Look familiar?

When I first started watching Xena, one thing that I was struck by was her chakram. My family recognized its uncanny resemblance to Krishna's chakar, the weapon that he is traditionally portrayed using. As I found out, many other warriors historically used chakra as well (they throw them by rotating them around their index fingers rather than Xena-style), but we still found the fact amusing. So when we were looking through posters of gods in India and this one caught my eye, I couldn't resist buying it.

Chakram ("chuck'-rum") is slang in certain Indian languages, including my own, for "fool." It can also be used to refer to a chakar, it seems. I still find it rather amusing when people take on the web identity "Chakram."

The other Hindu deity who holds the chakram is the devi Durga (devi=female deity, deva=male deity). Legend has it that she came when a demon was nearly destroying the earth, the gods powerless to stop it. They focused their energies, and Durga was born. She rode into battle, carrying each of their weapons in her eight hands, including the chakar. (On an amusing sidenote, Kali is a form of Durga--the fiercest one, of course.)

The first thing that I tought of when I learned of "The Way" was the chakram. And then I started reading all about the controversy...::sigh::...

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