Sudarshana Perumal, or Chakrathalwar, the divine discus of Sri Vishnu is a sacred element in the Ayudha Puja (worship of weapons) in Vaishnava shrines of South India.
In the Ahirbudhanya Samhita, a text of the Vaishnava Tantric Pancharatra sect, the discus of Vishnu is evoked as a powerful multi-armed Sudarshana Purusha, which has to be worshiped with elaborate rituals.
This Panchaloha icon placed on a two-tiered lotus pedestal, depicts the mighty Sudarshana in a fiery aura, with jutting teeth and weapons in his arms- all elements’ attributes of guardian deities, who are fierce and potent.
That he is Lord Vishnu himself is marked by the Vaishnava U-shaped tilaka, Makarakrita Kundala (Makara-shaped earrings), and Srivatsa (triangular motif, symbol of Devi Lakshmi).
On the reverse of the bronze image is Yoga Narasimha, seated in a yogic pose with the characteristic belt around his legs and holding the Sudarshana Chakra in his hands, highlighting it as the primary divine weapon in the composition. He sits on the hoods of Adishesha, a representation of time and all that is beyond time, as a depiction of Yoga-Narasimha’s incomprehensible powers.
The pentagonal shape behind Chakrathalwar and Yoga-Narasimha is a Tantric sign of the balance of male and female energies. Imbued with primal and profound symbolism, this bronze icon is the most powerful emblem of the powers of Vishnu, the great preserver of the cosmos.
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