The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield

O Lord! Please explain the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca by which Indra, being protected, easily conquered the demons with their carriers and enjoyed the wealth of the three worlds. Describe who he conquered the aggressors the aggressors with that weapon.

The eighth chapter describes how Viśvarūpa teaches the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca to Indra, and Indra defeats the demons.

mukhe śirasy ānupūrvyād

oṁkārādīni vinyaset

oṁ namo nārāyaṇāyeti

viparyayam athāpi vā

Viśvarūpa said: Washing hands and feet, performing ācamana, wearing a kuśa ring and facing north, after performing aḍga-nyāsa and kara-nyāsa using two mantras, being purified and silent, one should then put on the armor of Nārāyaṇa in times of fear. Using the words oṁ namo nārāyaṇāya, one should place one syllable on each of the following limbs in order: feet, knees, thighs, belly, heart, chest, mouth, and head. One should then repeat the process with the limbs in reverse order and syllables in reverse order.

This explains how to place the eight syllable of the mantra on eight limbs starting with the feet.1 Starting with oṁ, one should place one syllable preceded and followed by the word oṁ on each limb. One should then start from the head and place the syllables on the limbs. The first series is called sṛṣṭi-nyāsa and the second series is called saṁhāra-nyāsa.

Taking each syllable preceded and followed by oṁ, one should place the first eight syllables on the fingers starting with the right finger and ending with the left forefinger. One should place the remaining syllables on the first and last joints of the right and left thumbs.

savisargaṁ phaò-antaṁ tat

sarva-dikṣu vinirdiśet

oṁ viṣṇave nama iti

The intelligent person should place oṁ on the heart, the syllable vi on top of the head, the syllable ṣa between the brows, the syllable ṇa on the śikhā, the syllable ve on the two eyes, the syllable na on all the joints and thinking of ma as a weapon, becoming the very form of the mantra, he should then place the words maḥ astrāya phaṭ in all directions. The mantra is oṁ viṣṇave namaḥ.

One should then perform nyāsa using another mantra for the heart and other limbs. Meditating on the syllable ma as a weapon, one should place maḥ astrāya phaṭ in the eight directions as a dik-bandhana (binding the directions).

One should meditate on oneself as the Supreme Lord, desiring not being conquered by anyone else. This is called ahaṁgrahopāsanā. One should chant the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca mantra, the very form of knowledge, power and austerity.

Having attained oneness with the Lord in meditation, like rivers entering the ocean, but still remaining separate, one should chant this mantra praying from one’s protection. “The eight qualities” refers to the eight siddhis.

Having prayed for general protection, one then utters mantras for protection by the Lord in forms as the presiding deity of particular places. Protect me from the aquatics which are the noose of Varuṇa.

Ājimukha means a place where one faces battle.

Yajña-kalpaḥ means the form of sacrifice. Or it can mean “he who makes sacrifice possible.” Rāma is Paraśurāma.

He recites mantras to protect himself from obstacles caused by himself and caused by others in four verses. Ugra-dharmāt means “from cursing and spells.” Hāsāt means from pride. Ayogāt means “from falling from yoga.”

Kāmadevāt means from the impulse of lust. Pathi deva-helanāt means “not offering respects to the Lord while going on a path.” Puruṣārcanāntarāt means “from faults in worshipping.” This refers to the thirty-two offenses to the deity.

Lokāt means from rumors. Janāntāt means “from injury caused by people.” Another version has kṛtāntāt. Krodhavacāt gaṇāt means “from snakes.” Ahīṇdraḥ is Śeṣa.

Kālammalāt means “from Kali, the contaminated form of time.” Kalki is described.

He recites mantras for protection during different times, through the presiding deities of those times, in three verses. Keśava is the lord of Mathurā. Prātardina lasts until end of the fifth ghaṭikā from sunrise.2 Govinda is the Lord of Vṛndavana. Āsaḍgava starts from the sixth ghaṭikā and lasts till the tenth ghaṭikā . Prāhna lasts from the eleventh ghaṭikā until the fifteenth ghaṭikā. Madhyandina (noon) lasts from the sixteen ghaṭikā to the twentieth ghaṭikā.

