Vishnu & 4034 Vishnu Asteroid - Denver, CO
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 39° 44.218 W 104° 59.337
13S E 500946 N 4398563
This sculpture is located in the Denver Art Museum.
Waymark Code: WMVD8X
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 04/04/2017
Views: 0
The placard accompanying this stone work indicates that it depicts the "Four-faced God Vishnu" and that it comes from India and is dated to the 800s-900s.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Vishnu ...is a popular Hindu deity, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Lord Narayana and Lord Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand."
As for the asteroid, Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"4034 Vishnu (provisional designation: 1986 PA) is an Apollo asteroid, 0.4 kilometers in diameter. It completes one revolution around the Sun almost once every year. It was discovered by Eleanor F. Helin at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California on August 2, 1986. It is an O-type asteroid, meaning it is similar to the asteroid 3628 Boznemcová, which is the best asteroid match to the spectra of L6 and LL6 ordinary chondrite meteorites. L and LL chondrites have lower iron and metal content, but higher iron oxide content in the silicates.
Its highly eccentric orbit crosses the orbits of Venus, Earth, and Mars. From 1800 to 2200 the asteroid passes within 30 Gm of Venus 71 times, Earth 29 times, and Mars 7 times."