Vishṇupada
Vishṇupada · vishṇu-pada, “the step, the abode of Vishṇu”
Grammar: neuter noun; a compound of Vishṇu and pada (step, foot, place, abode): “the step of Vishṇu“, “the abode of Vishṇu”.
Meaning: the highest abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu, his third step, from which those who reach it do not return.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa tells where Vishṇupada is, what it is, and how the devotee reaches it.
The third step of Vishṇu. Agnideva tells Vasishṭha Maharshi that the place north above the Saptarshis, where Dhruva is, is the third step of Śrī Mahāvishṇu in his virāṭ form. It is the dwelling of the self-controlled mahātmās who are freed from every fault when their puṇya and pāpa are exhausted. From this Vishṇupada the Gaṅgā came forth, and she destroys all pāpas by mere remembrance (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 120).
Beyond the senses. In the Pāpa-praṇāśana stotra which Pushkara teaches, the devotee prays: “May that Vishṇupada, free of smell, touch and the other objects of the senses, reaching which the wise do not return again, destroy all my pāpas” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 172).
How it is reached. In the Vishṇu vrata among the vratas of the seasons, one keeps nakta (eating only at night) on the ekādaśī of Caitra and at the end of the month gives a golden mūrti of Vishṇu to a brāhmaṇa who is a Vishṇu-bhakta; one who keeps this vrata gains Vishṇupada (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 199). In the line of the Soma vaṃśa, Yati, the eldest of the seven sons of Nahusha, meditated on Vishṇu in his childhood and attained Vishṇupada (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 274).
In the Tvaritā dīkshā. In the dīkshā of the Tvaritā mantra which Agnideva teaches, the homas take the disciple through birth as an unmoving being, a creeping being, a bird, a wild animal, a domestic animal and a human, freeing him in each; then, in order, he attains Brahma-pada, Vishṇupada and Rudra-pada, and with the pūrṇāhuti becomes fit for moksha. In the fruits of japa of that mantra, japa of five times as many lakhs as the mantra has syllables gains Vishṇupada (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 311).
Related terms: Vishṇu · Dhruva · Saptarshi · Gaṅgā · Moksha · Brahma-pada
Other meanings
Vishṇupada has more than one meaning in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Besides the meaning above, it names those listed here, each with where it is told.
- Vishṇupada at Gayā: Vishṇupada is also a place at Gayā: piṇḍa given on Vishṇupada frees one from the debt to the pitṛs (pitṛ-ṛṇa) and brings across a hundred generations and oneself. Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 115
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 115, 120, 172, 199, 274, 311