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Chapter
8: The Armor
of Mantras that
Protected Indra
(1-2) The king said: 'What was the protection of the
thousand eyed king [Indra] when he, sporting with the
armed forces of the
enemy and their carriers, conquered the three worlds and
enjoyed the
opulence oh sage? Please explain to me in what way the armor of
Lord Nârâyana's mercy was protecting him when he defeated
in battle those who tried to kill him.'
(3) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'Now listen attentively to what the son of Tvashthâ, chosen as the priest, upon request told the great Indra as being the defense that is called Nârâyana[-kavaca]. (4-6) S'rî Vis'varûpa said: 'One puts on armor in case one is overcome by fear. [For His purpose arming oneself] one should first wash one's hands and feet and then after saying the required mantra [doing âcamana, three times over] sip water. Sitting down, facing the north one next should ritually purify oneself [in pavrita 'touching kus'a'] by preparing oneself mentally in silence. Thus in dedication to the lordship of Nârâyana being innerly cleansed one should adopt the defense in which one, beginning with saying 'om', offers one's obeisances to Nârâyana by designating two mantras to one's body [by nyâsa], that is to say the [eight syllables of the] mantra 'om namo nârâyanâya' to each of the [eight] parts of the body, touching therewith [consecutively] one's lower legs, knees, thighs, abdomen, heart, chest, mouth and [top of the] head, or even repeat this in reverse order [beginning with ya, which is called respectively utpatti-nyâsa and samhâra-nyâsa *]. (7) Next one should assign the [twelve] syllables of the mantra beginning with om and ending with ya [om namo bhagavate vâsudevâya] to the [twelve parts of the] fingers starting with the [tip of the] index finger and ending with the four joints of the two thumbs. (8-10) [Then chanting the mantra 'om vishnave namah', All glories to Lord Vishnu] the heart should be assigned 'om', 'vi' next comes to the top of the head, 'sha' comes between the eyebrows, 'na' on the s'ikhâ [the tuft of hair on the back of the head with Vaishnava monks], 've' comes between the eyes, the syllable 'na' should be assigned to all the joints of the body and 'mah' should be thought of as a weapon in the form of a mantra, so that one becomes an intelligent [representative of it]. By [finally] saying the mantra beginning with a visarga [an aspirated 'ha'] and ending with 'phath' ['mah astrâya phath' or: 'thus I call for my weapon'], one should be fixed on the respect for Lord Vishnu in every possible way. (11) One should recite the following prayer representing the Supreme Self to meditate upon that [in the form of Bhagavân] is endowed with the six opulences of learning [or knowledge], power and austerity [as also wealth, beauty and fame]:
(12)
'I pray that the
Lord of the eight qualities [see also 3.15: 45] whose
feet
rest
upon
the
back of Garuda and who holds the conch shell, disc, shield,
sword, club, arrows, bow and ropes in his eight hands, will protect me
on all sides. (13) May Matsya
[the fish incarnation of Lord
Vishnu] protect
me against the aquatic
predators in the
water who represent
the noose of Varuna. May He as the dwarf
incarnation
Vâmana who took the three steps [as Trivikrama, Lord Vishnu as
the conqueror of the three worlds] protect me on land and
may He as
Vis'varûpa [Him in
the form of
the universe] protect me in the sky
[the ether]. (14) May the Supreme Master
Lord Nrisimhadeva whose fearful laughter
resounding
in all directions meant the fall of the enemy of the leader of the
demons [Hiranyakas'ipu] and the miscarriage of
his babies, protect me in [my toiling in]
the wilderness and on the front in battle. (15) May we in
the streets be protected [against thugs] by Him
whom one respects with the rituals, Lord
Varâha who raised the planet earth on His
tusks. May there
for us on the mountain tops be the protection of Lord
[Paras'u-]Râma and may we in foreign countries be protected by [Lord
Râmacandra] the
elder brother of Bharata and His brother
Lakshmana. (16) May Lord
Nârâyana protect me against religious fanaticism and keep
me from
acting in madness, may Nara keep me from being arrogant, may
Dattâtreya the master of [the powers
of] yoga keep me from
straying from the path of yoga and may Kapila, the Lord
of
[all good] qualities, keep me from attachment
to the fruits of labor. (17)
May Sanat-kumâra
[the
perfect celibate] protect me against Cupid [lust], may
Hayagrîva [the horse incarnation] keep me from the path of
disrespecting the divinity, may the best of all sages the devarshi
Nârada keep me from offenses during the service and may the Lord
in the form of
Kûrma [the tortoise incarnation] keep me out of the everlasting
hell. (18) May
Bhagavân Dhanvantari [the
physician avatâra] protect me against things harmful to
one's
health, may Rishabhadeva, the one fully in control of the mind and the
self [see 5.4: 6],
keep me from duality and fear, may Yajña [Vishnu as the Lord
of sacrifice] keep me from infamy and an awkward social position and
may Lord Balarâma in the form of Ananta S'esha [the Lord of the
ego, see 5.25] keep me away
from the angry serpents. (19) May
Bhagavân
Dvaipâyana
[Vyâsadeva] keep me from ignorance and may Lord Buddha protect me
against the hosts of heretics and madness [as a consequence of
negligence]. May Kalki, the Lord who in this darkest age of quarrel
incarnates as the greatest one
in defense of the dharma [also as the channa- or covert avatâra],
protect
me
against
the
impurities
of
the
time
we
are
living
in
[viz.
