Lord Narasimhas nails an incarnation of Sudarsana Chakra

[Paramananda das]

Sudarsana-sata-nama stotra
Lord Nrsimha is so exalted that even His nails are glorified by the Vaishnava acharyas! In the Sudarsana-sata-nama stotra of the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya, it is said that Lord Narayana's Sudarshana Chakra descended as the tusk of Varaha, the axe of Parasurama, and the nails of Nrsimha. In this way, the nails of Nrsimha accompany the Lord in His various avatars.
Sri Madhavacharya worships the power of Lord Nrsimha's nails in his Nakha-Stuti. What follows is the Sanskrit, a word-for-word meaning, and English translation by Madhusudana Rao. (Note: The English translation as it appears here has been partially edited.)

Nakha-Stuti - First Sloka
pantu asman puruhuuta vairi balavat
matanga madhyat ghata kumbi uchadri
vipatana adikapatu pratyeka vajrayitabr
"O Sri Nrsimha, who is omnipresent, may your nails protect me and others at all times. Just as a lion attacks powerful elephant groups and splits apart their heads with its nails and the vajrayudha (Indra's defense weapon) splits the highest mountains, in the similar way, the Asuras (who through the blessings of Sri Brahma, Rudra and the demigods) are like powerful exhilarating elephants who are easily killed by each of Sri Nrsimha's nails which are precious and powerful."

Second Sloka
prathatha shrimadkanteravasya sunakhara
darita arati duura pradvastha dvanta shanta
pravitata mansa bhavitah buribhagai
"All demigods are devoted to and praying to this nail, which eliminates all bad elements in this world. They are very [devoted to] this nail as it will give all six senses of a brahman or devataas. This nail will even give complete knowledge and the gods will come out of the darkness (of ignorance). By praying to this nail, they will get peace and knowledge of all the qualities of Sri Hari."

Third Sloka
lakshmiikanta samantata kalayan opi
eshita te samam pashyami naiv yah
uttamavastu ataratah astama rasaha.
"O Sri Nrsimha, who has Sri Lakshmi, there is no body equal to you. If there is any thing which is equal, it is 'astama rasa' the famous six essences. Similarly, there is nobody equal or uttama [more excellent] than you."

Fourth Sloka
yad roksha roksha utkara daksha netra
kutila prant opita agni spurat khadhyotopama
vishpulinga basita brahm esha shakra otkara
"There are many Brahma's, many Rudra's, many Indra's and all of these and other demigods became ashes because of your smallest vision. Your vision is like the smallest firefly [a twinkling insect which glows in night], yet it has the brightness of the sun's rays."

[Paramananda das]

Sudarshana Ashtakam
By Vedanta Desika
[Sudarshana is the holy wheel which Lord Vishnu uses as his chief weapon. There isa story that the daughter of Viswa Karma, who was the architect of theGod's, was married to the sun God and she left him because of hisimmense heat. It seems Viswa Karma put Sun God in a cage and churnedhim to reduce his heat. The heat was reduced and Sudarshana Chakra,Trishoola and Shakthi, respectively the weapons of Lord Vishnu, Shivaand Subrhamnya wereborn out of the churning. Sudarshana Chakra is giventhe status of God by the followers of Ramanujacharya. He being a primedevotee is called the Chakrathazhwar. (Sage of the wheel) andworshipped by Vaishnavas. Venkata Natha or Vedantha Desika is one ofthe greatest savants that Visishitadvaitha produced after Ramanuja. Helived about 140 years after Saint Ramanuja and has written severalbooks. The prayers he wrote are immensely popular among the devotees ofVishnu. Raghavabhyudhyam, one of his greatest works has a commentarywritten by Appayya Deekshitha who was a savant following Advaita.Though there were several great teachers in the Visishtadvaitha devotees, Desika (Meaning teacher) is only used for denoting Vedanta Desika. This octet on Sudarshana by Vedanta Desika is a great work ofdevotion. It is extremely musical and full of meaning. It is normallyrecited when there is an illness at home, to get rid of it.]

