Sudarsana-Narasimhan ArchA Vigrahams

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SrI :

Dear BhakthAs :

This question raised by Sri Bharat Iyengar on the back to back presence of

Sri Narasimha BhagavAn and His Sudarsana Moorthy has come up quite often .

 

Back in 1996 , I had posted an article on the subject . It is attached .

There is also an excellent article by Sri Muralidhar Rangaswamy

on the subject that I would like to invite your attention to .That appeared in

the SaranAgathi Journal . That article is being sent to you seperately .

 

V.Sadagopan

 

Message from Internet

V. Sadagopan (75041.3037_at_CompuServe.COM)Mon Oct 07 1996 - 14:18:06 PDT

 

Sri Rangaswamy was able to extract form hisarchives a note I sent out on Narasimha-Sudarsana connectionlast July , a month after I joined the Bhakthi group .V.Sadagopan

P.S : I will supplement this note with a posting on Sudarsna Kavacham that has additional information on the relationship between Bhagavans Narasimhanand Sudarsanaazhwaan. ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- INTERNET:RANGASWAMY, INTERNET:RANGASWAMYTO: V. Sadagopan, 75041,3037DATE: 10/7/96 10:18 AM12 Jul 95 21:31:04 EDT"V. Sadagopan" <75041.3037"INTERNET:rjm" <rjmChakrataazhwar

 

Sriram: Here are some points on the Back to back iconography of Narasimha andSudarsana . Up to the seventh century AD, the narasimha Icons had two handsonly.Afterthat Period of Pallavas, the Iconography of Narasimha became complexwith his Form having 16 and even 32 hands. The two-in-one icon came into vogueby daring sculptors. Narasimha-Sudarsana and Subrahmanya-Lakshmi Narasimha aretwo such creations. The latter is a very rare one seen in atemple 30 miles otthe Norht of Bangalore and is known as Ghati Subrahmanya. According to theiconographic traditions, Subrahmanya faces east and Natrasimha facesWest. Now , Coming back to Sudarsana -Narasimha vigraha followa the Vighanasa andPancharatra Agama stipulations on Narasimha Iconography. According to VaikanasaAgama, Narasimhan has to be worshipped in 4 Places , namely, below the earth,in pillars, on hills and in Sudarsana. Presence of Narasimha inside theSudarsana wheel is pointed out by Padma Samhita(31 and 257) .Narasimha isconsidered as residing in the heart of Sudarsana.THe Sudarsana disc(wheel )itself is recognized as a form of Vishnu (ie) he being present as Chakra rupi.Thus in worshipping Sudarsana chakra, we not only worship Narasimha , but alsoVishnu in all other forms.The Puranas(Agni, Narada, Vishnu Dharmottara ) also provide some clues in thismatter.Narada purana in particular elaborates on the worship of Narasimha in theUgra form with 16 arms. Narasimha is presented a shaving the lustre of thedeadly fire (Kaalanala). Sudarsana has been recognized as the wheel oftime(Kaala) in Mahabharatha . Sudarsana is also the Maha Jyothi of a MightyJwaala , similar to the one seen around the head of Jwaala Narasimhan, with hisshrine on the upper reaches of the Ahobila Hills. Jwaala Narasimhan is one ofthe Nava Narasimhas and the tradition has it that it is this form of Narasimhan,who destroyed Hiranyakasipu. We have to piece the fact of Jwaala and the timeaspects of that Jwaala , which is represented by Sudharsana, the mighty weaponof the Lord.Some people have also speculated on the Time aspect of the Sudharsana thru itsrevolving motion (dynamics) and the Space aspects of the Form denoted bySankam(Panchajanyam) . Here again the revolving mighty flame associated withSudharsana reminds one of the Kaalagni alluded to earlier. Swami Desikan"sreference in his Shodasaayudha Stotram makes reference to Kaala chakram andJagat chakram (Time and space) being incorporated in the Lord (CHAKRINA:) , whois of the form of the divine disc(CHAKRA RUPASYA)> Verse 2<.Hope this provides some input for additional reflections,Sadagopan