Post No. 15,097
Date uploaded in London – 17 October 2025
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
இந்தக் கட்டுரை நாளைகுத் தமிழில் வரும்
Sudarsana Chakram is one of the main symbols of vaishnavas- Vishnu devotees. Vaishnava worship it separately in Vishnu temples under the name chakra perumal. It is in a separate shrine inside the temple.
Silpasara book describes Sudarsana to be brilliant as fire with sixteen arms holding thw weapons conch, discuss, bow, axe ,sword, arrow, trident,noose, goad, lotus, thunderbolt, plough, pestle, club and spear.
The figure has protruding teeth, fiery hair and three eyes . it is fully decorated and stands in front of a shatkona or hexagon. Dancing thus amidst flames of the discuss, the Sudarsana is supposed to kill all enemies. sometimes the image may be represented with four or eight arms holding the discuss in all of them.
At Tirupati the Sudarsana has sixteen arms but instead of hexagon an equilateral triangle is at the back. Within that a seated Narasimha is in Yogasana posture with flames of fire proceeding from his crown. This form of Narasimha is popularly known as Jvaalaa Narasimha.
The famous Chakrapani temple at Kumbakonam is dedicated to the discus Sudarsana of Vishnu.
The Sudarshana Chakra (Sanskrit: सुदर्शनचक्र, Sudarśanacakra) is a divine discus, attributed to the god Vishnu in the Hindu scriptures. The Sudarshana Chakra is generally portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu. In the Rigveda, the Sudarshana Chakra is stated to be Vishnu’s symbol as the wheel of time according to one scholar.
IN THE EPICS
The Ramayana states that the Sudarshana Chakra was created by the divine architect, Vishvakarma. Vishnu slays a danava named Hayagriva on top of a mountain named Chakravana, seizing the discus from him.
In Mahabharata we find it in the hands of Krishna.
He beheads Shishupala with the Sudarshana Chakra at the Rajasuya yajna of Emperor Yudhishthira. He also employs it during the fourteenth day of the Kurukshetra War to obscure the sun. The Kauravas are deceived, allowing Arjuna to slay Jayadratha, avenging the death of his son. Vishnu used it to kill the crocodile which caught the leg of Gajendra. It is in the story of Gajendra Moksha sculpted from Gupta days.
Ahirbudhnya Samhita, Vishnu emanated in 39 different forms.[10] The Samhita is characteristic for its concept of Sudarshana. It provides mantras for Sudarshana, and details the method of worship of the multi-armed Sudarshana.
The Puranas also state the Sudarshana Chakra was made by Vishvakarma, featuring a legend regarding its origin: Vishvakarma’s daughter, Sanjña, was married to the sun god, Surya. However, due to her consort’s blazing light and heat, she could not approach him. When she informed her father regarding this, Vishvakarma diminished the brilliance of the sun so that his daughter could be with him. From the splendour of the Sun, Vishvakarma produced three divine objects: the aerial vehicle Pushpaka Vimana, the Trishula of Shiva, and the Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu.
IN HISTORY
A Vrishni silver coin from Alexander Cunningham’s Coins of Ancient India: From the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century (1891)
The chakra is found in the coins of many tribes with the word gana and the name of the tribe inscribed on them.
Vrishni copper coins dated to later time were found in Punjab. Another example of coins inscribed with the chakra are the Taxila coins of the 2nd century BCE with a sixteen-spoked wheel.
A coin dated to 180 BCE, with an image of Vasudeva-Krishna, was found in the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai-Khanoum in the Kunduz area of Afghanistan, minted by Agathocles of Bactria.[18][19] In Nepal, Jaya Cakravartindra Malla of Kathmandu issued a coin with the chakra.
The Chakra Purusha in Pancharatra texts has either four, six, eight, sixteen, or thirty-two hands
The Chakra Purusha in Pancharatra texts has either four, six, eight, sixteen, or thirty-two hands.
***
The Sudarshana Homam is performed by invoking Sudarshana along with his consort Vijayavalli into the sacrificial fire. This homam is very popular in South India.
***
IN TEMPLES
Though Chakraperumal or Chakratalvar shrines (sannidhis) are found inside Vishnu’s temples, there are very few temples dedicated to Chakraperumal alone as the main deity (moolavar):
Sri Sudarshana Bhagavan Temple, Nagamangala
Chakrapani Temple, Kumbakonam – located on the banks of the Chakra Bathing Ghat of the Kaveri river. Here, the god is Chakra Rājan and his consort is Vijayavalli.
Jagannath Temple, Puri, where Jagannath (a form of Vishnu-Krishna), Subhadra, Balabhadra and Sudarshana are the main deities.
The temple of Chakraperumal in Gingee on the banks of Varahanadi is now defunct
***
form of Shatrughna
In Kerala, Sudharsana Chakra is worshiped both directly and in the form of Shatrughna, one of four sons of King Dasharatha, and brother to Lord Rama, considered an avatar of Sudharsana Moorthy.
Alathiyur Pavelikkara Narayanathu Kavu Sudarshana Temple, Triprangode, Malappuram. A rare sudarshana temple complex in Kerala dedicated to Lord Sudarshana. Along with the main deity, Badrakali, Shastha and naga are worshipped here. The temple is also the paradevatha of mangalassery.
Thuravoor Sree Narasimha Moorthy Temple, Alappuzha- One of the rare temple complexes in Kerala, where two sanctum sanctorums are situated within a single Nalambalam (temple structure), one of the sanctums in dedicated to Lord Narasimha and the other to Maha Sudarsana Moorthy. The Sudarsana Moorthy Temple is believed to be 1300 years old.
Sreevallabha Temple, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta – One of the oldest and largest temples in Kerala and one of the 108 Divya Desams, Sudharsana Moorthy is worshipped along with Sreevallabha in this temple. The temple for Sudarshana Chakra was built by Sreedevi Antherjanam of Sankramangalathu Illam, and was rebuilt by Queen Cherumthevi in 59 BC.
Thrichakrapuram Temple, Puthanchira- The main deity is Sudharsana Moorthy.
Ayyarvattom Sree Maha Sudharshana Temple, Eravannur, Kozhikode
Pallikkara Sri Mahavishnu Sudharsana Temple, Kozhikode
Payammal Sree Shatrughna Swami Temple, Thrissur
Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple, Kottayam
Nedungaattu Sree Shatrugna Swami Temple(Mammalassery), Ernakulam
Naranathu Shatrughna Swami Temple, Malappuram
Payam Sri Mahavishu (Shatrughna) Temple, Kannur
Sree Shatrughna Swami Temple, Kalkulam, Kuthannur, Palakkad
The Chakraperumal shrine inside the Simhachalam Temple is home to the rare 16-armed form.
Other temples with shrines to Sudarshana Chakra are Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, Thiruevvul; Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna; Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal temple, Madurai; and Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram.
—subham—
Tags- Vishnu, discus, Sudarsana, Chakra, weapon, temples for Sudharsana, Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம்-16
Tamil and Vedas 