One-line: preserver god who is powerful, beloved, and still shown as dependent on the Goddess’s power.
First appears: Book 1, in Book 1 retelling.
Who they are: Vishnu appears everywhere, but the Devi Bhagavatam keeps refusing to make him independent. Book 1 makes the point through sleep: Vishnu cannot wake and kill Madhu and Kaitabha until the Goddess of Sleep releases him. Later books show Vishnu incarnating, strategizing, and sometimes getting trapped inside karma.
What they do that matters:
- Needs the Goddess’s sleep-power withdrawn before fighting Madhu and Kaitabha.
- Is shown in Book 4 as incarnating under curse and under the Goddess’s plan.
- Appears as teacher, rescuer, boar, horse-headed Hayagriva, and cosmic preserver.
Other names: Narayana, Hari
Family / lineage (when relevant): Part of the Trimurti; paired with Lakshmi.