Rigveda describes it as Lord Vishnu's faithful and sturdy weapon, the wheel of time, the Supreme Luminescence of the Supreme Purusha. The Tantric Philosophy affirms that the usage of the weapon would empower any king to defeat his enemies in the shortest time possible.
The blazing disc according to Matsya Purana was created from the shreds of fire, out of the cosmic sparkle of the Sun-God, by heaven's architect Viswakarma as mentioned in the Vishnu Purana to reduce the unendurable and tormenting heat of the Sun.
According to the Brahma Purana, the gods of heaven with numerous divine and powerful weapons conjointly created the Sudarshana Chakra which could not only demolish demonic forces but was of extensive eminence.
Legends tell us how Rahu was beheaded by the Chakra, during Samudra Manthan, as he had consumed all the churned "Amrita". Lord Shiva's consort Sati's corpse too was cut into 51 pieces by the same Chakra.
Sudarshana Chakra emerged as Lord Sudarshana in His anthropomorphic form and His worship as a quasi-independent godhead was a phenomenon much later. Sometimes He is the two-armed human and sometimes He was with four, six, eight, sixteen or thirty-two hands as depicted in the Pancharatra's The Chakra Purusha. This medieval, multi-armed Sri Sudarshana was abstractly regarded as the manifestation of the destructive forces of the universe. A fierce form of Lord Vishnu with hairs like flashing flames of wild fire, encircling the Divine Being with a Prabha Mandala, was found in Aphsad (Bihar) in 672 CE. Around 6th to 8th century, in Gaya a double-sided idol of Sri Sudarshana was found. It had Narasimha on one hand and a dancing posture within a ring on the other. The unique figure of Him with Varaha was found in Rajgir in 7th century.
While the Shaivites believe Him as the Linga Purusha, who descended on Earth to bless His devotees with divine happiness, the Vaishnavites carry His mark on their bodies as an imprint of their subtle faith. He is the wood-God of the Advasis, the king of all weapons Chakraraj, the primary divinity of the "Chaturdha Murti" in the Jagannath Pantheon. He is revered first for being the Guiding Spirit and the Cosmic Custodian. Markandeya Purana symbolises Him as the Sun-God in the Grand Temple. He is the Nilachakra established at the pinnacle, retaliating all evils.Inside the Garbha Griha, He is seated on the left side of Lord Jagannath as wooden post, lilac red in colour. No doubt He represents several cults and spiritual faiths.
Etymologically the word 'Sudarshana' means "auspicious vision", the conscious weapon that establishes justice among mankind. Pancharatra texts describe the Sudarshana Chakra as 'prana', 'maya', 'kriya', 'shakti', 'bhava', 'udyama' and 'sankalpa'. He is the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Absolute in the Ahirbudhanya Samhita who liberates the soul from rebirth. He is the composite expression of both the Brahma Purusha and the Prakriti. Being the Adya Shakti, God Sudarshana manifests five Shaktis of creation, preservation, destruction, obstruction and obscuration. He/She is the water, the earth, the air, the moon, the sky, the king of all stars. In one word 'Jagnya' in Srimad Bhagabatam.
From 13th century onward, Sri Sudarshana was eulogised in south India through texts, inscriptions and invocations. One such prayer is Sri Sudarshana Ashtakam, composed by Swami Vedanta Desikan in a small town in south India when an epidemic fever broke out. Traditionally this stotram is performed to fortify ourselves with powerful vibrations to fight back illness of any kind.
Nache Bala the dance institute was founded in Kolkata 17 years back with the purpose to explore and preserve Dance.
In the time of Corona, the mothers of Nache Bala would like to humbly present THE HEALING WHEEL, based on this Ashtakam, along with the synthesis of traditional Manipuri instruments-Gong-the 'Sembung', Conch-the 'Moibung' along with Punglon.
Wishing you all Good Health and a positive Life ahead.
