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               Sriman Naaraayanaya Namaha: 
              Srimathe Ramaanujaya Namaha:
          Srimathe Vedaantha Desikaaya Namaha:

Here is the second version of my humble composition
to find answers to a splendid question about the 
equality of Sri BhagavAn and Sri SudarSana.

Also it is worth learning about the Vedic references 
to BhagavAn and Sri SudarSana because we have 
celebrated the SrAvanam recently and should be 
embarking on Vedic studies.

Sri SudarSana is normally said to carry 
shodasAutham ( sixteen Ayuthams ) including the cakra 
and conch of the Lord. Sri SudarSana is the most supreme 
among the visible forms of the Lord and is considered 
almost equal to the Lord himself as we graduate 
into the supreme realization of Him.

Sri SudarSana's fame is extoled in satapada 
brAhmanam of Shukla yajur vedam. Numerous references 
to Sri SudarSana are found also in Krishna Yajur 
vedam and Atharva vedam. For scientific minds, we can 
say that Sri SudarSana is the all-pervasive visible 
star power of the universe. Also let us keep in mind that 
the Lord is the indwelling invisible force who rules 
the cit and acit as the material and efficient cause.

We have to look at Sri SudarSana from various angles 
to understand the concept.  Before we look at Vedic 
references, let us go to our favorite source, Sri 
Desika.  His words would amplify the meaning of the 
Vedic utterances.
 
Sri Desika would say in Sri SudarSanAshtakam verse 2 
that Sri SudarSana is extolled in satapada 
brAhmanam:

Subha jagathrUpa maNDana sura gana trAsa kandana
Sadamaga brahma vandita **Satapada brahma nandita**
prathita vidvat sapakshita bajadahirbutnya lakshita
jaya jaya srI sudarSana jaya jaya srI sudarSana
 
In verse 3 he would extol His brightness as that of 
agni and sUrya and lightning(Neela Devi).
`sppuTa taTijjAla pinjara pruthutara jwAla panjara'
and compare Sri SudarSana's divya vigraham to 
that of the divya thiruMEni of BhagavAn:
`parigata pratna vigraha.'

In verse 4 Sri Desika would extol Sri SudarSana's 
established reputation in Vedas by saying
`nigama nirvUTha vaibhava.'

In verse 7 Sri Desika would also mention He is the 
antharyami of all tatvams, cit and acit included, by 
saying `sakala tattva pratishTita'.

In verse 8 Sri Desikaa refers to Sri SudarSana as 
`trayImaya', indicating that He is the three-Veda 
swarUpi. We normally refer to the Lord himself as the 
Veda swarUpi. Thus the equality of Sri SudarSana and 
the Lord is evident.

Also in verse 8, Sri Desika would equate Sri SudarSana 
with three forms of agni by saying `savana tejas 
trayImaya'. 

Thus we can identify various Vedic elements in Sri 
SudarSana and the Bhagvan himself. Why? Because Sri 
SudarSana is the visible form of the BhagavAn.

Further Sri Desika would equate Sri SudarSana with 
the time element as follows in Sri ShodasAyutha 
stothram verse 2:

yatAyattam jagach cakram kAla cakram ca SaaSvatam
pAtu vastat param cakram cakra rUpasya cakriNa:

The Lord as Sri SudarSana is indicated by the phrase 
`tat cakra rUpasya cakriNa:'. The reference to time 
is in the phrase `kAla cakram'. Here time is 
considered to be contained or subservient to Sri 
SudarSana.

The Lord as the creator of time is spelled out in a 
manthram in Maha Narayanopanishd 1.2.3.

sarve nimeshA janjire vidyuta: purushAdadhi|
kalA muhUrtA: kAshTAccAhOrAtrAshca sarvaSa:

That the Lord is not seen mentioned in manthram 1.3.1:

na sandruSe tishTati rUpamasya na cakshushA paSyati 
kaccanainam|

However He manifests as Sri SudarSana and Adityas and 
all other rUpas by His will. Sri SudarSana rUpam is 
the most powerful of the visible forms of the Lord. 
How did the Lord become Sri SudarsanA?  By his will 
and through the grand Havis ? `yath purushena havishA 
devA yagyama danvata' as indicated by the Purusha suktham.

Sri SudarSanA is in general praised as the Veda, kAla, 
jyoti swarUpi that we all can see.  The Lord seems to 
have willed that he should somehow make himself visible 
out of mercy for all of us, especially for those 
(even gopas) least capable of perceiving him:

`utainam gopA adruSannadruSannuda hArya: 
utainam viSwA bhUtAni sa drushTo mrudayAtina:'

The chAndogya upanishat would preach Sri SudarSana or 
Aditya upasanA and it is known as madhu vidyA. First 
Aditya or SudarSana is shown as madhu. Then there is 
even more of a madhu, and it is the Lord. 

First the chAndogya upanishat 3.1.1 would say 

Om asau va Adityo devamadhu.

