LORD VISHNU The name Vishnu means he who possesses the habit of Vyapana (to pervade). Lord Vishnu is the central and the major deity of the holy trinity i.e. Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The two most common representations of Vishnu show him either sleeping over the waves of the ocean on the coils of the serpent-deity called Shesh Nag. The other most common one is standing on water with four hands- each holding one of his four chief attributes.