This Hindu deity restores balance to the universe – and takes on many forms

In one of the epic tales from Hindu mythology, the blue-skinned god Lord Krishna held up Mount Govadharan for seven days in the palm of his hand, allowing the villagers to shelter underneath. It was then that the rain god, Indra, realised that Krishna was an avatar of the all-powerful Lord Vishnu, and bowed down before him in repentance.

Vishnu is regarded as the preserver and protector of the universe, charged with its care and maintenance, and with restoring peace and justice. This story of protecting the villagers from the driving rain, illustrates this role. The tale is captured in stone in a sixth-century statue from Cambodia showing Krishna holding up the mountain that will soon be on display in Sydney.

Avatar: Forms of Vishnu, opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales this month, brings together ancient sculptures, textiles, paintings, photography and installation, all depicting Vishnu in some form. It features works by major Australian and Indian artists including Gitanjali Das, Jumaadi, Desmond Lazaro, Nalini Malani, Pushpamala N and Sumakshi Singh.

In Hinduism’s pantheon of gods, Vishnu is one of the trinity, or Hindu Trimurti, alongside Brahma and Shiva. Instantly recognisable for his blue-tinged skin and tall stature, he has four arms and hands holding a conch, a mace, a chakra and a lotus flower. He is often shown resting on a serpent coiled on the cosmic ocean, and there is often a lotus coming out of his navel.

Vishnu has numerous avatars, or different forms, that he takes to appear on earth. There are different beliefs to how many there are: as many as 76, although usually the number is most often believed to be 10, and that is how many are present in the exhibition. Far from digital avatars or the well-known movie, the word “avatar” comes from Sanskrit and translates to “coming down”, a reference to the fact the deity descends to earth in one of these forms, as and when needed.

“I wanted to introduce people gently. Who is Vishnu? What is an avatar? What are some of the avatars? So the exhibition is a way of introducing the information in layers,” says co-curator Melanie Eastburn, senior curator of Asian art at the gallery.

Eastburn first conceptualised the exhibition more than a decade ago, after working in Cambodia and seeing the ancient artworks depicting Vishnu. “I was trying to understand who’s who, how they fit together, and working on connecting, finding the poems and stories, looking at the similarities and differences in the Indian and the Khmer versions,” she says.

Eventually, she brought in Chaitanya Sambrani, an aca