Sudarshana in the Avatārams

Sudarshana is the foremost of the Lord's weapons, and whenever the Lord descends into this world, Chakrattāzhwār descends with Him to protect dharma. The Dashāvatārams show this clearly.

When the Lord took the form of Matsya, Chakrattāzhwār was the horn upon His forehead. In the Kūrma avatāram, he was the shell that bore the weight of Mount Meru. In the Varāha avatāram, he was the tusk with which the Lord ended the terror of Hiraṇyāksha. In the Narasimha avatāram, he was the claws with which the Lord ended the menace of Hiraṇyakashipu. In the Vāmana avatāram, he dwelt in the sacred feet with which the Lord measured the three worlds. In the Parashurāma avatāram, he became the axe with which the world was cleansed of wrongdoers.

In the Rāma avatāram, he was present at the tip of every arrow the Lord loosed, whether against Tāṭakā, Mārīcha, Khara, Dūshaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa or Rāvaṇa. In the Balarāma avatāram, he was the Lord's plough. And in the Krishna avatāram, he appears in his own form as Sudarshana, against Shishupāla, Dantavakra and Narakāsura.

Sudarshana is known to protect the Lord's great devotees even without waiting for the Lord's command. Two stories show this above all: Gajendra Moksham and the protection of Ambarīsha.