1 - Mahā-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Vishnu) 2 - Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu (Hiraņyagarbha) 3 - Ksirodakaśāyī Visnu (Paramātmā)

The three Viṣṇus who maintain the material creation- 

1 - Mahā-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Vishnu) 

2 - Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu (Hiraņyagarbha) 

3 - Ksirodakaśāyī Visnu (Paramātmā)

Maha-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Visnu) is ultimately an expansion of Lord Balarama, the first expansion of Lord Krsna) the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute truth, and cause of all causes.

Krsna is an individual Person with a spiritual bodily form with 2 arms, two legs etc in His eternal appearance.

All marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their original position (bodily form), are in His image.

In Gauḍīya Vaisnavism the Sātvata-tantra describes three different forms, or aspects, of Krsna's Visnu expansions as -

1 - Mahā-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Visnu)

2 - Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu (Hiraņyagarbha)

3 - Ksirodakaśāyī Visnu (Paramātmā).

Maha-Visnu further expands as the form of  Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu (Hiraņyagarbha) who enters each of the millions of large universes known as a Brahmandas that all originate from the pores of Maha-Visnu's Body and creates a secondary universe inside the Brahmanda.  

Each Garbhodakashayi Visnu lays down deep inside each of these massive Brahmanda outer surrounding universes and a Lord Brahma appears from His naval and builds the various planetary systems within the secondary material universe inside the Brahmanda. 

Maha-Visnu again further expands as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Visnu (Paramatma) who is the Supersoul situated in the heart of all material bodily vessels next to the marginal living beings (jiva-souls) in all the millions of material universes.

Kāraņodaksayi Visnu is Sankarsana (an expansion of Balarama) of the Catur-vyuha, the quadruple expansions of Krsna who predominate over the Vaikuṇṭha planets as His Visnu-tattva (jiva-soul) expansions.

Balarama is the first expansion of Lord Krsna who the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.

This means Krsna is the origin of all Narayana and Visnu forms of the Lord (God)

Within each the Brahma's universes, the millions of demigods such as Indra, Yamaraj,  Vayu etc, as well as all the material bodily vessels that all the other visiting jiva-souls possess, are part and parcel of Maha-Visnu's dreaming of the material creation going on within each of the different material secondary universes found deep within their outer Brahmandas universal covering.

Maha-Visnu creates all the material bodily vessels or containers that are eventually "hired" by all the visiting jiva-souls who have chosen to leave Vaikuntha and foolishly enter the mundane decaying material creation, which is 1/4 of the Brahmajyoti or Spiritual Sky.

No jiva-souls originate from the material creation or from Maha-Visnu or the Impersonal (dormant inactive condition) aspect of Brahmajyoti or Brahman.

This is because all jiva-souls originate directly from Vaikuntha, from Goloka Vrindavana.

Originally all jiva-souls are nitya-siddha (eternally liberated) in their original position Prabhupada explains below. 

The jiva-souls only become nitya-baddha (eternally conditioned) when they enter the material creation, and impersonal inactive Brahmajyoti.

This means because  of free will, there are two "conditions" to each jiva-soul, they can be either nitya-siddha or nitya-baddha.

Some jiva-souls in the spiritual worlds choose to give up being nitya-siddha servant of the Lord in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana and become nitya-baddha by entering the material creation.

Fall down of the individual jiva-souls to the material creation means their status as nitya-siddhas changes to being nitya-baddha.  

Therefore, by choosing to enter the material creation, those jiva-souls are no longer nitya-siddha, they are now known as nitya-baddha.

Nitya-baddha means the jiva-soul has rejected Krsna. 

Only then do they become nitya-baddha after giving up their nitya siddha status.

However, one can again become nitya-siddha by returning back home back to Godhead.

It is a nonsense belief that nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha (the jiva-souls) were created as two separate categories of jiva-souls.

The nonsense belief there are two separate classes of jiva-souls is impersonalism because ALL jiva-souls are originally nitya-siddha.

Even though we are now nitya-baddha (in the material creation) we are actually nitya-siddha in our original position with Krsna or Visnu because that is our eternal nature as a marginal living entity, we just have to again realize it.

