Vaikuntha

Vaikuntha is the transcendent world where Vishnu dwells with Lakshmi. Vaishnava traditions describe it as eternal and free from birth, death and decay, the goal of the devotee who attains liberation.

It is also called Paramapada, the supreme place, and Vishnuloka. Some Puranas also speak of Shvetadvipa, the white island in the ocean of milk, as a place where Vishnu can be seen.

The highest step

The idea of Vishnu’s highest abode is old. The Rigveda (1.22.20 and 1.154.5) speaks of the paramam padam, the highest step or place of Vishnu, which the wise see always, like an eye fixed in the sky, and where there is a spring of honey. Later Vaishnava thought named this place Vaikuntha, also called Paramapada (the supreme place) and Parama Dhama. In the Sri Vaishnava tradition of South India it is counted as the last of the 108 Divya Desams, the sacred abodes of Vishnu, and the only one that cannot be reached on earth.

What Vaikuntha is like

The Bhagavata Purana (Book 3, ch. 15) describes Vaikuntha as a world of light beyond the material universe, untouched by time, hunger, old age or fear. Its people share the four-armed form of the Lord, and its gardens and palaces shine with jewels. Vishnu sits there with Lakshmi, Bhudevi and Niladevi, served by eternal companions such as Garuda, Vishvaksena and Adishesha.

Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers

The same chapters tell how the four child-sages, the Kumaras, came to see Vishnu and were turned away at the seventh gate by the gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya. The sages cursed them to be born on earth. Vishnu agreed that the curse must stand, but let them choose: seven lives as his devotees, or three lives as his enemies. They chose three lives as enemies, so as to return sooner. They were born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, slain by Varaha and Narasimha; as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, slain by Rama; and as Shishupala and Dantavakra, slain by Krishna. The story ties several avatars into a single arc.

The gate opens: Vaikuntha Ekadashi

In the month of Margashirsha (December to January), the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight is celebrated as Vaikuntha Ekadashi. Temples such as Srirangam and Tirumala open a special northern door, the Vaikuntha Dvara, and devotees pass through it in the belief that the gate of Vaikuntha stands open that day.