Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Sri Sudarshana Jayanthi (26-Jun-2015) - Rare Sudarshana Stotram From Skanda Purana

Courtesy:Sri.K.Muralidharan Iyengar

Dear All,

Greetings and Namaste. As Sri Sudarshana Jayanthi falls on 26-Jun-2015 (Friday) (and on 26-July-2015 according to some other traditions), I am happy to share a short and sweet hymn on Lord Sudarshana by a Gandharva called Durdama, taken from Skanda Purana, Brahma Khanda, Setu Mahatmya, Chapter 4.

As the last 4 stanzas of the hymn has reference to Chakra Tirtha, the hymn was presumably sung in Thirupullani, an important pilgrimage place near Rameswaram - a place where King Dasharatha was bestowed with divine nectar (Payasam/kheer) to get progeny and where Lord Rama prayed to Samudra Raja atop kusha grass to reach Sri Lanka. The Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple in this place is one of the 108 Divya Desams and a very important site related to Ramayana.

Lord Sudarshana worship is not for the ordinary and one has to maintain certain minimum spiritual hygiene to qualify for this. Lord Sudarshana's grace destroys all misfortunes and there are innumerable anecdotes in this regard. Though every Vishnu Temple is likely to have a Sannadhi for Lord Sudarshana, a few temples are especially famous for Lord Sudarshana - e.g. Sharngapani Temple in Kumbhakonam, Thirumohoor in Madurai, Varadaraja Perumal Temple in Kancheepuram, Srirangam Temple, etc.

As we have seen many times before, Sudarshana Chakra was actually given to Lord Vishnu by Lord Shiva at his request. The reference to this can be seen in many purans - be it Shaivite or Vaishnavite in texture.  Linga Purana as well as Shiva Purana contains the Shiva Sahasranama created by Lord Vishnu for this purpose. But Saura Purana gives a different hymn. There is also an opinion that Sudarshana Chakra is another form of Lord Bhairava - Chakra Bhairava. The Shaivite/Vaishnavite rivalry we see in greater Tamil Nadu of the medieval times is never to be seen in any purans and therefore must be a later day corruption - a politically motivated irrational exuberance (aka nonsense! ) .

May We seek the Blessings of Lord Sudarshana on Sudarshana Jayanthi!

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