Vishnu
c. 1200 BCE – 2026 CEattested
Indian subcontinent
- Hindu
- Vedic
A minor Vedic figure who becomes the preserver of the cosmos, descending in a series of forms whenever the world is in enough trouble to require it.
Known for
- the avatars
- preservation of order
- the cosmic ocean
Dates are estimates. A great deal of what this atlas covers is only datable to within a century.