ketushadow-planetnavagrahakavacham

කේතුකවචම්

Ketu Kavacham in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 1× repetitions·🕐 Tuesdays, and during Ketu or Navagraha puja; during a Ketu dasha or transit·📜 Brahmanda Purana (Ketu Kavacha Stotram)

Read in your language / script

हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Brahmanda Purana (Ketu Kavacha Stotram) · Sage Tryambaka (rishi of the mantra) · Puranic

The Ketu Kavacham is preserved in the Brahmanda Purana, with the sage Tryambaka named as its rishi and 'Kam' as its seed-syllable. It depicts Ketu — the headless remnant of the asura Svarbhanu, the fierce-faced, many-hued, banner-shaped 'lord of the planets' who together with Rahu causes the eclipses — and entreats this great planet to shield the devotee limb by limb. As the armour-hymn of the descending node it belongs to the Navagraha kavachas recited for graha shanti, and is especially turned to for protection and for the spiritual insight that Ketu, the moksha-karaka, bestows.

✦ As told in scripture

The kavacha's closing verse promises that the very bearing of this divine armour — 'dharanat' — destroys all disease and all enemies and makes the wearer victorious; devotees passing through a difficult Ketu period recite it and wear it to be shielded from hidden illness and foes and to gain Ketu's clarity and detachment.

0all time

Complete Text with Meaning

Tap any line — or the ▶ button — to hear it recited

Verse 1

.. ශ්රීගණේශාය නමඃ .. ඕං අස්ය ශ්රීකේතුකවචස්තෝත්රමහාමන්ත්රස්ය ත්ර්යම්බක ඍෂිඃ, අනුෂ්ටුප් ඡන්දඃ, කේතුර්දේවතා, කං බීජම්, නමඃ ශක්තිඃ, කේතුරිති කීලකම්, කේතුකෘත පීඩා නිවාරණාර්ථේ ජපේ විනියෝගඃ ..

|| śrīgaṇeśāya namaḥ || oṃ asya śrīketukavacastotramahāmantrasya tryambaka ṛṣiḥ, anuṣṭup chandaḥ, keturdevatā, kaṃ bījam, namaḥ śaktiḥ, keturiti kīlakam, ketukṛta pīḍā nivāraṇārthe jape viniyogaḥ ||

Meaning:Salutations to Sri Ganesha. Om. For this great hymn-armour of Ketu the sage is Tryambaka, the metre is Anushtup, the deity is Ketu, 'Kam' is the seed, 'Namah' the power, 'Ketu' the pin; it is recited to ward off the afflictions caused by Ketu.

Verse 2

කේතුං කරාලවදනං චිත්රවර්ණං කිරීටිනම් . ප්රණමාමි සදා කේතුං ධ්වජාකාරං ග්රහේශ්වරම් .. 1..

ketuṃ karālavadanaṃ citravarṇaṃ kirīṭinam | praṇamāmi sadā ketuṃ dhvajākāraṃ graheśvaram || 1||

Meaning:Ketu, of fearsome face, many-hued and crowned — I bow always to Ketu, the banner-shaped lord of the planets.

Verse 3

චිත්රවර්ණඃ ශිරඃ පාතු භාලං ධූම්රසමද්යුතිඃ . පාතු නේත්රේ පිඞ්ගලාක්ෂඃ ශ්රුතී මේ රක්තලෝචනඃ .. 2..

citravarṇaḥ śiraḥ pātu bhālaṃ dhūmrasamadyutiḥ | pātu netre piṅgalākṣaḥ śrutī me raktalocanaḥ || 2||

Meaning:May the many-hued one guard my head, and the one of smoke-like radiance my forehead; may the tawny-eyed one guard my eyes, and the red-eyed one my ears.

Verse 4

ඝ්රාණං පාතු සුවර්ණාභශ්චිබුකං සිංහිකාසුතඃ . පාතු කණ්ඨං ච මේ කේතුඃ ස්කන්ධෞ පාතු ග්රහාධිපඃ .. 3..

ghrāṇaṃ pātu suvarṇābhaścibukaṃ siṃhikāsutaḥ | pātu kaṇṭhaṃ ca me ketuḥ skandhau pātu grahādhipaḥ || 3||

Meaning:May the golden-lustred one guard my nose, and the son of Simhika my chin; may Ketu guard my throat, and the chief of planets my shoulders.

Verse 5

හස්තෞ පාතු සුරශ්රේෂ්ඨඃ කුක්ෂිං පාතු මහාග්රහඃ . සිංහාසනඃ කටිං පාතු මධ්යං පාතු මහාසුරඃ .. 4..

hastau pātu suraśreṣṭhaḥ kukṣiṃ pātu mahāgrahaḥ | siṃhāsanaḥ kaṭiṃ pātu madhyaṃ pātu mahāsuraḥ || 4||

Meaning:May the best of the gods guard my hands, and the great planet my belly; may the lion-seated one guard my waist, and the great asura my middle.

Verse 6

ඌරූ පාතු මහාශීර්ෂෝ ජානුනී මේ(අ)තිකෝපනඃ . පාතු පාදෞ ච මේ ක්රූරඃ සර්වාඞ්ගං නරපිඞ්ගලඃ .. 5..

ūrū pātu mahāśīrṣo jānunī me'tikopanaḥ | pātu pādau ca me krūraḥ sarvāṅgaṃ narapiṅgalaḥ || 5||

Meaning:May the great-headed one guard my thighs, and the exceedingly fierce one my knees; may the dreadful one guard my feet, and the tawny-bodied one my whole frame.