Pratibhatasreni Bhishana,Varagunasthoma Bhushana
Janibhyasthana Taarana, Jagadavasthaana Karana,
Nikhiladushkarma Karsaana, Nigamasaddharma Darsana
Jaya Jaya Sri sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 1
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who is fearsome to hoards of enemies of devotees
Who is ornament for all blessed actions,
Who helps one to cross sea of samsara,
Who stabilizes the entire universe,
Who cuts off accumulated sins of bad actions,
And who teaches righteous conduct.
Subhajagadrupa Mandana, Suraganathrasa Khandana
Satamakabrahma vandita, Satapatabrahma Nandita,
Pratitavidvat Sapakshita, Bhajata Ahirbudhnya Lakshita
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 2
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who is the ornament of him who is Lord of universe,
Who removes the fear of all asuras towards devas,
Who is worshipped by Lord Brahma and hosts of others,
Who is worshipped by Sat Pada Brahmana,
Who is on the part of devotees for overcoming contestants,
And who is worshipped by Lord Shiva.
Sphutata-Dijjaala Pinjara, Pruthutarajwaala Panjara
Parigata Pratnavigraha, Padutaraprajna Durgraha,
Praharana Grama Manditha, Parijana Thraana Panditha
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 3
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who is surrounded by resplendent light like a halo,
Who is surrounded by forms of Vishnu,
Who is difficult for even great scholars to grasp,
And who helps devotees to cross problems.
Nijapatapreetha saddgana, Nirupathispeetha Shad Guna
Nigama NirvyuDa Vaibhava, Nijapara Vyuha Vaibhava,
Hari Haya Dweshi Daarana, Hara Pura Plosha Kaarana
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana.4
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who is firmly attached to righteous people,
Who is the natural home for six good assets,
Who took the form with a horse's neck,
And who was the reason for destruction of the cities by Shiva.
Dhanuja visthaara Kartana,Janitamisraa Vikartana
Dhanujavidya Nikartana, Bhajatavidya Nivatana,
Amara drushtasva Vikrama, Samara Jushta Bramikrama
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 5
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who destroys the spread of asuras,
Who removes the sorrows of birth, aging and death,
Who wins over the art of war of asuras,
Who removes the false knowledge from his devotees,
Whose valour is praised by devas,
And who rotates in various ways in a war.
Prathimukhaaleeta Bandhura, Pruthumahaheti Danthura
Vikatamaaya Bahishkrutha,Vividhamaalaa Parishkrutha,
Sthiramahaayantra Tantritha, Dhruta Daya Tantra Yantrita
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 6

Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who appeared with a fast forward gait,
And whose gait appeared very pretty,
Who is surrounded by several weapons,
And expels the illusions sent by enemy in case of war,
Who decorates himself with several garlands,
Who wears mercy and blesses devotees,
Who worship him through tantra and yantras.
Mahita Sampath Sadhakshara, Vihitasampath Shatakshara
Shatarachakra Pratisishtita ,Sakala Tattva Prathishtita,
Vividha Sankalpaka Kalpaka,Vibhudhasankalpa Kalpaka
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana .7
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who gives wealth of salvation to those who,
Chant your six lettered mantra,
Who gives incomparable wealth to those who,
Chant your six lettered mantra,
Who is available in yantra of six corners,
Who is a form in which all knowledge exists,
Who is able to complete all deeds that you take up,
And who is the kalpaka tree fulfilling all wishes.
Bhuvana Netra Trayeemaya, Savanatejastrayeemaya
Niravadhisvaadhu Chinmaya, Nikhila Sakthe Jaganmaya,
Amita Viswakriyaamaya, Samitavishvagbhayaamaya
Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana, Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarsana. 8
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Victory and Victory to you, oh, Sudarshana,
Who is the three Vedas which are the eye of the world,
Who is the form of the three fires of yagas,
Who is the eternal knowledge of true knowledge,
Who is a form of the power of universe,
Who is accomplisher of deeds that you take up,
And who destroys all fears occurring in the world.
Verse 9: Phala Sruthi
Dwichatushkamidam Prabhoothasaaram patathaam Venkatanayaka Praneetham,
Vishamepi Manorata: Pradhaavan na Vihanyeta Rataangadhuryagupta:
This octet which fulfills all desires,
Which gives the inner meaning of Lord Sudarshana,
Composed by Venkata Natha, if read,
Would fulfill desires, remove obstacles,
Because of the glorious boon granting powers of the Lord.