intoxication,
promiscuity,
gambling
and
meat-eating;
see
also 1.17:
24]. (20) May
Kes'ava protect me with His club during the hours after sunrise, may
Govinda holding His flute protect me early in the morning, may
Nârâyana the Lord of all potencies, protect me late in the
morning
and may Lord Vishnu the ruler with the
disc in His hand, protect me during the hours at noon [see also 5.21: 10]. (21) May Lord
Madhusûdana with the
fearful bow S'ârnga protect me early in the afternoon. May
Mâdhava, the Lord of Brahmâ, Vishnu and S'iva, protect me
in the late afternoon and may Lord Hrishîkes'a protect me
during the hours at dusk. May Lord
Padmanâbha [the Lord from
whose navel the universe sprang] be the one
protector during the entire
evening early and late. (22) May the Lord
with the S'rîvatsa mark protect me during the hours after
midnight, may Janârdana the Lord with the sword
in His hand protect me late at night and may Lord
Dâmodara protect me during the hours before dawn [during which
there is the brâhmamuhûrta **]. May
the Controller of the
Universe, the Supreme Lord in the form of time protect me [as
the kâla-mûrti, also the clock]. (23) Please
let
the
sharp
rimmed
[Sudars'ana]
disc
[His
order
of
time, the cyclic of natural time] that wielded by the Lord
destructively moves in all directions alike the fire at the end of
time, burn to ashes the enemy forces, the same way a blazing fire with
its friend the wind would burn dry
grass in an instant. (24) May You [Kaumodakî], oh mace so dear to
the Invincible Lord, whose impact sparks with fire like thunderbolts,
pound to pieces, smash, destroy and pulverize my enemies the imps
[Kushmândas], the magicians [Vainâyakas], the evil
spirits [Yakshas], the demons [Râkshasas], the ghosts
[Bhûtas] and the maddeners [Grahas]. (25) Oh conch shell
[oh Pâñcajanya], may you with your frightening sound make
the hearts tremble of the enemy
torturers [Pramathas], evil spirits [Pretas], she-devils
[Mâtâs], madmen [Pis'âcas] and heretics
[Vipra-grahas] with their evil looks. (26) You oh
sharpest of all swords [oh Nandaka], may you in the hands of the
Lord cut to pieces, chop up the enemy soldiers. Oh shield marked with a
hundred shining moons, blind the eyes of the evil-minded ones so full
of anger
and pluck out their sinful eyeballs. (27-28)
May by the glory of Your
name, form and attributes all the bad [influence of the] planets, falling stars, sinners,
snakes, scorpions, predators and other living beings and fear
arousing poisoners of our minds and bodies who obstruct our
well-being, be completely destroyed. (29) May
the majesty of Garuda whom one praises in hymns, he who embodies the
Vedic verses, may that master protect us with [his name and] all the
names of
Vishvaksena [the Lord whose powers are found throughout the
universe] against an endless suffering. (30)
May His holy names, forms, strategies ['carriers'] and weapons, protect
our intelligence, mind and life air from being caught in fear.
