shivakavachamprotectionarmour

ශ්රී ශිව කවචම්

श्री शिव कवचम् in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 Morning, noon and evening (tri-sandhya); especially Mondays, Pradosha and Maha Shivaratri·📜 Skanda Purana, Brahmottara Khanda (Shiva Kavacha chapter)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Skanda Purana, Brahmottara Khanda (Shiva Kavacha chapter) · Traditional (Puranic); taught by the sage Rishabha to Prince Bhadrayu · Puranic / classical

According to the Skanda Purana's Brahmottara Khanda, the sage (yogishvara) Rishabha imparted this Shiva Kavacha to Prince Bhadrayu, who had lost his kingdom and was beset by misfortune. By wearing this armour of Shiva and reciting it with devotion, Bhadrayu was protected from every danger and ultimately regained his kingdom and prosperity, demonstrating the kavacha's power as a shield of the Lord himself.

✦ As told in scripture

The Puranic narrative tells that Prince Bhadrayu, stripped of his kingdom and surrounded by peril, was given this Shiva Kavacha by the sage Rishabha; armoured by it, he passed unharmed through every danger and won back his throne. Devotees therefore recite it before journeys, battles and trials, trusting that Mahadeva himself stands guard over every limb and on every side.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

ධ්යානම් වජ්රදංෂ්ට්රං ත්රිනයනං කාලකණ්ඨමරින්දමම් . සහස්රකරමත්යුග්රං වන්දේ ශම්භුමුමාපතිම් ..

dhyānam vajradaṃṣṭraṃ trinayanaṃ kālakaṇṭhamarindamam | sahasrakaramatyugraṃ vande śambhumumāpatim ||

Meaning:ध्यान: वज्र के समान दाढ़ों वाले, त्रिनेत्रधारी, नीलकण्ठ, शत्रुओं का दमन करने वाले, सहस्रबाहु, अत्यन्त उग्र — उमापति शम्भु को मैं प्रणाम करता हूँ।

Verse 2

ඕං අස්ය ශ්රීශිවකවචස්තෝත්රමන්ත්රස්ය බ්රහ්මා ඍෂිඃ, අනුෂ්ටුප් ඡන්දඃ, ශ්රීසදාශිවරුද්රෝ දේවතා, ශ්රීසදාශිවප්රීත්යර්ථේ ජපේ විනියෝගඃ ..

oṃ asya śrī-śivakavaca-stotra-mantrasya brahmā ṛṣiḥ, anuṣṭup chandaḥ, śrī-sadāśiva-rudro devatā, śrī-sadāśiva-prītyarthe jape viniyogaḥ ||

Meaning:चन्द्रमौलि मेरे मस्तक की रक्षा करें; भालनेत्र (ललाट में नेत्र वाले) मेरे ललाट की रक्षा करें; भगनेत्रहारी मेरे नेत्रों की रक्षा करें; विश्वनाथ सदा मेरी नासिका की रक्षा करें।

Verse 3

මූර්ධානමව්යාන්මම චන්ද්රමෞලිඃ භාලං මමාව්යාදථ භාලනේත්රඃ . නේත්රේ මමාව්යාද්භගනේත්රහාරී නාසාං සදා රක්ෂතු විශ්වනාථඃ .. 1..

mūrdhānamavyānmama candramauliḥ bhālaṃ mamāvyādatha bhālanetraḥ | netre mamāvyādbhaganetrahārī nāsāṃ sadā rakṣatu viśvanāthaḥ || 1||

Meaning:भवलोकवन्द्य मेरे कानों की रक्षा करें; पञ्चवक्त्र सदा मेरे मुख की रक्षा करें; वेदजिह्व मेरी जिह्वा की रक्षा करें; नीलकण्ठ गिरीश मेरे कण्ठ की रक्षा करें।

Verse 4

ශ්රෝත්රේ මමාව්යාද්භවලෝකවන්ද්යෝ වක්ත්රං සදා රක්ෂතු පඤ්චවක්ත්රඃ . ජිහ්වාං සදා රක්ෂතු වේදජිහ්වෝ කණ්ඨං ගිරීශෝ(අ)වතු නීලකණ්ඨඃ .. 2..

