Raja Parikshith, the son of Abhimanyu, asks his teacher, Sage Shuka for a means to protect himself from his enemies. Sage Shuka then teaches him the Narayana Kavacham, which was originally taught by Sage Viswaroopa, the son of Thwashtra, to Indra. It is believed that the soul of the man who reads this Kavacha becomes extremely holy and that any one who reads this would be protected by Lord Vishnu.
Kavacham's should be learned by a Guru who is well versed in these procedures and chanted under his guidance. If that is not possible, than the kavacham can be recited without performing the Kara and Anga nyasa or simply recite the last four lines.
Oh God please share with me that armour of Narayana,
By which the thousand eyed Indra was able to drive away,
The well armed soldiers of his enemy as if it is a play,
And gain control of the three worlds and wealth,
And also was safe in the battle field and became victorious.
When fear approaches you, after washing your feet and hand,
Do internal purification by achamana, wear the holy ring made of Durba,
Face the north, sit on a seat of Durba grass and do the hand Symbols,
And do holy chants and attain cleanliness of speech.
You should then become silent, become engrossed in Narayana,
And do suitable actions to tie yourself with the armour of Narayana,
And using the eight letters starting with Om, touch the feet,
Knees, thighs, belly heart chest, face and head,
Afterwards meditate on Athma supported by the six strengths,
Of Wealth, charity, fame, goddess of wealth, wisdom and renunciation,
And chant the following which has the form of knowledge, power and meditation.
Let me be protected in the water by Fish incarnation,
From the animals of the sea and rope of Varuna,
Let me be protected in the Land by Vamana, the illusory boy,
And in the sky Trivikrama and viswaroopa forms.
Let me be protected on my way by Lord Varaha,
Who is Yagna personified and who by his protruding teeth,
Lifted and carried the earth to safety,
Let me be protected on mountain top by Lord Parasurama
Let me be protected when I am abroad By Lord Rama,
Who is elder brother of Bharatha and Lakshmana.
Let me be protected by Lord Narayana,
When I am transgressing Dharma or committing mistakes,
Let me be protected from my pride by Sage Nara,
Let me protected by Sage Dathathreya,
For not engaging in Yoga, meditation and other activities
And let sage Kapila protect me from the bondage of Karma.
Let sage Sanath Kumara protect me from the cupid,
Let Lord Hayagreeva protect me while I am on travel,
As well as when I do action that insults the Devas,
Let Sage Narada protect me from sins of non worship of devas,
And let Hari who took the form of a tortoise,
Protect me from different types of hell.
Let Lord Dhanwanthari protect me from unsuitable food,
Let Rishabha, the renounced soul protect me.
From fear of the contradictory dualities[3],
Let Sage Yajna protect me from gossip of society,
Let Lord Balarama protect me from problems created by men,
And let Adhi sesha protect me from my anger.
Let Sage Vyasa protect me from lack of awakening,
Let sage Budha protect me from hypocrisy and ignorance,
Let Lord Kalki, who would be born to salvage Dharma,
Protect me from the evil effects and thoughts of Kali age.
May I be protected in the morn by Kesava with his mace,
May I be protected two hours later By Govinda by his flute,
Two more hours later let Lord Narayana protect by his strength,
And at noon let Lord Vishnu protect me his holy wheel.
After noon let me protected by Madhu with his great bow,
In the evening Let Madhwa in the form of trinity protect me,
Between dawn and midnight let Lord Hrishi kesa protect me,
And at midnight let Lord Padmanabha alone protect me.
Oh holy Wheel,your edges are like the raging fire of deluge,
You are sent by the God and rotate and travel everywhere,
And so like the fire with the help of wind,
Burns in to ashes the dried up wood of a forest,
Speedily and speedily burn and burn all my enemies.
The fear that we have due to planets, comets, Kethu and kings,
The fear that we had from teethed serpents, ghosts and from sin,
And the fear that prevent our well being may all be destroyed,
Oh God, by the praise of your names and weapons.
The Garuda, who is being praised by great musical stotras of Vedas,
Who is a god and the lord of the world, may protect me from all troubles,
By singing of his names as well as that of the Lord Vishwak sena.
Those great savants who think, that God does not have any forms,
And his weapons and ornaments are only Symbols without power,
And due to this truth, the God Hari is everywhere,
And let him protect me always and everywhere.
At that spot his plane stopped and he fell there along with his ladies,
And he was perplexed and was advised by the sages called Balakhilya,
And obeying their advice, took the bones of the Brahmin,
And put it in the river Saraswathi, took bath and went back to his home.
The content are same or different?
If different choose whichever you feel like becoz meaning will be same.
Both lord Narayan and vishnu same.
It is said 4 armed lord vishu recides in our heart. One who recide in sheeresagar is narayan.
adiyen's humble request is to recite both of them. ideally both carry their own specific potency. initially you can start with one say - either of them and end up learning by heart both of them and reciting the same.
most of the pUrvAchArya's have glorified shrImad bhAgavatam as amalapurANam. So on that basis, it's preferred to recite nArAyaNa kavacham. Also in addition, its always mentioned for these types of kavachams, is they need to be received in paramapara. Request you to receive the same from qualified brAhmaNa who recites / knows them. If not let adiyen know .. adiyen can do the upadesham of the kavacham.
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