(31) We pray that whatever that is disturbing us [and our devotion] will find its end as a logical consequence of the fact that it is You, the Lord [of time] alone who decides what the ultimate reality would be of that what is and that what is not [like happiness and grief coming and going, see B.G. 2: 14]. (32-33) Those bent upon an absence of differences think of the oneness of the Soul [within the material diversity]. Following that course, He is truly understood as the [One transcendental] omniscient Supreme Lord [who defeats the illusion] by means of His expanding spiritual energy in the form of His decorations, weapons, characteristics and the opulence of His many potencies and different names. May He, the all-pervading One, with all His forms protect us always and everywhere. (34) May the Supreme Lord in every nook and corner, in all directions, above and below, on all sides, from within and from without, in the form of Nrisimhadeva annihilate all worldly fears with His mighty roar [or song, see the Nrisimha Pranâma]. May He with His effulgence overshadow all other influences.'
(35) [S'rî Vis'varûpa continued:] 'Oh King Indra, when you the way I described it under the protection of this [mystic] armor relate to Lord Nârâyana, you will conquer very easily the leaders of the demoniac hordes. (36) Whoever keeps this [prayer] in mind will, whatever he came to see, found at his feet or stumbled upon, immediately be freed from all fright and fear. (37) He who employs this mystic prayer has nothing to fear, not from the government, not from rogues, not from maddeners and such nor from any disease at any time. (38) This prayer was in the past used by a man called Kaus'ika, a brahmin who fixed in yoga gave up his body in the desert. (39) His remains were spotted by Citraratha, the king of the Ghandarvas from above in his heavenly chariot, when he one day, surrounded by many a beautiful woman, had moved in the direction where the twice-born one had died. (40) All of a sudden he with his heavenly vehicle, his vimâna, inescapably tumbled out of the sky. Amazed about it he consulted with the Vâlikhilyas [the sages of the sun god] who advised him to collect the bones, throw them in the eastward flowing Sarasvatî and then return home after taking a bath in that river.'
(41) S'rî S'uka said: 'Anyone who at the opportune moment hears about [this prayer] and carefully concentrates on it, will acquire the respect of all living beings and be delivered from all fear. (42) Indra who had performed a hundred sacrifices [see 4:9: 1], by means of this prayer that he received from Vis'varûpa conquered in battle the Asuras and enjoyed the opulence of the three worlds [see also B.G. 4: 34].'
(3) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'Now listen attentively to what the son of Tvashthâ, chosen as the priest, upon request told the great Indra as being the defense that is called Nârâyana[-kavaca]. (4-6) S'rî Vis'varûpa said: 'One puts on armor in case one is overcome by fear. [For His purpose arming oneself] one should first wash one's hands and feet and then after saying the required mantra [doing âcamana, three times over] sip water. Sitting down, facing the north one next should ritually purify oneself [in pavrita 'touching kus'a'] by preparing oneself mentally in silence. Thus in dedication to the lordship of Nârâyana being innerly cleansed one should adopt the defense in which one, beginning with saying 'om', offers one's obeisances to Nârâyana by designating two mantras to one's body [by nyâsa], that is to say the [eight syllables of the] mantra 'om namo nârâyanâya' to each of the [eight] parts of the body, touching therewith [consecutively] one's lower legs, knees, thighs, abdomen, heart, chest, mouth and [top of the] head, or even repeat this in reverse order [beginning with ya, which is called respectively utpatti-nyâsa and samhâra-nyâsa *]. (7) Next one should assign the [twelve] syllables