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88. Q .: please explain the life of Panchajanya.
Ans .: All are agreed that the Lord’s principal weapons are five—The Shankham, The Chakram, The GadA (Mace), asi (Sword) and the ShArngam (Bow). Of these five, it is the Chakram or Sudarsanam, which commands primacy and is known as the King of Weapons—“HEti RAja”. As such, Sudarsan has a lot of stotrams composed on him—the SudarsanAshtakam, the HEti RAja stavam, the Sudarsana Satakam (poorva and uttara satakams, comprising two hundred slokas in all) etc. to name a few. At several divyadesams, separate sannidhis have been allotted to ChakrattAzhwar and devotees delight in circumambulation in his shrine, as could be seen at Srirangam and other places.
However, there is another worthy, who is no less magnificent, no less Sudarsanam (good-looking), no less potent and no less dear to the Lord, who does not attract as much attention and adulation as the Chakram, but is all the same a strong, silent performer worthy of all our admiration. Whenever there is an enumeration of the Lord’s weapons, it is his name that is mentioned ahead of others’, indicating his primacy in the divine scheme of things. You may refer to not one but any number of instances, where the Lord’s weapons find mention—in all of them, the Shankham is always mentioned first, followed by the other AyudhAs. Look at the following for example—
“Shankha chakra gadA pANe! DvArakA nilaya! Achyuta!” (Draupati’s appeal while being disrobed in the Kaurava darbAr)
“Tamasa: paramaO dhAtA Shankha chakra gadAdhara:” (Mandodari’s tribute to Sri Raghava, in Srimad Ramayanam)
“Shankha chakra gadA asi ShArngAdi asankhEya divyAyudha! (Sri Ramanuja in Gadyam)
All these denote in no uncertain terms the primacy the Shankham enjoys, among the Lord’s weapons. What could be the reason behind this phenomenon of the Shankham being accorded pride of place, despite the Chakram being obviously more popular and enjoying greater visibility?
ChakrattAzhvan might be the much- adulated arsenal of the Lord, but it is the Lord’s Shankham that gets to taste the incredibly sweet lips and mouth of Emperuman. It is therefore to the Shankham we must turn, as Sri Andal does, if we want to get a true picture of how tasty the Lord’s lips are.
For, when the Lord blows the Conch, His coral lips and fragrant mouth come into close contact with the Shankham, affording it a delectable taste, which is normally the exclusive preserve of the Divine Consorts.
we get to know that the Shankham, though originally from the unfathomable depths of the ocean, grew up in the body of an asurA known as “Panchajanan”, from which it attained the name “PAnchajanyam”. It is pure white in colour, symbolising the epitome of Sattva guNam, of unalloyed goodness. The Lord looks like a huge mountain. On this mountain, the pale wintry moon, the “Sharat Chandran” rises slowly and beautifully. This is what the Shankham, with its pearly white complexion, looks like, sitting on the Lord’s left arm, resembling the glorious Moon in colour, in affording immediate bliss at sight, etc.the PAnchajanyam resembles not one, but millions of Moons shining simultaneously—
Jai Srimannaryana !
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