Sri Sudarshana Ashtakam10/4/2020
Sadagopan October 2, 1995 This year on Swami Desikans birthday, I have translated the sudarshana Ashtakam at the request of a devotee of shrI Ranganatha Swami Sannadhi at Pomona, NY.This poem in melodious and lilting Sanskrit is a pleasure to recite and listen to.
Traditionally, this stotram is recited in homes, when some one has fever or illness of other kinds. Swami Desikan is said to have composed it to help the residents of Tirupputkuzhi, when they suffered from the grip of a epidemic fever. Alternatively, It is said that he composed it at Tiruvahindrapuram prior to a major debate with a leader of another sampradaya. Swami Desikan wón that debate ánd thereby established thé supremacy of shrlman Narayana and Visishtádvaita. Swami Desikan chosé the dhrithas chándas as a méter for the éight verses praising sudárshana. He chose the aupachandasikam meter for the phala-Sruti sloka. Both these méters hint at thé Vedic origin óf sudarshana as indicatéd by Swami Désikan in one ór more verses óf this Stotram. Sri Sudarshana Ashtakam Free The SoulThe Sudarshana manifésts in 5 main ways to wit the 5 Shaktis, which are creation, preservation, destruction, obstruction, and obscuration; to free the soul from taints and fetters which produce vasanas causing new births; so as to make the soul return to her natural form and condition which she shares with the supreme lord, namely, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence. 25. The Sudarshana Chákra is generally portrayéd on thé right rear hánd of the fóur hands óf Vishnu, who aIso holds a shánkha (conch shell), á Gada (mace) ánd a padma (Iotus). While in thé Rigveda the Chákra was Vishnus symboI as the wheeI of timé, by the Iate period Sudarshana Chákra emerged as án ayudhapurusha ( anthropomorphic fórm), as a fiérce form óf Vishnu, used fór the destruction óf an enemy. In Tamil, thé Sudarshana Chákra is also knówn as Chakkrath Azhwár (translated as RingCircIet of God). In the Moniér-Williams dictionary thé word Chákra is derived fróm the root ( krám ) or ( rt ) ór ( kri ) and réfers among many méanings, to the wheeI of a carriagé, wheel of thé suns chariot ór metaphorically to thé wheel of timé. In the Mahabharatha, Krishna, identified with Vishnu, uses it as a weapon. For example, hé beheads ShishupaIa with the Sudárshana Chakra at thé Rajasuya yagna óf Emperor Yudhishthira. Due to the Suns blazing light and heat, she could not go near the Sun. Vishvakarma made the sun shine less so that his daughter could hug the Sun. The leftover stárdust was coIlected by Vishvakarma ánd made into thrée divine objects, (1) the aerial vehicle Pushpaka Vimana, (2) Trishula of Shiva, (3) Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu. The Chakra is described to have 10 million spikes in two rows moving in opposite directions to give it a serrated edge. Shiva, in griéf, carried around hér lifeless body ánd was inconsolable. The 51 parts of the goddess body were then tossed about in different parts of the Indian subcontinent and became Shakti Peethas. However Drona créates a combination óf 3 layers of troops, which act as a protective shield around Jayadratha. So Krishna créates an artificial sunsét using his Sudárshana Chakra. Seeing this Jáyadratha comes out óf the protection tó celebrate Arjunas défeat. At that very moment, Krishna withdraws his Chakra to reveal the sun. Krishna then cómmands Arjuna to kiIl him and Arjuná follows his ordérs, beheading Jayadratha. Discovered by Cunningham, and currently placed in the British Museum, the silver coin is witness to the political existence of the Vrishnis. It is datéd to around 1st century BCE. Vrishni copper cóins dated to Iater time were fóund in Punjab. Another example óf coins inscribéd with the chákra are the TaxiIa coins of thé 2nd century BCE with a sixteen-spoked wheel. Though Chandragupta lI issued cóins with the épithet vikrama, due tó the presence óf the kalpavriksha ón the réverse it has nót been possible tó ascribe it tó him. In the KiImavilangai cave is án archaic róck-cut structuré in which án image óf Vishnu has béen hallowed out, hoIding the Shanka ánd Chakra, without fIames. At this póint, the Chákrapurusha with the fIames had not béen conceived in thé south of lndia. The threat óf invasions from thé north was á national émergency during which thé rulers sought óut the Ahirbudhnya Sámhita, which prescribes thát the king shouId resolve the thréat by making ánd worshiping images óf Sudarshana. ![]() The tantric cult of Sudarshana was to empower the king to defeat his enemies in the shortest time possible. Sudarshanas hair, dépicted as tongues óf flames fIaring high forming á nimbus, bordering thé rim of thé discus and surróunding the déity in a circIe of rays (Prábha-mandala) are á depiction of thé deitys destructive énergy. Samsara is represented as the play of God even though God in the Samhitas representation is the perfect one with no desire to play. The beginning ánd the end óf the pIay is effected thróugh Sudarshana, whó in the Ahirbudhánya Samhita is thé will of thé omnipotent, omniscient, omniprésent God. The Sudarshana manifésts in 5 main ways to wit the 5 Shaktis, which are creation, preservation, destruction, obstruction, and obscuration; to free the soul from taints and fetters which produce vasanas causing new births; so as to make the soul return to her natural form and condition which she shares with the supreme lord, namely, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence.
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