Adithya Kavacham
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Kavacham means a shield. When a Kavacham is sung, it is to the specificied Lord to request that he act as our shield and protect us against all external and Internal enemies. The Aditya Kavacham was used by Sage Yagnavalkya to convince Lord Surya to become his guru and teach him the Veda.
The Aditya Kavacham should be read every Sunday by people in whose horoscope, the Sun is not in a good position or the present position of Sun causes problems.
Om Srimad Aditya kavacha stotra maha manthrasya Yagna valko maha rishi, Cha anushtup jagadhi chandamsi grunirithi bheejam soorya ithi shakthi, cha Aditya ithi keelakam, Sri Soorya narayana preethyarthe Jape viniyoga.
For the Armour to the Sun God, Sage Yagnavalkya is the sage, meter is Anushtup jagaad, the root is “grun”, the strength is Sun god, the nail is Aditya and this is being recited to please Lord Surya Narayana(Sun God) :-
Dhyanam[edit]
Udayachala magathya veda roopa mana mayam, Thushtava paraya bhakthya valakilyadhibhir vrutham., 1
He comes out on to the mountain of dawn,
He is healthy and the form of Vedas,
He would be satisfied by devotion,
And is meditated upon by sages, dressed in bark
Deva surai sada vandhya grahaisha pariveshtitham, Dhyavan sthuvan patan nama ya surya kavacham sada., 2
He is always being saluted by devas and Asuras,
And is always surrounded by all other planets,
Who meditate , pray and read this armour of Sun always.
Gruni padu siro desam, sooryascha phalam cha pathu may, Aadithyo lochane pathu, sruthi pathu prabhakara., 3
Let the compassionate one protect my head,
Let the Sun God protect my forehead,
Let the maker of morn protect my eyes,
Let the maker of light protect my ears.
Granam pathu sada bhanu, cha arka pathu mukham sada, Jihwam pathu jagannadha, kantam pathu vibha vasu., 4
Let the lustrous one protect my nose,
Let my face be protected by the ray of light,
Let the lord of the world protect my toungue,
Let my neck be protected by source of light.
Skandhou grahapathi pathu, Bhujou pathu prabhakara, Ahaskara pathu hasthou, hrudhayam pathu bhanuman., 5
Let the Lord of planets protect my shoulders,
Let the maker of light protect my arms,
Let my hands be protected by the maker of fire,
Let my heart be protected by the lustrous one.
Madhyam cha pathu sapthaswo, Nabhim pathu nabhomani, Dwadasathma katim pathu, savitha pathu sakthivi., 6
Let the seven horsed one protect my middle,
Let the gem of light protect my stomach,
Let my hips be protected with one with twelve souls,
Let the Sun God protect my thighs.
Ooru pathu sura sreshto, janunee pathu bhaskara, Jange pathu cha marthando, galou pathu thwisham pathi., 7
Let the best of the devas protect my thigh,
Let the maker of light protect my knees,
Let the maker of the morn protect my calves,
Let my throat be protected by the Lord of the light.
Padhou bradhyasada pathu, mithropi sakalam vapu, Veda trayathmaka, swamin narayana jagat pade, Aayathayamam tham kanchid veda swaroopa prabhakara., 8
Oh soul of the three Vedas, Oh Surya Narayana,
Oh the Lord of the universe, you are the reason for time,
You are the form of Vedas and you are source of light.
Sthothra naanna santhushto valakhilyadhirvrutha, Sakshad veda maye devo, devo radha rooda samagatha., 9
Becoming happy with this prayer by the bark clad sages,
That God who is the real Veda, came in a chariot before them.
Thaam drushtonya sahasothaya dandava thrapanaman bhuvi, Kruthanjali puto bhakoothwa sooryasgre sthitha sada., 10
Seeing him and getting very much pleased,
They saluted by touching the earth,
Saluted him again and stood there with devotion.
Veda moorthir maha baho gnana drushtir varchaya cha, Brahmana sthaabitham poorva, yathayama vivarjitham., 11
The form of Vedas, the valiant one, with sight of wisdom,
Could understand them all even before they stood there,
Sathwa pradhanam shuklakhyam veda roopa mana mayam, Sabdha brahma maya vedam, sath karma brahma vachakam., 12
He is source of good qualities, who is white in colour,
He is the form of Vedas, who is beyond mind,
He is the master of Vedas which is full of sound,
He does only good according to words of Brahma.
Muni madhyamapayavasam, pradamam savitha swayam, Thena pradama dathena, vedena parameshwarA., 13
Firstly that Sun God himself, who was among the saints,
Gave them first, the Vedas Of Parameshwara himself.
Yagna valkya muni srehto krutha kruthyoth bhava sada, Rigadhi sakalan vedan, jnathavan surya sannidhou., 14
Yagna valkya who was the greatest among sages,
Became for always indebted to him,
Learnt all the Vedas in front of Sun God himself.
Idham proktham maha punyam pavithram papa nasanam, Ya padeth shrunwayad wapi sarva papai pramuchythe. Vedartha jnana sampanna cha soorya loka mavapnuyath., 15
Thus is told that which is very holy, which destroys sins,
And he who reads this or hears this would get rid of all his sins,
Would become expert in the import of Vedas,
And would make the Land of the Sun God as his.
Ithi skanda purane Gowri kande Aditya kavacham sampoornam
Thus ends the armour of Sun God which occurs in Skanda Purana.