Gradually it would elevate the concept and in section 
3.7 it would declare 

asmin anta: purushe jyothi.

The nArAyana suktham also mentions the Lord as 
a brilliant object, a form with jyoti tejas:

nArAyana parojyothirAtma nArAyana para:
 
Thus the visible iridescent form of the Lord, Sri 
SudarSana, is a worthy object of worship.

Sri SudarsanA as koti sUrya Aditya is praised in the 
upanishats and puranas.
 
Aditya maNdala brahmopAsanam in MahA NaarAyana 
upanishat 14 mentions the Lord resides in the Aditya 
maNdalam and also resides as Veda swarUpi in it.

AdityO vA esha etanmaNdalam tapati tatra tA rucas 
tat rucA maNdalam ...
... trayyeva vidyA tpati ya eshoantarAditye 
hiraNmagum purusha:
  
Sri SudarSana is praised as sUrya nArAyanA and the 
Lord as Adi nArAyanA in tripAd vibhUti mahA 
nArAyanopanishat 1.5:

sudarSana divyatEjo (a)ntargata: sudarSana purusho 
yathA sUrya maNdalAntargata: sUrya nArAyano (a)mita 
aparicchinAdvaita paramAnanda lakshaNa 
thejorASyantargata Adi nArAyanastatha sandruSyate.

Its meaning is as follows: in the same way as Sri 
SudarsanA resides with his Sudarsana divya tejas as 
sUrya nArAyana in (koti) sUrya mandalam, Adi 
nArAyanan resides in Vaikuntam exhibiting limitless 
inseparable brilliance and happiness.

Sri Krishna and Sri SudarSana are equated in another 
manthram uttered in the same breath in this 
upanishat:

Om namo bhagavathe rukminI vallabAya swAhA om namo 
bhagavate mahA sudarSanAya hoom phat.

This is referred to as Sri Krishna SudarSana 
shoDaSAkshara manthram.

The dvaya manthram of the Srivaishnava sampradAyam is 
also found in this upanishat.

The SudarsAna yanthram as the archa yanthram of the 
Lord is praised in this upanishad and the manthras 
are outlined in the form of Guru-Sishya samvadam.

The moola manthram in Sudarsana homam praises the 
same equality we are discussing here:

om asya sri sudarSana mahA mantrasya 
ahirputhniyOrishi: anushtup canda: sri sudarSana 
mahA vishnur devata: 
?
om klIm krishnAya govindAya gopi jana vallabAya 
parAya paramapurushAya paramathmane parakarma manthra 
yanthra tantra owshada astra sastrAni samhara mrtyor 
mOcayamOcaya om namo bhagavathe mahA sudarSanAya 
dIpthre jwAlA parIdAya sarvadikshobana karAya hoom 
phat brahmane paramjyotishe swAhA.

Here Sri SudarSana is address as paranjyoti. We normally
refer to the Lord as paranjyoti.

Sri PanchAyutha Stothram mentions Sri Sudarsana as 
Koti Surya Rupi in its opening salvo:

suprath sahasrAra sikAthi dIvram 
sudarSanam bAskara koti tulyam
surath vishAm prAnavinAsi vishno:
cakram sadA(a)ham saranam prapatye.

Sri SudarSanAshtakam by Adi Sankara mentions him as 
sahasra sUrya prakasan:

sahasrAditya sankAsam sahasraVadanam prabum
sahasradam sahasrAram prapathyE (a)ham sudarSanam.

SudarSana stothram would praise Sri SudarSana as koti 
sUrya:

sudarSana mahAjwalaya prasIda jagada: pade
tejorAse prasIda tvam kotisUryAmidapraba.
 
The puranas expand on the Vedic truths.  In this 
context, Sri MahAbhAratham takes up the job of 
extolling the virtues of cakra and hence Sri SudarSanA 
as the mind-boggling instrument and 
representative of the Lord.

Also the Sri SudarSana kavacham in Brigu samhita 
would say:

sudarsana mahAvishnur devata saprasakshate

indicating the unity of Sri SudarSana and the Lord. 

 
The unity of the visible form and the invisible form 
of the Lord is easily realized through the vedam and 
prabandam as follows.  Sri SudarsanA as sUrya 
nArAyana and all other amsams and Adi nArAyana are 
one and the same according to the following famous 
verse 1.164.46 from the Rig vedam:

indram mitram varunamagnimAhu:
ato divya: sa suparno karutmAn
ekam sat vipra bhahutA vadanti
agnim yamam mAdaricvaNmAhu:

Sri nammAzvar would mention in a prabandam as 
follows:

avane yakal nyAlam pataitidantAn
avane yahtuNdumizhn tAnaLantAn
avane yavanu mavanu mavanum
avane marollAmu marintaname.
 
In short he exhorts us to realize the Lord is this 
thing, that thing, and everything else. Thus all the 
power and brilliance of Sri SudarsAna is Him only, 
though it is a visible form for all of us to see.