Srila Prabhupada explains-

Srila Prabhupada - "In the broader sense everyone comes from Krsnaloka. When one forgets Krsna he is conditioned (nitya-baddha), when one remembers Krsna he is liberated (nitya-siddha)." (Letter to Mukunda, June 10, 1969)

Srila Prabhupada - "There are two kinds of marginal living entities: nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha. The actual constitutional position of every marginal living entity is nitya-siddha. By following the rules and regulations and instructions of the spiritual master, he can become again nitya-siddha. So the Krsna consciousness movement is to make the nitya-baddhas AGAIN nitya-siddha." (New York Lecture on Caitanya Caritamrta, July 13, 1976)

Srila Prabhupada - "Nitya-baddhas are within this material world. Beginning from Brahma down to a small ant, insignificant ant, they are all nitya-baddha. Anyone who is in this material world they are nitya-baddha." (Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita 13-14, July 14, 1973)

Srila Prabhupada - "By following the rules and regulations and instructions of the spiritual master, he can also become siddha. He can become again nitya-siddha. So the Krsna consciousness movement is to make the nitya-baddhas AGAIN nitya-siddha, it is a difficult task." (London lecture on Bhagavad-Gita 13-14, July 14, 1973)

The original form of the marginal living entities or jiva-souls is not some nonsense impersonal spark in Krsna's effulgence (impersonal Brahmajyoti)

The jiva-souls are originally a two armed bodily (vigraha) form like Krsnas Prabhupada has explained to us.

Devotee – "Is the original body of the spirit soul a human form?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Yes, human form. God is also human form. Man is made after the shape of God. I think there is in the Bible. Is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs."

Hari-sauri – "How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?"

Srila Prabhupada – "[describing material form first]: Yes. They are more covered. Just like if you cover your body with blanket, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul."

Hari-sauri - "They are covered in the spiritual world?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Not in the spiritual world. There that is voluntary. Some devotees want to serve Krsna as flower; so they become flower there. If I want that, to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna, then he becomes flower, voluntarily, and he can change from flower to human body. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. If some devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, he serves Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. It is inconceivable, yet a fact." (SB 6.1.1-4 Melb, May 20, 1975)

Krsna never interferes with the jiva-soul's free will, even when they choose to reject Him.

Srila Prabhupada – "So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, or one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that is not independence, that is force." (Los Angeles, June 23, 1975)

Srila Prabhupada - "Free will means that you can act wrongly. That is free will. Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I act only one sided, that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly, that means free will."

Hayagriva - "A man may know better but still act wrongly."

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, but that is free will. He misuses his. Just like a thief, he knows that his stealing, it is bad, but still he does it. That is free will. He cannot check his greediness, so in spite of his knowing that he is doing wrong thing—he will be punished, he knows; he has seen another thief, he was punished, he was put into prison— everything he knows, but still he steals. Why? Misuse of free will. Unless there is misuse of free will, there is no question of free will." (Philosophy Discussions between Prabhupada and Rene Descartes)

Srila Prabhupada - "We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago." (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on August 6, 1973)

Srila Prabhupada - ''These spirit souls and all spirit souls are coming from Vaikuntha." (Letter to Jagadisa das, 1970)

However, sadly there are foolish sangas (religious groups) and their nonsense ignorant preachers including gurus and sannyasis polluted with Impersonalism who cannot understand the above comments.

The full potential and highest understanding of the jiva-souls are-

1 - Sat - eternity 

2 - Chit - knowledge 

3 - Ananda - bliss

4 - Vigraha - bodily form

Maha-Visnu in His material creation lays down in the causal ocean or the Karanodak, He then impregnate seeds of this material creation into Mahā-māyā by glancing at her.

All jiva-souls resting in the Body of Maha-Visnu have originally come from Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana, Maha-Visnu does not create any jiva-souls.

The fact like Maha-Visnu, the jiva-souls were never created, they have always existed as Bhagavad Gita teaches 

Mahā-māyā remains the ever obedient material energy of the Supreme Lord.

