Origin
There are different stories about the origin of the Sudarshana Chakra.
According to one version, it was given to Lord Vishnu by Lord Shiva who was pleased with Vishnu's devotion. Vishnu went to Mount Kailasa and began to pray to Shiva. He chanted many mantras, but there was no sign of Shiva. Shiva has a thousand names and Vishnu next started to chant these names. Each day he chanted the thousand names and offered a thousand lotus flowers to Shiva. Shiva decided to test Vishnu. One day, he stole a lotus flower from the thousand that were to be offered. When Vishnu realized that there was one lotus flower less, he gouged out his own eye and offered it in place of the missing lotus flower. Shiva was now pleased and appeared before Vishnu and presented him with the Sudarshana Chakra. However the chakra was too powerful for Vishnu to hold. So Shiva made it into three parts, one given to Vishnu, one to Shakti and one he kept for himself. With that Chakra the reverend Lord Vishnu is protecting all the worlds. The form of Lord Shiva blessing Vishnu with the disc is the Chakra Prada Murthi.
According to another version, the Sudarshana Chakra was made by the architect of gods, Vishvakarma.
Viswakarma's daughter Sanjana was married to Surya, the Sun God. Due to the Sun's blazing light and heat, she was unable to go near the Sun. She complained to her father about this. Viswakarma took the Sun and made him shine less so that his daughter would be able to hug the Sun. The left over Sun "dust" was collected by Viswakarma and he made three things out of it. The first one was the famous aerial vehicle Pushpaka Vimana, the second being the Trishula (Trident) of Lord Shiva, and the third was the Sudarshana Chakra of Lord Vishnu. The Chakra comprises 10 million spikes in two rows moving in opposite directions to give it a serrated edge.
It was also used to cut the Goddess Sati, consort of Lord Shiva into 51 pieces after she gave up her life by throwing herself in a yagna (worshipful fire ritual) which was held at his father's place. It is said that Shiva, in grief, carried around her lifeless body and was inconsolable. The 51 parts of the Goddess' body were then tossed about in different parts of Bharatvarsha and came to be known as "Shakti Peeths".
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