That is why in Bagavath geetha 11-12 the Lord appears in an 
infinite form with brilliance of thousands of sUryas:

divi sUrya saharasya bhavedyugapadutitA|
yadi bha: sadruSI sA syAtbhasastasya mahAtmana: 

Also we indirectly pray to Sri SudarSana more 
frequently than we realize.

We all do Sandyavandanam as obeisance to Gayatri, 
SudarSana (sUrya nArAyanA) and the antharyami, Sriman 
nArAyana, residing in the sUrya maNdalam. 

It is customary to recite one or both of these 
slokams in dik devatha or sUrya nArAyana vandanam:

nama: savitre jagadeka sakshushe jagatprasUti 
sthitinASa hetave| traImayAyatriguNatma dharine 
virinci nArAyana SankarAtmane:

dhyeya: sadA savitrumanDala madhyavartI nArAyana: 
sarasijAsana sannivishTa: keyUravAn makara kunDalavAn 
kirIti hArI hiranmaya vabhuhu dhruta Sankhacakra: 
Sankha cakra gadA pAne dwArakA nilayAcyutA govinda 
punDarIkAkshA rakshamAm SaranAgatam.

We are in fact praying to Sri SudarSana and the Lord 
himself.

Finally yet another summary is provided 
in the Brahma sutram 1.20.

'because the Lord resides in the eye as well as 
the sUrya maNdalam ( Sri SudarSana maNdalam).'

The chandogya upanishat verse 1.6.8 would say in utgIta upAsana: 

Ata ya esho antaraditye hiraNmayam purusho druSyate|

This is similar to the slokam from the tripAd vidhuti 
mahA nArAyana upanishat mentioned earlier.

Thus the Lord resides in intense brightness, 
and hence in Sri SudarSana. Of course he also resides in us 
since he is vishnu and viSwa.

Finally an amusing fact must be noted. The vedam would 
enumerate the names of muhUrthams and the nights 
as follows:

... rhocano rhocamAna: Sobhana: SobhamAna: kalyAna:| 
darSAddrshTa darSatA viSwarUpA sudarSanA ...

The name sudarSana is also applied to one of the nights 
in shukla paksham. It looks as though the night wanted 
to be associated with its opposite, the intense brightness, 
since it enables us to see Sri SudarSana as kOti sUrya 
through clear skies. 

Let us pray that Sri Sudarsana protect us all. Let 
the supreme Lord do the same.


Adiyen
Ramanuja dasan
U. Ve. R. T. V. Varadarajan Ph.D.


--- In SriRangaSri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jayaraman.S" <jai_2_u@xxxx> 
wrote:
> Namaskaram,
> 
> Thanks to Thiru.Anbil Ramaswamy swamin, Thiru.Vijaya
> Raghavan swamin, Thiru.jayasarathi swami,
> Thiru.T.R.Govindarajan Swamin for explaining about
> performing homas for Anya devathas. (Reference to:
> Email Subject: Doubts related to KankaabishEkam)
> 
> Adyien understood the significance of workshiping the
> lord Vishnu and not anyother anya devathas through
> homa, etc.,. This discussion raises another question
> about performing sudharsana homam.
> 
> Thiruppaavai ("Pallandu Pallandu")
> 
> "vadivaar sOthi valath-thuRaiyum, sudar-aazhiyum
> pallaaNdu /
> padaipOr-pukku-muzhangum, appaancha-sanniyamum
> pallaaNdE   //"
> 
> We do not workship paanchajanyaa(Sanga/conch) or
> aazhi(chakrathazhwar/disc) separetly from lord
> narayana. paanchajanyaa and Sudharshana azhwar are
> part of permal lord narayana. The Sudharsana Chakra or
> the divine disc of Maha Vishnu is one of the Lords
> prominent weapons in annihilating evil forces.
> According to legend, poygaiaazhvaar was an amsam of
> changu and Thirumazhisai aazhvaar was an amsam of
> aazhi (chakkaram).
> 
> "yeththavam seidhArkkum  arul mudivadhu AzhiyAn pAl":
> The result of any great tapas is granted only by the
> bhagavan who holds the divine sudharsana chakra in his
> hand.  For those tapas, which are done towards brahma
> or rudran the bhagavan who stays as antharyAmi inside
> these devas grant the boon.  
> 
> "yO yO yAm yAm thanum bhakthi":
> (Those who want to worship the devas who are part of
> me with due respect, are granted that regard for the
> devas by me.  That jeeva thereby with due respects
> worships the god of his like.  And due to the worship
> he attains the result I grant him) says bhagavan in
> his bhagavat geetha.
> 
> The results of any worship is ultimately granted only
> by the ultimate lord nArAyaNan. 
> 
> Thus Can we say lord nArAyaNan grants boom when we
> workship sudharsana or do sudharsana homam. 
> (OR) Is sudharsana and lord narayana is one and the
> same? Is there any references available for this.
> 
> Dasan,
> Jayaraman
> 
> 
>               
> _______________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
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> http://promotions.yahoo.com/goldrush




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