Kaṭaka — The Divine Armlets of Bhagavān
The Kaṭaka denotes the divine armlet or bracelet that adorns the wrists of Bhagavān Śrī Vaikuṇṭhanātha. In the Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition, each ornament of the Lord's divine form carries deep theological significance, and the Kaṭaka is understood as one member of a harmonious ensemble of ābharaṇams — sacred ornaments — that together constitute the perfection of the divya-maṅgala-vigraha, Bhagavān's auspicious and beautiful divine body.
The Kaṭaka is invariably paired with the Keyūra — the upper-arm ornament — in classical descriptions of Bhagavān's adornment. This pairing appears in Viṣṇu Sahasranāma commentaries and in the Āgamic literature of the Pañcarātra tradition, where the precise specification of each ornament reflects the understanding that Bhagavān's form is nitya (eternal), niravadhya (flawless), and niratiśaya (unsurpassed). The Kaṭaka, placed at the wrist, and the Keyūra, placed at the upper arm, frame the divine arms that protect the devotee, lift the distressed, and grant abhaya (fearlessness) to those who surrender.
In nityārādhanam (daily worship), the Kaṭaka is among the ornaments adorned upon the mūlavar and utsavar images according to the prescriptions of the Āgamas and the Divya Desam's own tradition. Āchāryas have meditated upon these ornaments as expressions of Bhagavān's kalyāṇa-guṇas (auspicious qualities): the Kaṭaka at His wrists adorning the very hands that extend in varada-mudrā (the boon-granting gesture) — a visible sign that Bhagavān's grace is ever-flowing toward the devotee who approaches with love.