Śrīdāma and the Sudarśana Cakra

The Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 56, tells how the daitya Śrīdāma stole Lakshmī from the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Vishṇu then performed fierce tapas (austerity) to win her back. During this tapas, Bhagavān Śiva appeared and gave Vishṇu the Sudarśana Cakra. Śiva also split into three forms. Armed with the cakra, Vishṇu slew Śrīdāma and recovered Lakshmī.

Śrīdāma the daitya

Śrīdāma was a daitya of great power. He found a way into the abode of Vishṇu and carried off Lakshmī. Lakshmī is the devī of beauty, auspiciousness and royal sovereignty. Her theft took away from the world of the devas the very thing that makes sovereignty shine and keeps life going.

Vishṇu’s tapas

Vishṇu was distressed by the loss of Lakshmī. He performed intense tapas to recover her.

Śiva’s gift of the Sudarśana Cakra

Bhagavān Śiva appeared before Vishṇu as he sat in tapas. Śiva was pleased and offered a vara (a boon). Vishṇu asked for the weapon that would make him invincible and let him recover Lakshmī. Śiva gave him the Sudarśana Cakra, the disc of a thousand spokes. It became the best known weapon of Vishṇu and the chief sign of his sovereign power. The name Sudarśana means “of beautiful vision”.

In this way the Vāmana Purāṇa shows the Sudarśana Cakra as a gift from Śiva to Vishṇu.

Śiva splits into three

When Śiva and Vishṇu met during the tapas, Śiva split into three forms. The Purāṇa records this event but does not describe the three forms here.

The death of Śrīdāma

Vishṇu took up the Sudarśana Cakra and confronted Śrīdāma. The cakra overcame all of Śrīdāma’s defences. The daitya was slain, and Lakshmī returned to the side of Vishṇu.

Sources

• Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 56