Maha-Visnu creates all the material elements -

1 - Sky,

2 - Fire,

3 - Water,

0

4 - Air,

5 - Earth,

These material elements are created along with -

6 - Mind,

7 - Intelligence,

8 - False ego.

After this, Maha-Visnu enters each of the larger universes known as a Brahmandas, that originate from the pores of His Body, as Garbhodaksayi Visnu, who lays down deep inside each surrounding Brahmanda  universe, in a secondary smaller universe within it.

Garbhodakasayi Visnu is an expansion of Maha-Visnu, there are billions of Garbhodakashayi Visnus and Lord Brahmas but only one Maha-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Visnu).

All jiva-souls (marginal living entities) are individual independent living entities who can choose to enter this material creation, to the smaller material universe that exists with all its 14 planetary systems in the stem growing from the navel of Garbhodakasayi Visnu who are all encased deep inside the surrounding Brahmanda universe.

From Garbhodaksayi Visnu emerges Brahma who is the secondary creator within His secondary universe that is deep inside the outer surrounding Brahmanda universe.

Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu is an expansion of Mahā-Visnu.

In Gaudīya Vaisnavism the Sātvata-tantra describes three different forms of Visnu as:

1 - Mahā-Visnu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Visnu)

2 - Garbhodakaśāyī Visnu (Hiraņyagarbha)

3 - Ksirodakaśāyī Visnu (Paramātmā).

Srila Prabhupada - ''The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakṛti, or the energy of the Lord in His different puruṣa incarnations (expansions) as described in the Sātvata-tantra:

viṣṇos tu trīṇi rūpāṇi

puruṣākhyāny atho viduḥ

ekaṁ tu mahataḥ sraṣṭṛ

dvitīyaṁ tv aṇḍa-saṁsthitam

tṛtīyaṁ sarva-bhūta-sthaṁ

tāni jñātvā vimucyate

"For material creation, Lord Kṛṣṇa's plenary expansion assumes three Viṣṇus. 

1 - The first one, Mahā-Viṣṇu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva. 

2 - The second, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. 

3 - The third, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramātmā. He is present even within the atoms. 

Anyone who knows these three Viṣṇus can be liberated from material entanglement." (Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 7.4 Text 4 Purport)

Each Visnu-tattva form has a different role in the maintenance of the universe and its inhabitants.

1 - For material creation, Lord Krsna’s plenary expansion assumes three Visnus. The first, Mahā Viṣṇu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva and all the Brahmanda universe as seen in painting below.

2 - The second, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, enters deep inside of each of these massive Brahmanda  universes, reaching its center, and then creates a secondary inner universe with all its diversities.

3 - The third, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading super soul in all the universes; in the heart of every living being, is known as Paramātmā. He is present even within the atoms.

The real objective of meditation in Yoga is attain service to Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.

Garbhodhakaśāyī Visnu is also realized as the form of Pradyumna within the material universe who the father of Brahmā who appeared from His navel and hence Garbhodakashayi Visnu is also called Hiraņyagarbha.

There are billions of Brahmanda universes all originating from the Body of Maha-Visnu. 

Inside each Brahmanda universe, is a secondary smaller universe where Garbhodakashayi Visnu, Lord Brahma and all the different Planetary Systems are found. 

This inner material universe, is surrounded and encased by the outer Brahmanda universe's 7 or 8 massive material layers.

These are the names of the 14 material planetary Systems below in photo, just in our single material universe which is situated deep within our surrounding massive Brahmanda.

There are billions of these Brahmanda universes, all coming from the Body of Maha-Visnu as seen in painting below.

Each Brahmanda has their own "secondary inner material universe" deep inside their surrounding Brahmanda universe.

And each inner  secondary universe has their own Planetary System, that are all in different sizes, ours has 14 different Planetary Systems.

This means there are billions of Garbhodakashayi Visnus, billions of Lord Brahmas, billions of Lord Sivas, billions of Indrus, billions of all the demigods in each universe deep inside their outer Brahmanda greater universe, but only one Maha-Visnu, as seen in painting below.*.*.*.