sudarśanāṣṭakam

Salutations to the great preceptor, Srimad Vedanta Desikan. May the venerable Sri Venkatanatha, the lion among poets and logicians, and the foremost among Vedanta teachers, always reside in my heart.

O shrI sudarshana! All the enemies of your Lord's devotees run away fearing your prowess. All auspicious attributes find their home in you. Those , Who worship you cross the 'shoreless' ocean of Samsara and free themselves from their cycles of births and deaths. The entire Universe is stabilized by your mighty power. You cut asunder all the sins of those who approach you as their refuge. You bless all of your devotees with the knowledge about the righteous conduct prescribed by the Vedas. O Lord sudarshana of these auspicious attributes! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

O shrI sudarshana! You are resplendent as a precious decoration on the hand of shrIman Narayana, who has the universes as His body. Through your grace, Devas are freed from the fear caused by the Asuras. Indra and Brahma always worship you. The Satapatha Brahmana belonging to Sukla Yajur Veda hails your glories and pays its tributes to you. The scholars of this universe seek your help to overcome their contestants. Ahirbudhnya Samhita states that Ahirbudhnya (Siva) worships you and sought the boon to see your beautiful form with His own eyes. O Lord sudarshana of illustrious attributes! Hail To Thee! Hail to Thee!

O Lord sudarshana! You shine like the resplendent assembly of lightnings. The bright tongues of flames surrounding you appear like a cage (home) for you. The forms of Vasudeva, Sankarshana and other vyuha murti-s find their positions around your geometric form (yantra). Even the scholars with sharp intellects stumble, when they try to understand the full extent of your glory. It is a beautiful sight to see the sixteen weapons of yours resting on your hands to serve you. You are dedicated to come to the rescue of those ,who seek your protection . O shrI sudarshana of such auspicious attributes! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

O Lord sudarshana! The Righteous people have firm attachment to your holy feet. The Six Kalyana GunAs --- Knowledge, Power, Strength, Wealth, Heroism, and effulgence-- find their natural home in You. The Vedas have firmly established Your glory in their many chapters. Like your Lord, You have the forms of para and vyuha. You cut asunder the fear caused by the foes of Indra, the foremost among your devotees. You were responsible for the burning down Kashi, the city of Siva to ashes. You stood at the tip of Siva's arrow, when He was engaged in the campaign to destroy TripurAsura. O shrI sudarshana Of such Kalyana Gunas! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

O Lord sudarshana! You arrest the growth of the evil-minded Asuras and destroy them down to their roots. You are like the resplendent Sun banishing the dark night of Samsara, which bedevil your devotees. You Overcome any and every act of deception practised by the Asuras. You remove every shred of false knowledge that invade the minds of those ,who seek refuge in you. The Devas celebrate Your heroic deeds and experience joy in witnessing Your powerful actions. You revolve and rotate in many ways in your battles against the enemies of Your devotees. May Thou with such auspicious attributes prosper further! Hail to Thee! Hail To Thee!

O Lord sudarshana! You give darsana to us with Your dynamic gait of One foot placed forward in movement and the other rapidly following it. Your position in that gait is beautiful to behold. You are surrounded by Your magnificient and fearsome weapons. You are the conqueror of Powerful illusions (mAyA) caused by Asuras. You are not therefore affected by their acts of MayA. You are decorated with many beautiful flower garlands that add to your natural beauty. You are firmly bound in the warp of your great compassion for your devotees and bless them , when they worship You through Your Yantra and Mantra. O shrI sudarshana of such auspicious qualities! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

O Lord sudarshana of many prime qualities! The wealth of the righteous is their true knowledge about Your Lord. You Bless them with the unperishable wealth of MokSham, When they seek refuge at Your holy feet. Those who recite Your mantra made up of the six letters (akSharas) gain incomparable wealth. Your devotees (upAsakas) invoke You in Your yantra of six corners formed by two intersecting triangles and worship You at its epicenter. You pervade and reside in all the creations of Your Lord. You have the power to complete all deeds that you decide to undertake. You are thus a satya sankalpa and serve as the divine Kalpaka tree granting all the boons that your devotees request. O shrI sudarshana! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

O Lord sudarshana, the eye of the Universe! You are of the form of the three Vedas. You are of the form of the three fires -- gArhapatyam, Ahvaneeyam and dakShinAgni -- of the YagAs. You are of the delectable form of true knowledge! You have the power to accomplish every deed. You have taken the form of the Universe and its contents. You are woorshipped thru the sacrificial rituals of your devotees. In return, You destroy the fears and diseases of those, who worship You from all directions. O Lord sudarshana of auspicious qualities! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

Those, who recite this Stotram consisting of eight verses in praise of sudarshana composed by Venkatanatha known as Vedanta Desikan comprehend the deep references to the glory of Lord sudarshana will have the fulfilment of all their wishes.The Boon-granting powers of Lord sudarshana will make them realize all their wishes by overcoming all obstacles that stand in the way.

Thus ends the Sudarshanashtakam composed by Sri Vedanta Desikan. Salutations to Srimad Venkatesha, the teacher of Vedanta, who is a lion to the poets and logicians, and is endowed with auspicious qualities.