MAY BUDDHA PROTECT!

This chapter describes how Indra, the King of heaven, was victorious over
the soldiers of the demons, and it also describes the shield of the Viñëu mantra.
To take protection from this shield, one must first touch kuça grass and
wash one's mouth with äcamana-mantras. One should observe silence and then
place the eight-syllable Viñëu mantra on the parts of his body and place the
twelve-syllable mantra on his hands. The eight-syllable mantra is oà namo
näräyaëäya. This mantra should be distributed all over the front and back of
the body. The twelve-syllable mantra, which begins with the praëava, oàkära,
is oà namo bhagavate väsudeväya. One syllable should be placed on each of the
fingers and should be preceded by the praëava, oàkära. Thereafter, one must
chant oà viñëave namaù, which is a six-syllable mantra. One must progressively
place the syllables of the mantra on the heart, the head, between the two
eyebrows, on the çikhä and between the eyes, and then one should chant maù
asträya phaö and with this mantra protect himself from all directions. Nädevo
devam arcayet: one who has not risen to the level of a deva cannot chant this
mantra. According to this direction of the çästra, one must think himself
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qualitatively nondifferent from the Supreme.
After finishing this dedication, one must offer a prayer to the eight-armed
Lord Viñëu, who sits on the shoulders of Garuòadeva. One also has to think of
the fish incarnation, Vämana, Kürma, Nåsiàha, Varäha, Paraçuräma,
Rämacandra (the elder brother of Lakñmaëa). Nara-Näräyaëa, Dattätreya (an
empowered incarnation), Kapila, Sanat-kumära, Hayagréva, Näradadeva (the
incarnation of a devotee). Dhanvantari, Åñabhadeva, Yajïa, Balaräma,
Vyäsadeva, Buddhadeva and Keçava. One should also think of Govinda, the
master of Våndävana, and one should think of Näräyaëa, the master of the
spiritual sky. One should think of Madhusüdana, Tridhämä, Mädhava,
Håñékeça, Padmanäbha, Janärdana, Dämodara and Viçveçvara, as well as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Kåñëa Himself. After offering prayers to the
Lord's personal expansions known as the sväàça and çaktyäveça-avatäras, one
should pray to the weapons of Lord Näräyaëa, such as the Sudarçana, gadä,
çaìkha, khaòga and bow.
After explaining this process, Çukadeva Gosvämé told Mahäräja Parékñit
how Viçvarüpa, the brother of Våträsura, described the glories of the
Näräyaëa-kavaca to Indra.
TEXTS 1-2
çré-räjoväca
yayä guptaù sahasräkñaù
savähän ripu-sainikän
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