Sudarshana Chakra - 20 Interesting Facts

Sudarshana Chakra is one of the weapons carried by Lord Vishnu. He is also personified as a god called Lord Sudarshanar or Chakrathazhwar.

Here are 20 interesting facts about Sudarshanar:

1. He was born under the star, Chithirai. Sudarshana Jayanthi, the birthday of Sudarshanar, is celebrated in Sravana (July-August) month on this star day.
2. Worshipping Sudarshanar this month will ensure peace of mind and prosperity.
3. Chithirai is also the star of Lord Rama.
4. Devotees perform a special Pooja -  Nava kalasa snapana - and later Sita Rama Kalyanam to invoke his blessings. Sudarshana draws power from Lord Vishnu to destroy all evil forces and negativity.
5. Sudarshana Homam and other homams are performed during auspicious family functions, religious functions, or when launching a new business.  
6. Sudarshana Homam protects one from evil eyes and evil forces. Sudarshanar always protects the devotees of Vishnu.  
7. As per Hindu mythology, at Chakra Theertham, Kumbakonam, Brahma conducted a yagam to invoke Vishnu. The Chakra appeared from Patal Lok. Vishnu gave darshan to Brahma in the center of the resplendent chakra. Hence, Vishnu is revered as Chakrapani in the Chakrapani temple here. It is one of the major Divayadesam shrines.
8. It is mandatory to worship Chakrathazwar at all Perumal temples. Devotees are likely to miss Narasimha Perumal behind his idol. But they can see Narashimha’s image on the back of Chakratazhwar if they go round the sanctum.
9. Going around the sanctum in that Sannidhi clockwise and worshipping both Sudarshanar (Chakrathazhwar) and Narashimhar is equivalent to worshiping the four Vedas, Ashta Laksmi, the Pancha Boothas (five natural elements) and also the 8 geographical directions.
10. When Vishnu took the form of Narasimha to kill the demon king,  Hiranyakashipu, he used his long nails to tear him apart. Supposedly, Sudarshana turned into the long and sharp nails, indicating that he protects devotees from evil forces.
11. Many Hindus keep Saligrama stones in their Pooja room because Sudarshana supposedly resides in them with all his powers.
12. Once, Vishnu came to Earth as the dwarf (Vamana) to rid King Mahabali of his arrogance. Vamana sought three strides of land from the king. Sukracharya, the Guru of the demons, warned Mahabali. He said that Vamana was actually Vishnu. But Mahabali ignored it and took his kamandala to pour theertha, signifying that he would grant the wish. Sukracharya turned into a small beetle and closed the hole in the spout to prevent this. Vamana took a piece of Darbha grass and unplugged the hole. Due to this, Sukracharya lost one of his eyes. Supposedly, the darbha grass was Sudarshana.
13. Chakrathazhwar has a separate shrine in the Ranganathar temple, Srirangam, Varadaraja Perumal temple, Kanchi, Azhgar temple near Madurai, Kalameha Perumal temple, Thirumozhur, etc. He also has a small Sannidhi at the Sri Rama temple at Mariammankovil near Thanjavur. (The large Moolavar images are made from Saligrama stone, a gift from the Nepal Maharajah to the Maratha king at Thanjavur.
14. Other temples for Sri Sudarshana Chakra are: Thuravur (Alappuzha, Kerala) Narasimha temple, which has two sanctums. Both Narasimha and Sudarshana are the major deities here. At Sreevallabha temple, Thiruvalla, Sudarshana is worshipped with Sreevallabha (Vishnu) in the sanctum. Another temple is the Narayanathu Kavu Sudarshana temple, Triprangode, Kerala. There is a Chakraperumal shrine inside the Simhachalam temple in Andhra, which has the rare 16-armed form. The image with 8 arms is benevolent, and this is the form that is usually found in Vishnu temples. Veeraraghava Swamy temple, Thiruevvul, Ranganathaswamy temple, Srirangapatna, are other temples.
15. Sudarshanar has three eyes and 16 arms. Each arm carries a weapon, and he has Agni as his hair on the head. He represents victory over the dark forces.
16. Sudarsanar Azhwar offers protection from the evil effects of black magic.
17. Worshipping Sudarshanar helps devotees to overcome fear and the evil forces around them. Saturdays and Wednesdays are very auspicious days to worship Sudarshanar.
18. The Sudarshana Chakra is an amazing weapon or discus that has two discs rotating in opposite directions. Each disc has innumerable sharp spikes on its edges. As per the Linga Purana, Lord Shiva gave this weapon to Vishnu.
19. Many Pancharatra texts describe the Sudarshan chakra as Prana, Maya, Kriya, Shakti, Bhava, Unmera, Udyama, and Sankalpa. ,
20. The Sudarshana chakra manifests in 5 ways to outwit the 5 Shaktis. These are creation, preservation, destruction, obstruction, and obscuration. It helps to free the soul from bondage which produces vasanas that cause new births.

The birthday of Lord Sudarshanar is celebrated as Sudarshana Jayanthi. It falls on July 8, 2022.