The theory of Avataras which makes the deity - also variously called Narayana, Purushottama, or Vasudeva - periodically assume some material form in order to rescue the world from some great calamity, is fully developed; the ten universally recognized" descents "being enumerated in the larger poem.
His followers, the Ramanujas, or Sri-Vaishnavas as they are usually called, worship Y Y, P Vishnu (Narayana) with his consort Sri or Lakshmi (the goddess of beauty and fortune), or their incarnations Rama with Sita and Krishna with Rukmini.
A modern offshoot of Vallabha's creed, formed with the avowed object of purging it of its objectionable features, was started, in the early years of the 19th century, by Sahajananda, a Brahman of the Oudh country, who subsequently assumed the name of Svami Narayana.
Their worship is addressed to Narayana, i.e.
The Lord Narayana floated on this ocean and from his navel there grew the lotus or the cosmic tree.