Category talk:Kavacham

Kavacham refers to something that protects from attacks ie. armor and shield as well as stotra which are prayers to the Lord requesting him to shield us from enemies.

Kavacham as the Lord's Armor

Kavacham is a form fitting silver or gold cladding to reveal the dhivya Mangala Vigraham (Divine physique) of the Lord and to symbolize the superior powers of the archa moorthys.

Kavacham is used from the times of Chola and Vijaya Nagara Kings in temples dear to them. These Kavachams are their samarpanams to the King of Kings to attest to His Universal souverignity.

The Kavacham besides deriving their beauty from the sambhandham (the association) with the Thirumeni of the Lord remind us that Our Lord is ready to go on a mission to destroy our internal and external enemies that impede us from getting close to Him. As the sthothram about Raghu Veeran states:

sannaddha: kavachee kadghee chapa-bhanadharo yuvaa
gacchan mamagratho nithyam raama: paathu salakshmana

May the youthful Raama with His brother Lakshmana

go in front of me and protect me adorning their kavacham, sword,

bow and arrows in a state of preparedeness to confront my enemies.

Kavacham as Stotra

Kavacham means a shield. It is a prayer to seek Him as our shield to protect us against all external and Internal enemies.

Each Kavacham is powerful and typically has its own Rishi, Chanda, Bheejam, Sakthi, and Keelakam. They also have a dhyana slokam and anga nyasa, and kara nyasam.