Verse 7

ය ඉදං කවචං දිව්යං සර්වරෝගවිනාශනම් . සර්වශත්රුවිනාශං ච ධාරණාද්විජයී භවේත් .. 6..

ya idaṃ kavacaṃ divyaṃ sarvarogavināśanam | sarvaśatruvināśaṃ ca dhāraṇādvijayī bhavet || 6||

Meaning:Whoever bears this divine armour, the destroyer of all disease and of all enemies, becomes victorious by wearing it.

Verse 8

.. ඉති ශ්රීබ්රහ්මාණ්ඩපුරාණේ කේතුකවචං සම්පූර්ණම් ..

|| iti śrībrahmāṇḍapurāṇe ketukavacaṃ sampūrṇam ||

Meaning:Thus ends the Ketu Kavacham in the Brahmanda Purana.

Word-by-Word Meaning

Click any word to hear its pronunciation

කේතු🔊ketuKetu — the descending lunar node, the headless shadow-planet

ප්රණමාමි සදා කේතුම්🔊praṇamāmi sadā ketumI bow always to Ketu

කරාලවදනම්🔊karālavadanamOf fearsome face

චිත්රවර්ණම්🔊citravarṇamOf variegated (many-hued) colour

කිරීටිනම්🔊kirīṭinamWearing a crown

ධ්වජාකාරම්🔊dhvajākāramShaped like a banner (flag) — Ketu's emblem

ග්රහේශ්වරම් / ග්රහාධිපඃ🔊graheśvaram / grahādhipaḥLord / chief of the planets — guarding the shoulders

චිත්රවර්ණඃ ශිරඃ පාතු🔊citravarṇaḥ śiraḥ pātuMay the many-hued one guard the head

ධූම්රසමද්යුතිඃ🔊dhūmrasamadyutiḥOf smoke-like radiance — guarding the forehead

පිඞ්ගලාක්ෂඃ🔊piṅgalākṣaḥTawny / amber-eyed — guarding the eyes

රක්තලෝචනඃ🔊raktalocanaḥRed-eyed — guarding the ears

සුවර්ණාභඃ🔊suvarṇābhaḥOf golden lustre — guarding the nose

සිංහිකාසුතඃ🔊siṃhikāsutaḥSon of Simhika — guarding the chin

මහාග්රහඃ🔊mahāgrahaḥThe great planet — guarding the belly

සිංහාසනඃ🔊siṃhāsanaḥLion-seated — guarding the waist

මහාසුරඃ🔊mahāsuraḥThe great asura — guarding the middle

මහාශීර්ෂඃ🔊mahāśīrṣaḥThe great-headed one — guarding the thighs

නරපිඞ්ගලඃ🔊narapiṅgalaḥTawny-bodied as a man — guarding the whole body

සර්වරෝගවිනාශනම්🔊sarvaroga-vināśanamDestroying all diseases

ධාරණාද්විජයී භවේත්🔊dhāraṇād vijayī bhavetBy wearing (bearing) it, one becomes victorious

Benefits of Chanting Ketu Kavacham

✦

A limb-by-limb 'kavacha' (armour) invoking Ketu's protection over the whole body, the destroyer of all disease and of all enemies.

✦

Recited to pacify Ketu Dosha and the malefic effects of Ketu's mahadasha, antardasha and transits, and as part of Kala Sarpa Dosha remedies.

✦

Its phalashruti declares that merely bearing this divine armour makes one victorious — chanted for protection and success over obstacles.

✦

Ketu is the karaka of detachment, insight and moksha — its kavacha is invoked for spiritual progress, intuition and freedom from confusion.

✦

Traditionally said to ward off mysterious illnesses, skin and nervous afflictions, and hidden enemies attributed to Ketu.

✦

Especially recited on Tuesdays and during Ketu or Navagraha puja, and during Ketu Kaal.

How to Chant Ketu Kavacham

Repetitions1times

Best TimeTuesdays, and during Ketu or Navagraha puja; during a Ketu dasha or transit

Bathe and sit facing south or south-west before an image of Ketu (or the Navagraha), with multi-coloured or grey flowers and a sesame-oil lamp; offerings of black sesame or horse-gram are appropriate. Recite the viniyoga with its bija 'Kam', then the salutation verse, then the kavacha verses guarding each limb, and finally the phalashruti. Since the verse says the armour protects 'by being borne' (dharanat), it may also be written on bhojapatra and worn after the recitation. It is most effective during a challenging Ketu period.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Ketu Kavacham written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

The Ketu Kavacham is a protective hymn (kavacha = spiritual armour) to Ketu, the headless shadow-planet and descending lunar node. The sage Tryambaka is named as its rishi and it is drawn from the Brahmanda Purana. Each verse asks Ketu, under one of his many names, to guard a part of the body, and its final verse says that even bearing the armour brings victory.

It is recited to pacify Ketu Dosha and the unsettling, confusing effects of Ketu's mahadasha, antardasha and transits, and as part of remedies for Kala Sarpa Dosha. Because Ketu is the planet of detachment and moksha, the kavacha is also used to turn its energy toward insight and spiritual progress rather than affliction.

On Tuesdays, and during any Navagraha or Ketu puja, especially through a difficult Ketu dasha or transit. Its phalashruti suggests it may also be borne (dharanat) as a written amulet after recitation for continuous protection.

Its concluding verse states that this divine armour destroys all disease and all enemies and that whoever bears it becomes victorious. It is valued for protection from mysterious illnesses and hidden foes, and, because Ketu is the moksha-karaka, for spiritual insight, detachment and freedom from confusion.