Vishnu is the 'preserver' in the Hindu trinity (Trimurti). He is identical to the formless metaphysical concept called Brahman, the supreme who takes various avatars as "the preserver, protector" whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces. His avatars most notably include Rama in the Ramayana and Krishna in the Mahabharata. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasudeva, Vithoba, and Hari. In Hindu iconography, Vishnu is usually depicted as having four arms. He holds a padma (lotus flower) in his lower left hand, Kaumodaki gada (mace) in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha (conch) in his upper left hand and the Sudarshana Chakra (discus) in his upper right hand. A traditional depiction is Vishnu reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha, as he "dreams the universe into reality. Cast in Brass and handpolished and refined by Indian craftsmen this is an extremely rare miniature metallic statue of Vishnu.