Guest guest Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Lord Vishnu as the Protector of thedevas,human beings by destroying the eversomany rakshasas to establish Dharma had taken several avatars which all know.We know only the famous Dasavatars.Vishnu did all HIS leelas by sleeping on the Adisesha in the milky ocean.He is an embodiment of Maya Shakthy.He possessed many weapons of destruction but only five hv become famous. His Shanku called Panchajanyam, Sharangam the bow,Koumodhaki the mace,Nandhakam the knife and the great Sudharsanam, the disc.These are the five weapons which became famous and adore Him in all the temples mostly.Out of all these the Sudharsana disc has some special importance.The reason is that Lord Vishnu got the same from Lord Siva who by combining His terrible power with fire made the disc and gave to Lord Vishnu for the help Lord Vishnu did earlier. This Disc is famously called by Vaishnavites as Chakrathazhvar.He is always with the Lord Vishnu to help Him eradicate evil forces and to protect good ones.Since the disc has the potentialities of Lord Siva the same is treated as a Deity and hence the name Chakrathazhvar was given by Vishnavites. Chakrathazhvar has great compassion,love towards his devotees and blesses them with Gyana,Wealth,Power.The part palyed by him in the avatars of Vishnu is indescribable.When Vishnu took the avatar of Varaha chakrathazhvar acted as Vishnus great uncouth teeth to destroy the asuras and with the help of that teeth Vishnu was able to bring the world from under the sea.During the avatar of Narasimha azhvar acted as the sharp nails of Vishnu to help to kill Hiranya.During Krishna avatar he helped the Lord to kill Sisubala.In Parasurama avatar he acted as the main weapon of the Lord.During Vamana avatar he stayed on the edge of dharba grass to prevent Sukracharya who took the form of a bee to block the kamandala hole to prevent water from coming from kamandala of King Mahabali to give the offering to the Lord of the promised three feet place.By embedding himself on the edge of the dharba grass azhvar not only enabled the flow of water from the kamandala but also in the process pierced the eyes of Sukracharya.Crowning all these during Rama avatar of Vishnu chakrathazhvar it is said became the brother Bharata of Sri Rama.In this way in all the avatars of Vishnu chakrathazhvar played very crucial role to Lord Vishnu. It is this belief that one can see there is a separate shrine for Chakrathazhvar in almost all the Vaishnavite temples esp. in Tamilnadu.In euology of him there is also a hymn 'Sudharsana Ashtakam' which when recited with devotion wll betow all prosperity,is the belief.In the name of azhvar a Gayatry mantra also came into vogue.The same runs lke this: Om Sri Sudharsanaya Vidmahe Maha Jwalaya Deemahi Tanno Chakra Prajodayat' It is the belief that by reciting this Gayatry also one will get rid of problems from enemies,penury,diseases etc. It will be interesting to note that in Mahabharatha when Arjuna hesitated to kill Bhishma an enraged Krishna jumped from the chariot and immediately the Disc came to His hand and moved towards Bhishma to kill him.Bhishma too said that HEY,Madhava, just to protect the pandavas you hv forgotten even the vow of not taking any weapons during the war and I must be grateful to you,if I lose my life from your hands'.Then on pleadings from Arjuna that he will fight and requested Krishna not to do any harm to Bhishma by flouting the vow and made Krishna cool down.So in effect the Chakra or Disc placed an impotant part in Lord Vishnus avatars and naturally the Vaishnavites who are the devotees of Lord Vishnu worship the disc with great reverence by making the disc as a deity by giving the name of Chakrathazhvar and worship him.The other name of Chakrathazhvar is Sudarsana and it is a common practice to worship even in Kerala by conducting Sudharsana homas,wearing talismans etc for warding of all ill effects.One can also see the plates containing Sudharsana mantra adoring many shops and other places to ward off any ill effects.The Sudharsana mantra is a very powerful mantra which when recited with due devotion will help the reciter in many ways and bring success and remove all ill effects. Hare Krishna, agraman. Check out India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos./rakhi/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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