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Origin and meaning:
The word sudarshan chakra is derived from two words, ‘su’ and ‘darshan‘.
It means the vision (darshan) of which is auspicious (su). The word
chakra is derived from ‘chruhu’, which means movement
and ‘kruhu’, which means to do. Thus, chakra means that
which is mobile. Of all divine weapons, this is the only one which
is constantly in motion.
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Creation and history:
There are various schools of thought regarding the
creation of the discus, as given below.
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It was created by the combined energy of Brahma, Vishnu
and Mahesh.
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Bruhaspati, the Guru of the deities, gave the discus
to Lord Vishnu.
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Sri Krishna procured it from the deities (devatamandal).
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Sri Krishna and Arjun assisted the fire deity (Agnidev)
in burning the Khandav forest. In return He presented Krishna with
a discus and a koumodaki mace.
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Female deities like Narayani, Vaishnodevi, etc., also
wield discuses in Their hands.
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Krishna usually holds the discus on His little finger
while Vishnu on His index finger. However, when aiming it at something,
Krishna, too, would do so with His index finger.
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After its release, the enemy is annihilated and it
returns to the attacker.
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Even after releasing it, it remains within the control
of the attacker.
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It travels along the path of zero stress nature and
can reach anywhere within a moment. Refer to ‘Destiny and
the Supreme Soul’ section of the Sanatan Organization’s
publication, ‘Science
of Spirituality: Vol. 7 - Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities '.
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When an obstruction is posed by the enemy, the speed
of the discus is augmented. This is called the rhansa speed.
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It is soundless.
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‘It is said that the discus has six spokes and
its center is composed of vajra (an unbreakable material). It is
believed that the words, “Sahasrat hum phat” are inscribed
on each of the spokes.’
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A novel description of the discus has been made in
the Vaman Puran (82.23-26). Mr. Vasudevsharan Agraval expresses
it as: ‘The discus has been described as the discus of time
(kalachakra). It consists of twelve spokes (Dvadashar, Rugveda 1.164.11)
and six navels. The twelve spokes represent the twelve months of
the Hindu lunar calendar and also the twelve deities (Vij, Agni,
Som, Mitra, Varun, Indra, Indragni, Vayu, Vishvadev, Prajapati,
Dhanvantari, etc.). The six navels represent the six seasons.’
- Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh.
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Parts of the discus and their implied meaning:
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The middle stable part: It is named bhruvi (equality),
bhag (radiance), nirdesh (speed) and sampada (endowed with the nectar
of nutrition).
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The spokes: It has twenty-seven spokes charged with
the runa energy of the twenty-seven feminine principles created
from Prajapati. These spokes contain the yoginipanchak, that is
the basic components of the five cosmic elements. The energy in
all feminine principles is beyond the restrictions of direction
and time.
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Parigh (periphery): This is constituted by the eight
masculine principles.
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Shape of the discus: It is so tiny that it can be kept
on the tip of a leaf of the tulsi (sacred basil, occimum sanctum)
plant. At the same time it is so vast that it can encompass the
entire universe.
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When Lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan mountain for
support He held the discus below it.
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Lord Krishna used it to slay Shishupal.
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It was used to create an artificial sunset so that
Jayadrath could be annihilated. However, Lord Krishna did not use
it in the Bharatiya war (battle of Mahabharata) or in any other
battle to slay anyone.
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When Arjun said that Lord Maruti. would not be able
to break his bridge of arrows, although Lord Maruti jumped on the
bridge, it did not break. This was because, to help His friend Arjun,
Lord Krishna had supported the bridge by placing His discus below
it.
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When Lord Vishnu was enraged with Sage Durvas for needlessly
placing a curse on His beloved devotee King Ambarish, He flung the
discus onto the Sage. The petrified Sage ran to the deities, but
no one could rescue Him from the discus. Finally when He went to
Lord Vishnu, The Lord asked Him to beg the king for forgiveness.
When the Sage complied, Lord Vishnu withdrew His discus.
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It is quoted in a Holy text of the Nath sect that once
Gorakshanath had stopped the discus.
Statue of Sri Krishna with the Sudarshan Chakra:
‘The statue of Sri Krishna sporting
the discus is fearsome. It has sixteen arms adorned with the discus,
a conch, a bow, an arrow, an axe, a sword, a pike, a noose, a goad,
fire, a horn of a rhinoceros, a shield, a plough, a pestle, a mace
and a spear as weapons. In some places it is customary to consider
the statue sporting a discus as that of Lord Vishnu’s.’
- Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh. |