Aparāhna lasts from the twenty-first ghaṭikā to the twenty-fifth ghaṭikā. Sāyam or evening lasts from the twenty-sixth ghaṭikā to the thirtieth ghaṭikā. Tri-dhāmā means the Lord with three forms: eternity, knowledge and bliss. Having recited mantras for protection during the day divided into six parts, he now recites mantras for protection during the five parts of the night. Doṣa or pradoṣa lasts till the end of the fourth ghaṭikā of the night. From the fifth to the fourteen ghaṭikā is ardharātra (midnight), since midnight is included in it. The fifteenth and sixteenth ghaṭikās are niśītha.

Śrīvatsa-dhāmā means the Lord has Śrīvatsa on his body. Apara-rātra lasts from niśītha to pratyuṣa3. Pratyuṣa consist of four ghaṭikās at the end of night. Anusandhya means the junctures of day and night (sunrise and sunset).

In four verses he recites mantras for protection by the Lord’s cakra. The cakra has a sharp edge like the fire at time of universal destruction. It moves everywhere, engaged by the Lord. Please burn up the armies of the enemy, just as fire burns dry grass (kakṣam).

O club, from which sparks emanate whose touch is like lightning! Pulverize (niṣpiṇòhi) the Kuṣmaṇòas!

Darendra means O Pāñcajanya!

O sharp blade! O best of swords (asi-vara)! O shield endowed with a hundred moon symbols! Cover the eyes of the sinful enemies.

May all our fears arising from planets, meteors, humans, snakes and scorpions, sharp toothed animals, ghosts, and sins, unfavorable to our well-being, be destroyed by chanting continuously the name and forms of the Lord!

Ṣreyaḥ-pratīpakāḥ means “unfavorable for our well-being.”

Garuòa is praised in the Bṛhad-sāma and Rathantara-sāmas. Another version is stotra-stobha-chandomayaḥ. In that case stobha mean the syllables of the Gītā and Purāṇas. Another version is stotra-stomaḥ, meaning “a collection of hymns of praise.”

Pārṣada-bhūṣanāḥ means the chief associates.

The Lord is actually this universe made of cause and effect (sad-asat), because it arises from his external energy, his śakti. By that vow, may all our misfortunes be destroyed! This means “If the Lord is actually the universe, our misfortunes will certainly be destroyed.” This is similar to saying “If the Vedas are proof, then certainly it will happen.”

May the all-pervading, omniscient Lord protect us at all times and places by his many forms, if it is true that he is non-different from his śaktis such as his ornaments, weapons, forms and names and that he still maintains them by his svarūpa-śakti.

Just as the Lord, who is non-different (vikalpla-rahitaḥ) from his śaktis which are one because of being spiritual, holds those śaktis such as ornaments, weapons, forms and names, by that truth, may he protect us. “Ornaments” refers to such things as the Kaustubha. “Weapons” means such things as the cakra. Forms are the four-armed or two-armed forms. These and his names are his śaktis, which are transformations of his svarūpa-śakti. The Lord, endowed with his svarūpa-śakti (sva-māyayā), his eternal energy arising from his svarūpa, supports these transformations of his svarūpa-śakti. Madhva quotes from śruti in this regard: ato māyāmayaṁ viṣṇuṁ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ: the wise say Viṣṇu is composed of māyā, his internal energy. If it is true that the Lord is non-different from his ornaments, weapons and forms since they arise from his svarūpa-śakti, by this true proof, may the Lord who is all pervading in time and place protect us by all his forms such as those mentioned in verse 12. The Lord’s omniscient indicates that he knows our faith in him that we hold in our minds. Therefore he knows this condition we are expressing.

Though having concluded his prayers for protection by various forms of the Lord, he again prays with one mantra for protection from all unfavorable things to the terrifying form of Nṛsiṁhadeva. The verb “please protect us” should be added. Or Nārasiṁha can mean the devotee of Narasiṁha, Prahlāda. In that case the meaning would be “May Prahlāda who destroys fear in this world by loudly chanting the name of Nṛsiṁha, who swallows up the powers of all elements, weapons, poison and the elephants of the directions by his own powers, please protect us!”

Daṁśitaḥ means “covered with armor.”

One who is touched by a person wearing this armor becomes free of all fears. What to speak of the person wearing it.

Dvija-kṣayaḥ means “where he died.”

Prācī not being in the masculine is poetic license. He was not able to go anywhere else using his airplane. Thus he went home.

Thus ends the commentary on the Eighth Chapter of the Sixth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.