śrotre mamāvyādbhavalokavandyo vaktraṃ sadā rakṣatu pañcavaktraḥ | jihvāṃ sadā rakṣatu vedajihvo kaṇṭhaṃ girīśo'vatu nīlakaṇṭhaḥ || 2||

Meaning:पिनाकपाणि मेरे दोनों हाथों की रक्षा करें; धर्मबाहु मेरी भुजाओं के मूल की रक्षा करें; दक्षयज्ञान्तक मेरे वक्षःस्थल की रक्षा करें; गिरीश मेरे उदर की रक्षा करें।

Verse 5

පාණිද්වයං පාතු පිනාකපාණිඃ දෝර්මූලමව්යාන්මම ධර්මබාහුඃ . වක්ෂඃස්ථලං දක්ෂමඛාන්තකෝ(අ)ව්යාත් මමෝදරං පාතු ගිරීශපුත්රඃ .. 3..

pāṇidvayaṃ pātu pinākapāṇiḥ dormūlamavyānmama dharmabāhuḥ | vakṣaḥsthalaṃ dakṣamakhāntako'vyāt mamodaraṃ pātu girīśaputraḥ || 3||

Meaning:विश्वनाभि मेरी नाभि की रक्षा करें; जगत्प्रतिष्ठ मेरी कटि की रक्षा करें; गुहप्रसूति मेरे गुह्य अंगों की रक्षा करें; त्रिनेत्र सदा मेरे चरणों की रक्षा करें।

Verse 6

නාභිං සදා රක්ෂතු විශ්වනාභිඃ කටිද්වයං පාතු ජගත්ප්රතිෂ්ඨඃ . ගුහ්යං සදා පාතු ගුහප්රසූතිඃ පාදෞ මමාව්යාත්සතතං ත්රිනේත්රඃ .. 4..

nābhiṃ sadā rakṣatu viśvanābhiḥ kaṭidvayaṃ pātu jagatpratiṣṭhaḥ | guhyaṃ sadā pātu guhaprasūtiḥ pādau mamāvyātsatataṃ trinetraḥ || 4||

Meaning:पूर्व में शिवदेव रक्षा करें, आग्नेय में अग्निनायक; दक्षिण में यमरूपी, नैरृत्य में खड्गधारी रक्षा करें।

Verse 7

ප්රාච්යාං පාතු ශිවෝ දේවෝ හ්යාග්නේය්යාමග්නිනායකඃ . දක්ෂිණේ යමරූපී ච නෛරෘත්යාං ඛඩ්ගධාරකඃ .. 5..

prācyāṃ pātu śivo devo hyāgneyyāmagnināyakaḥ | dakṣiṇe yamarūpī ca nairṛtyāṃ khaḍgadhārakaḥ || 5||

Meaning:पश्चिम में वरुण रक्षा करें, वायव्य में प्राणदायक; उत्तर में सोम, और ईशान में शङ्कर रक्षा करें।

Verse 8

පශ්චිමේ වරුණෝ රක්ෂේද්වායව්යාං ප්රාණදායකඃ . උදීච්යාං පාතු මේ සෝම ඊශාන්යාං පාතු ශඞ්කරඃ .. 6..

paścime varuṇo rakṣedvāyavyāṃ prāṇadāyakaḥ | udīcyāṃ pātu me soma īśānyāṃ pātu śaṅkaraḥ || 6||

Meaning:जो मनुष्य इस कवच को जानकर त्रिकाल श्रद्धापूर्वक पाठ करता है, वह समस्त कामनाओं को प्राप्त करता है।

Verse 9

ඒතත්කවචමජ්ඤානාත්යෝ විජානාති මානවඃ . ත්රිසන්ධ්යං ශ්රද්ධයා යුක්තඃ සර්වාන්කාමානවාප්නුයාත් .. 7..

etatkavacamajñānātyo vijānāti mānavaḥ | trisandhyaṃ śraddhayā yuktaḥ sarvānkāmānavāpnuyāt || 7||

Meaning:युद्ध में, राजसभा में, द्यूत में, घोर भय में और महासंग्राम में — यह शिवमय परम अद्भुत कवच:

Verse 10

රණේ රාජකුලේ ද්යූතේ භයේ ඝෝරේ මහාහවේ . ඉදං ශිවමයං වර්ම කවචං පරමද්භුතම් .. 8..

raṇe rājakule dyūte bhaye ghore mahāhave | idaṃ śivamayaṃ varma kavacaṃ paramadbhutam || 8||

Meaning:जो संयमी होकर इसका पाठ करता है, वह सर्वत्र विजयी होता है; सदा शिवभक्ति प्राप्त कर अन्त में शिवपुर को जाता है।

Verse 11

පඨේද්යෝ නියතෝ භූත්වා සර්වත්ර විජයී භවේත් . ශිවභක්තිං සදා ප්රාප්ය සාන්තේ ශිවපුරං ව්රජේත් .. 9..

paṭhedyo niyato bhūtvā sarvatra vijayī bhavet | śivabhaktiṃ sadā prāpya sānte śivapuraṃ vrajet || 9||

Word-by-Word Meaning

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කවචම්🔊kavachamArmour / protective shield — a hymn that invokes the deity to guard the devotee

වජ්රදංෂ්ට්රං🔊vajra-daṃṣṭraṃHaving teeth (fangs) hard as the thunderbolt

ත්රිනයනං🔊tri-nayanaṃThe three-eyed one

කාලකණ්ඨම්🔊kāla-kaṇṭhamThe dark-throated one (who holds the Kalakuta poison)

