishnu is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures, including but not limited to Brahma Samhita, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Devi Bhagavata Purana, and Satvata Tantra. He is not mentioned in any Vedic scriptures. He also can be compared with Sadashiva, who is the ultimate God in Shaivism.

(To know what is Purusha and Prakriti, please read our article, Concept of God in Hinduism.)

Difference Between Vishnu and Mahavishnu:

The only difference between Lord Vishnu and Mahavishnu is that in general Lord Vishnu is considered the protector of the universe but for Vaishnavites Lord Vishnu is creator, protector, and destroyer of the universe. Hence, he is referred to as Mahavishnu (Great Vishnu). The term was coined most probably to counter the term Mahadev (god of gods or the great god), which is the name of Lord Shiva. Shaivites believe that Lord Shiva is the creator, protector, and destroyer of the universe.

But there are some verses where Vishnu and Mahavishnu are mentioned as separate gods.

“Visnu appeared from the left side of Mahavishnu. О king of the mountains, Brahma, Visnu, and Siva are all the forms of Prakrtika.”

– Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Krishna Janma Khanda – 41.71

“The one who has created Prakrti, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Visnu, Siva, and other gods I bow in reverence to him.”

– BVP, Krishna Janma Khanda 42.27

“I am also well-acquainted with Brahma, the lord of the gods who emerged out of the lotus, that was born from the navel of Visnu. I have also acquaintance with Mahavishnu, who is the protector of Sattvaguna.”

– BVP, Krishna Janma Khanda 47.102

“All the small Vishnus merge into Mahavishnu and Mahavishnu in turn into Prakrti, whereas Prakrti merges into the great soul.”

– Prakriti Khanda 54.98

“The same Mahā-Viṣṇu created Viṣṇu from His left limb, Brahmā, the first progenitor of beings, from His right limb and, from the space between His two eyebrows, Śambhu, the divine masculine manifested halo.”

– Brahma-Samhita 5.15

But the overall impression is that they are the same.

Possible Origin of Mahavishnu:

Most of the concepts in the Smriti scriptures have a base in the Vedas. It seems the concept of Mahavishnu has emanated from the Narayana Suktam in the Yajurveda, where he (Lord Vishnu) is mentioned as the Supreme Being and the lord of all souls.

“The Lord Narayana is the Supreme Absolute; Narayana is the Supreme Reality; Narayana is the Supreme Light; Narayana is the Supreme Self; Narayana is the Supreme Meditator; Narayana is the Supreme Meditation.”

Mahavishnu in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana:

I think it is the only scripture that talks about Mahavishnu in detail, but there are many contradictions in it. For simplicity, I have considered the shlokas that are repeated many times and ignored the shlokas that are mentioned few times only.

According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Mahavishnu is the 16th amsha of Lord Krishna. It further says that Lord Brahma was born from his navel, and Lord Shiva was born from the forehead of Lord Brahma. This is similar to the Lingodbhava story where Lord Shiva comes out of the Hiranyagarbha and says that he created Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

“He happened to be the sixteenth part of the luster of Lord Krsna. And he happened to be the lord of innumerable universes and was called Mahavishnu.”

– Prakriti khanda 3.5

“The four-faced Brahma emerged out of the navel of Mahavishnu who was reclining on the serpent bed in the ocean. Lord Siva appeared from the forehead of Brahma.”

– Krishna Janma khanda 41.70

The term Mahavishnu is used to address Lord Vishnu, who was born from the Hiranyagarbha. Goddess Radha is mentioned as his mother, and Lord Krishna is mentioned as the Purusha into whose chest Radha (Prakriti), the mother goddess dissolves at the end.

“Thus, the mother of Mahavishnu, who is the great goddess, is known as Mulaprakrti. After absorbing everything into her body, she merges into the chest of the lord.”

– Krishna Janma Khanda 54.91

“His Radha is dearer to him than his life which represents great fortune. She happens to be the creator of Mahavishnu and is the basic Prakrti and the supreme goddess.”

– Prakriti Khanda 48.51

“Thus, Lord Krishna having two arms happens to be the husband of Radhika, and the four-armed Mahavisnu happens to be the lord of Laksmi.”

One more thing that is repeated many times is that each hair-pit of Mahavishnu is equivalent to a universe.

“Since the particles of dust and atoms can never be counted, similarly the number of your devotees cannot be counted but the one who is the creator of everyone’s who can be competent enough to offer prayers to him because the Mahavishnu one in whose hair-pit a complete globe is enshrined happens to be only the sixteenth part of your rays.”

– Krishna Janma Khanda Ch. 5, 110-111

The Birth of Mahavishnu:

“O Lord of the earth, by whose twinkling of an eye Brahma is destroyed, the same Lord Krsna the teacher of the universe stays in Vrndavana at the beginning of the universe. At that point of time, Radha emerges from his left side in the Rasamandala who carries the fragrance from the seed of Lord Krsna up to the life of Brahma. Thereafter, in the Rasamandala of Goloka, she gives birth to an egg. At the sight of the egg she is filled with grief, her heart becomes painful, and she throws away the egg from Golojta over the universe. Thus disowning the egg, she laments again and again. Then Lord Krsna who is well-versed in Yoga enlightens her variously. Out of that egg, Mahavishnu is born who happens to be the best of all.”

– Krishna Janma Khanda 54.120

Three Forms of Lord Vishnu per Satvata Tantra:

According to the Satvata Tantra, Mahavishnu (Karanodakshayi Vishnu) is one of the three forms of Lord Vishnu. He is the creator of the total material energy. The other two forms are Garbhodaksayi Vishnu and Kshirodakashayi Vishnu.

“Visnu has three forms called Purushas. The first, Maha-Visnu, is the creator of the total material energy (mahat), the second is Garbhodasayi, who is situated within each universe, and the third is Ksirodasyi, who lives in the heart of every living being.”

Temples:

There are many Mahavishnu temples across India. Some of the most famous temples are:

1. Thrivikramangalam Mahavishnu Temple

2. Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

3. Poornathrayesa Temple.

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