Vishnu

In Hindu belief, one of the principle deities, worshiped as the protector and preserver of worlds, who guards the equilibrium between good and evil. Vishnu descends to earth in the form or incarnation which is best suited to a situation. In the form of a human lion Vishnu saved a pious prince who was about to be murdered by his own father. Vishnu concealed himself in a column at the king's palace. And just when the king was about to strike ? to punish his son for his faith in Vishnu; the god appeared out of the column and tore the king to shreds. Vishnu took on the incarnation of a boar to save the world which the water demon had inundated with the ocean. The boar lifted the earth (generally personified as a woman) from the bottom of the ocean. Vishnu is often conceived as a member of the triad including Brahma and Shiva.Also see Ganesha and Ramayana.