Vishnu

Lord Vishnu is the second aspect of the Hindu Trinity. After Lord Brahma finishes creating, the burden of preserving life in the universe falls onto the shoulders of Lord Vishnu. He is depicted as a handsome man with a bluish skin tone and is often the most benign of all the deities in the Hindu pantheon. Well, actually no. Lord Vishnu too had to assume the terrifying form of Narasimha (the half man, half lion avatar) to vanquish the evil king Hiranyan when adharma (injustice and loss of truth) reached devastating proportions.

But generally, Lord Vishnu presents the benevelont and loving aspect of the divinity. He is often portrayed meditating or in deep sleep (yoga nidra) on the giant serpent Adisesha, floating on the Milk Ocean, with his consort Lakshmi by his side.

Vishnu of course, is also the protoganist of Hinduism's two biggest epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. In Ramayana, He appears as the embodiment of the perfect son, man, husband and ruler. In Mahabharata, He appears as Krishna, who guides the Pandawa brothers to victory against the Kaurawas. He is also the Lord who introduced the Bhagavadgita, one of Hindusim holiest scriptures. The image of Vishnu in all His might, embodying every aspect of the universe, was revealed when Arjna began to despair that he had to resort to killing his own kin in the war. Krishna assuages him by revealing that ultimately, everything is in HIm, that everything is HIM!

But to many, Krishna is the adorable rascal who is well-known for his pranks and fooloery with the Gopis (cow sherperdess).

Here's an exceprt from www.webonautics.com/mythology/vishnu.html that explains the basic iconography of Lord Vishnua and His four arms.

"In my lower right hand, which represents the revolving or creative tendencies, I hold the conch; the symbol of the five elements.

In the upper right hand, which represents cohesive tendencies, I hold the discus; shining like an infat sun - symbol of the mind.

In the upper left hand, which represents the tendecy towards dispersion and libertion, I hold the lotus; symbol of causal power and of illusion from which the universe rises.

In my lower left hand, wihch represents the notion of indivdual existence. I hold the mace; symbol of primeval knowledge."