ශම්භුමුමාපතිම්🔊śambhum-umāpatimShambhu (source of bliss), the consort of Uma

මූර්ධානම් අව්යාත්🔊mūrdhānam avyātMay He protect my head

චන්ද්රමෞලිඃ🔊candra-mauliḥHe who bears the crescent moon on His crown

භාලනේත්රඃ🔊bhāla-netraḥHe who has an eye on His forehead (the third eye) — may He guard my forehead

භගනේත්රහාරී🔊bhaga-netra-hārīHe who took away the eye of Bhaga — may He guard my eyes

විශ්වනාථඃ🔊viśvanāthaḥThe Lord of the universe — may He guard my nose

පඤ්චවක්ත්රඃ🔊pañca-vaktraḥThe five-faced one — may He always protect my face

නීලකණ්ඨඃ🔊nīla-kaṇṭhaḥThe blue-throated one — may Girisha guard my throat

පිනාකපාණිඃ🔊pināka-pāṇiḥHe who holds the Pinaka bow in His hand — may He protect both my hands

දක්ෂමඛාන්තකඃ🔊dakṣa-makhāntakaḥThe destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice — may He guard my chest

ගිරීශපුත්රඃ🔊girīśa-putraḥ(The form whose son is Guha/Skanda) — may He guard my belly

විශ්වනාභිඃ🔊viśva-nābhiḥHe who is the navel (centre) of the universe — may He guard my navel

ත්රිනේත්රඃ🔊tri-netraḥThe three-eyed one — may He ever guard my feet

ප්රාච්යාං පාතු ශිවඃ🔊prācyāṃ pātu śivaḥMay Lord Shiva protect me in the east

ඊශාන්යාං පාතු ශඞ්කරඃ🔊īśānyāṃ pātu śaṅkaraḥMay Shankara protect me in the north-east (Ishana) direction

ඉදං ශිවමයං වර්ම🔊idaṃ śivamayaṃ varmaThis armour made wholly of Shiva (this Shiva-pervaded shield)

සර්වත්ර විජයී භවේත්🔊sarvatra vijayī bhavetHe becomes victorious everywhere

සාන්තේ ශිවපුරං ව්රජේත්🔊sānte śivapuraṃ vrajetAnd in the end attains the city of Shiva (Shivapura)

Benefits of Chanting श्री शिव कवचम्

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A complete 'armour of Shiva' — invokes the Lord under His many names (Chandramauli, Nilakantha, Pinakapani and more) to guard every part of the body from head to foot.

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Includes directional protection (dik-raksha), placing Shiva and the guardian deities on all sides of the devotee.

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Traditionally recited for safety in danger, conflict, travel, litigation and illness — the text names battle, the king's court and dreadful peril.

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The phala-shruti promises victory everywhere and, ultimately, the attainment of Shivapura (the abode of Shiva).

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Deepens fearless devotion to Mahadeva and steadies the mind by surrounding it with His remembrance.

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Most auspicious when chanted on Mondays, at Pradosha, on Maha Shivaratri and during the month of Shravan.

How to Chant श्री शिव कवचम्

Repetitions3times

Best TimeMorning, noon and evening (tri-sandhya); especially Mondays, Pradosha and Maha Shivaratri

Bathe and sit facing east or north before a Shiva Linga or image, with sacred ash applied. Begin with the dhyana verse, recollecting the fierce yet gracious form of Mahadeva, then recite the body-protection (anga-raksha) and directional (dik-raksha) verses, mentally touching or offering each limb to Shiva's care. The text itself recommends recitation at the three junctions of the day (tri-sandhya) with faith. Conclude with the phala-shruti and a prayer for Shiva's protection.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete श्री शिव कवचम् 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.

It is a 'kavacha' or protective armour hymn of Lord Shiva. It invokes Shiva, by His many names and forms, to guard each part of the devotee's body and to protect them in every direction, acting as a spiritual shield against danger, fear and evil.

This Shiva Kavacham is drawn from the Skanda Purana, in the Brahmottara Khanda, where the sage Rishabha is said to have taught it to Prince Bhadrayu for protection, by whose power he regained his fortune. The verse 'asya shri-shiva-kavacha...' names Brahma as the rishi and Sadashiva Rudra as the deity.

Traditionally it is recited thrice daily (tri-sandhya) with faith, after a bath, before a Shiva Linga or image with sacred ash applied. It is considered especially powerful on Mondays, at Pradosha, on Maha Shivaratri and throughout Shravan, and is chanted for protection before travel, conflict or any undertaking.

The hymn's own phala-shruti declares that one who recites it with self-control becomes victorious everywhere, obtains all desires, gains unwavering devotion to Shiva, and at the end of life attains Shivapura — the City of Shiva.