Cakra
Cakra · cakra, “the disc”
Grammar: neuter noun: wheel, disc.
Meaning: the disc, as a mark on the hand and as a weapon.
In the scriptures: the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa names the cakra among the marks of the hand. Lines shaped like Śrīvatsa, a lotus, a vajra, a cakra, a chariot or a pot show a king who cuts down the enemy army (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 25). Women in whose hand is a mark such as Śrīvatsa, a flag, a lotus, a cakra, a svastika, a vajra or a pūrṇakumbha become queens (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 5).
In the account of naraka in the Uttara Parva, countless black Yamadūtas stand holding śakti, śūla, aṅkuśa, pāśa, cakra, khaḍga, vajra, daṇḍa and other weapons (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 5–6).
Related terms: Śaṅkha · Yamadūta · Lakshaṇa
Other meanings
Cakra has more than one meaning in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Besides the meaning above, it names those listed here, each with where it is told.
- Sudarśana Cakra: the blazing divine disc of Bhagavān Vishṇu and his avatāras, the foremost of his weapons; the cakra in the hands of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa in the Bhavishya Purāṇa. Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapters 38; Mahābhārata, Sauptika Parva, Chapter 12; Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 3; Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva, Chapter 1; Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 22, 25; Padma Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9; Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Kārtika Māsa Māhātmya, Chapters 18, 22 and 35; Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 3–4, 12, 18, 22–23, 34–36, 43, 47, 51, 55–56, 58–59, 67; Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 6, 9, 25; Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 3, 21, 23, 25, 31, 33, 44, 46–49, 56–57, 59, 61, 63, 135, 185, 189, 219, 252, 270, 303, 306–307, 374; Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapters 8–9; Skandha 2, Chapters 2, 7; Skandha 3, Chapters 1–3, 8, 13–14, 19, 21, 28; Skandha 4, Chapters 1, 8, 15, 24; Skandha 5, Chapters 3, 7, 24; Skandha 6, Chapters 1, 4, 8, 18; Skandha 7, Chapters 1, 8; Skandha 8, Chapters 3–4, 6, 9, 17–18, 20, 22; Skandha 9, Chapters 4–5; Skandha 10, Chapters 1, 3–4, 6, 13, 38–39, 57, 59, 63, 66, 70, 73, 77–78, 89; Skandha 11, Chapters 3, 5, 11, 14–15, 27; Skandha 12, Chapter 11; Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 123, 125; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1; Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 24–25; Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 7; Uttara Parva, Chapters 63, 121, 146
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 5, 25; Uttara Parva, Chapters 5–6