Indian
Vajra
Vajra (वज्र)
Unbreakable as diamond and striking like lightning. It slew Vritra, the serpent of drought.
WeaponFirst recorded c. 1200 BCE
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Photograph: A gilt-copper Vishnu from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, dated 1105. The four-armed Vishnu stands on a pedestal holding a wheel-shaped disc and a mace in his upper hands.
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1,736 × 3,000 PX1736×3000
ArchiveIndian · Weapon
Sudarshana Chakra
Sudarshana Chakra (सुदर्शन चक्र)
A disc with 108 teeth. Thrown, it cuts down enemies and returns to the hand.
- Owner
- Vishnu, Krishna
- Maker
- The artisan god Vishvakarma
- First record
- Mahabharatac. 300 BCE
- Gallery
- Indian
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Vishnu holds in his four hands a conch, a mace, a lotus and the shining disc Sudarshana Chakra. This weapon, whose name means "beautiful to behold," spun on his fingertip, flew off to cut down enemies and returned.
In the Mahabharata, Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, tolerates Shishupala's insults a hundred times, then at the hundred and first hurls this disc and takes off his head.
When gods and demons fought over the nectar of immortality, this was also the disc that beheaded Rahu, the demon who secretly drank it. Only his head survived, and it is said eclipses happen when Rahu tries to swallow the sun and moon.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Vishnu(Nepal (Kathmandu Valley), dated August 12, 1105), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