of the mantra beginning with om and ending with ya [om namo bhagavate vâsudevâya] to the [twelve parts of the] fingers starting with the [tip of the] index finger and ending with the four joints of the two thumbs. (8-10) [Then chanting the mantra 'om vishnave namah', All glories to Lord Vishnu] the heart should be assigned 'om', 'vi' next comes to the top of the head, 'sha' comes between the eyebrows, 'na' on the s'ikhâ [the tuft of hair on the back of the head with Vaishnava monks], 've' comes between the eyes, the syllable 'na' should be assigned to all the joints of the body and 'mah' should be thought of as a weapon in the form of a mantra, so that one becomes an intelligent [representative of it]. By [finally] saying the mantra beginning with a visarga [an aspirated 'ha'] and ending with 'phath' ['mah astrâya phath' or: 'thus I call for my weapon'], one should be fixed on the respect for Lord Vishnu in every possible way. (11) One should recite the following prayer representing the Supreme Self to meditate upon that [in the form of Bhagavân] is endowed with the six opulences of learning [or knowledge], power and austerity [as also wealth, beauty and fame]:
(12)
'I pray that the
Lord of the eight qualities [see also 3.15: 45] whose
feet
rest
upon
the
back of Garuda and who holds the conch shell, disc, shield,
sword, club, arrows, bow and ropes in his eight hands, will protect me
on all sides. (13) May Matsya
[the fish incarnation of Lord
Vishnu] protect
me against the aquatic
predators in the
water who represent
the noose of Varuna. May He as the dwarf
incarnation
Vâmana who took the three steps [as Trivikrama, Lord Vishnu as
the conqueror of the three worlds] protect me on land and
may He as
Vis'varûpa [Him in
the form of
the universe] protect me in the sky
[the ether]. (14) May the Supreme Master
Lord Nrisimhadeva whose fearful laughter
resounding
in all directions meant the fall of the enemy of the leader of the
demons [Hiranyakas'ipu] and the miscarriage of
his babies, protect me in [my toiling in]
the wilderness and on the front in battle. (15) May we in
the streets be protected [against thugs] by Him
whom one respects with the rituals, Lord
Varâha who raised the planet earth on His
tusks. May there
for us on the mountain tops be the protection of Lord
[Paras'u-]Râma and may we in foreign countries be protected by [Lord
Râmacandra] the
elder brother of Bharata and His brother
Lakshmana. (16) May Lord
Nârâyana protect me against religious fanaticism and keep
me from
acting in madness, may Nara keep me from being arrogant, may
Dattâtreya the master of [the powers
of] yoga keep me from
straying from the path of yoga and may Kapila, the Lord
of
[all good] qualities, keep me from attachment
to the fruits of labor. (17)
May Sanat-kumâra
[the
perfect celibate] protect me against Cupid [lust], may
Hayagrîva [the horse incarnation] keep me from the path of
disrespecting the divinity, may the best of all sages the devarshi
Nârada keep me from offenses during the service and may the Lord
in the form of
Kûrma [the tortoise incarnation] keep me out of the everlasting
hell. (18) May
Bhagavân Dhanvantari [the
physician avatâra] protect me against things harmful to
one's
health, may Rishabhadeva, the one fully in control of the mind and the
self [see 5.4: 6],
keep me from duality and fear, may Yajña [Vishnu as the Lord
of sacrifice] keep me from infamy and an awkward social position and
may Lord Balarâma in the form of Ananta S'esha [the Lord of the
ego, see 5.25] keep me away
from the angry serpents. (19) May
Bhagavân
Dvaipâyana
[Vyâsadeva] keep me from ignorance and may Lord Buddha protect me
against the hosts of heretics and madness [as a consequence of
negligence]. May Kalki, the Lord who in this darkest age of quarrel
incarnates as the greatest one
in defense of the dharma [also as the channa- or covert avatâra],
protect
me
against
the
impurities
of
the
time
we
are
living
in
[viz.
