[Advaita-l] Hari blessed with the 'Sudarshana Chakra' by Śiva

[V Subrahmanian]

Hari blessed with the 'Sudarshana Chakra' by Śiva

In the Harivamśa, Veda Vyāsa records the fact that Hari meditated  upon the
Jagatpati Śiva in Kailasa and worshiped Him and obtained the 'Chakra'
(discus):

यत्र लेभे हरिश्चक्रमुपास्य बहुभिर्दिनैः ।
पुष्करैः शतपत्रैश्च नेत्रेण च जगत्पतिम् ॥ 3.84.11 ॥

Where (Kailāsa) Hari obtained the 'Chakram' by meditating and worshiping
for several days the Lord of the Universe, Śiva, by lotus of a special
variety and by his eye.

Pleased by his devotion Śiva granted Viṣṇu the Sudarshana Chakram.

Sridhara Swamin, in his commentary to the Viṣṇu purāṇam refers to the above
event succinctly to substantiate the fact that Viṣṇu is called
'lotus-eyed':

// ……..  śivārādhanārthaṁ puṇḍarīkīkṛtam akṣi yeneti vā—puṇḍarīkam paraṁ
dhāma akṣam avyayam ucyate ity-ādi ślokokta-vyutpattyā puṇḍarīkīkṣeti
sambodhanam iti vā |   //
The gist is: The Lord’s eye is lotus-like because he ‘made’ his eye a lotus
in order to worship Śiva.  [There is a story which says that when Hari
resolved to worship Hara with a thousand lotuses, at the end, (owing to a
loving trick played by Hara), one lotus fell short of the number. Hari,
undaunted by the shortage, offered his own eye as a lotus and completed his
worship.]

Om Tat Sat