The Purusha-Avatāras are the three forms of Lord Vishnu responsible for creation, maintenance, and the cosmic order:
1. Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu (Mahā-Viṣṇu): (< pictured on the left)
— Lies in the Causal Ocean (Kāraṇa Samudra).
— Creates the material universes by exhaling infinite universes from His pores.
— Glances over Prakṛti (material nature), activating creation.
2. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu:
— Enters each universe and rests on the Garbhodaka Ocean on the serpent Ananta Śeṣa.
— From His navel sprouts a lotus, from which Lord Brahmā is born.
— Maintains and organizes the universe.
3. Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu (Paramātmā or Supersoul):
— Resides within every atom and every living being as the Supersoul (Antaryāmī).
— Manages the workings of the universe at an individual and collective level.
— Is worshiped as the deity of the Kṣīra-samudra (Milk Ocean).
These Purusha-Avatāras are manifestations of Lord Krishna’s divine expansion in the material realm. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) confirms:
“yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi”
(“The great Mahā-Viṣṇu, from whose breathing countless universes emerge, is but a partial expansion of Govinda [Krishna]. I worship that original Personality of Godhead, Govinda.”)
In this view, Krishna is the source of all Vishnu expansions, and the Purusha-Avatāras facilitate creation and cosmic order.