intoxication,
promiscuity,
gambling
and
meat-eating;
see
also 1.17:
24]. (20) May
Kes'ava protect me with His club during the hours after sunrise, may
Govinda holding His flute protect me early in the morning, may
Nârâyana the Lord of all potencies, protect me late in the
morning
and may Lord Vishnu the ruler with the
disc in His hand, protect me during the hours at noon [see also 5.21: 10]. (21) May Lord
Madhusûdana with the
fearful bow S'ârnga protect me early in the afternoon. May
Mâdhava, the Lord of Brahmâ, Vishnu and S'iva, protect me
in the late afternoon and may Lord Hrishîkes'a protect me
during the hours at dusk. May Lord
Padmanâbha [the Lord from
whose navel the universe sprang] be the one
protector during the entire
evening early and late. (22) May the Lord
with the S'rîvatsa mark protect me during the hours after
midnight, may Janârdana the Lord with the sword
in His hand protect me late at night and may Lord
Dâmodara protect me during the hours before dawn [during which
there is the brâhmamuhûrta **]. May
the Controller of the
Universe, the Supreme Lord in the form of time protect me [as
the kâla-mûrti, also the clock]. (23) Please
let
the
sharp
rimmed
[Sudars'ana]
disc
[His
order
of
time, the cyclic of natural time] that wielded by the Lord
destructively moves in all directions alike the fire at the end of
time, burn to ashes the enemy forces, the same way a blazing fire with
its friend the wind would burn dry
grass in an instant. (24) May You [Kaumodakî], oh mace so dear to
the Invincible Lord, whose impact sparks with fire like thunderbolts,
pound to pieces, smash, destroy and pulverize my enemies the imps
[Kushmândas], the magicians [Vainâyakas], the evil
spirits [Yakshas], the demons [Râkshasas], the ghosts
[Bhûtas] and the maddeners [Grahas]. (25) Oh conch shell
[oh Pâñcajanya], may you with your frightening sound make
the hearts tremble of the enemy
torturers [Pramathas], evil spirits [Pretas], she-devils
[Mâtâs], madmen [Pis'âcas] and heretics
[Vipra-grahas] with their evil looks. (26) You oh
sharpest of all swords [oh Nandaka], may you in the hands of the
Lord cut to pieces, chop up the enemy soldiers. Oh shield marked with a
hundred shining moons, blind the eyes of the evil-minded ones so full
of anger
and pluck out their sinful eyeballs. (27-28)
May by the glory of Your
name, form and attributes all the bad [influence of the] planets, falling stars, sinners,
snakes, scorpions, predators and other living beings and fear
arousing poisoners of our minds and bodies who obstruct our
well-being, be completely destroyed. (29) May
the majesty of Garuda whom one praises in hymns, he who embodies the
Vedic verses, may that master protect us with [his name and] all the
names of
Vishvaksena [the Lord whose powers are found throughout the
universe] against an endless suffering. (30)
May His holy names, forms, strategies ['carriers'] and weapons, protect
our intelligence, mind and life air from being caught in fear. (31) We pray that whatever that is disturbing us [and our devotion] will find its end as a logical consequence of the fact that it is You, the Lord [of time] alone who decides what the ultimate reality would be of that what is and that what is not [like happiness and grief coming and going, see B.G. 2: 14]. (32-33) Those bent upon an absence of differences think of the oneness of the Soul [within the material diversity]. Following that course, He is truly understood as the [One transcendental] omniscient Supreme Lord [who defeats the illusion] by means of His expanding spiritual energy in the form of His decorations, weapons, characteristics and the opulence of His many potencies and different names. May He, the all-pervading One, with all His forms protect us always and everywhere. (34) May the Supreme Lord in every nook and corner, in all directions, above and below, on all sides, from within and from without, in the form of Nrisimhadeva annihilate all worldly fears with His mighty roar [or song, see the Nrisimha Pranâma]. May He with His effulgence overshadow all other influences.'
(35) [S'rî Vis'varûpa continued:] 'Oh King Indra, when you the way I described it under the protection of this [mystic] armor relate to Lord Nârâyana, you will conquer very easily the leaders of the demoniac hordes. (36) Whoever keeps this [prayer] in mind will, whatever he came to see, found at his feet or stumbled upon, immediately be freed from all fright and fear. (37) He who employs this mystic prayer has nothing to fear, not from the government, not from rogues, not from maddeners and such nor from any disease at any time. (38) This prayer was in the past used by a man called Kaus'ika, a brahmin who fixed in yoga gave up his body in the desert. (39) His remains were spotted by Citraratha, the king of the Ghandarvas from above in his heavenly chariot, when he one day, surrounded by many a beautiful woman, had moved in the direction where the twice-born one had died. (40) All of a sudden he with his heavenly vehicle, his vimâna, inescapably tumbled out of the sky. Amazed about it he consulted with the Vâlikhilyas [the sages of the sun god] who advised him to collect the bones, throw them in the eastward flowing Sarasvatî and then return home after taking a bath in that river.'
(41) S'rî S'uka said: 'Anyone who at the opportune moment hears about [this prayer] and carefully concentrates on it, will acquire the respect of all living beings and be delivered from all fear. (42) Indra who had performed a hundred sacrifices [see 4:9: 1], by means of this prayer that he received from Vis'varûpa conquered in battle the Asuras and enjoyed the opulence of the three worlds [see also B.G. 4: 34].'
