Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam – Chakkarathalwar
Shrine
The
temple of Sri Chakkarathalwar or Sri Sudarshana is in the 5th prakara (Akalankan
Thiruveedhi) in the western wing, and faces east. Sudarshana is the weapon of
the Supreme Lord gifted to him by Agnideva, the fire-god. Behind Sudarshana is
Sri Narasimhadev. In Tamilnadu Sri Chakkarathalwar shrine is only at Srirangam,
Thirukovilur, Thirumohur (near Madurai) and Kanchipuram.
There is
a separate shrine dedicated to Lord Sudarshana who is the holy discuss who
adorns lord Vishnu. The belief is that the discus of Lord Vishnu itself is
sufficient to ward off all the problems and the Lord Vishnu need not be
approached for small problems. This shrine is thronged by devotees who are
looking for some kind of divine protection - protection from enemies, nature
etc.
The
greatest thing about the Srirangam temple is the size - starting from the
temple towers, main deity to other deities - they are so huge and magnificent.
Devotees can light any number of oil lamps in this shrine and do an archana.
The number of lamps has to do with the magnitude of the problem. Others can
also light lamps on behalf of his/her beloved ones.
