Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40
The Exposition of Hanumān’s Protective Kavaca
Māruti-kavaca
परसैन्यबलघ्नाय शस्त्रास्त्रघ्नाय ते नमः । विषघ्नाय द्विषघ्नाय भयघ्नाय नमोनमः ॥ ४० ॥
parasainyabalaghnāya śastrāstraghnāya te namaḥ | viṣaghnāya dviṣaghnāya bhayaghnāya namonamaḥ || 40 ||
Salutations to You, the destroyer of the strength of enemy armies; salutations to You, the neutralizer of weapons and missiles (astras). Salutations again and again to You, the remover of poison, the destroyer of foes, and the dispeller of fear.
Narada (in a stotra-style address within the Narada–Sanatkumara teaching context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It frames the deity (Vishnu) as the supreme protector who dissolves outer dangers (enemy forces, weapons, poison) and inner afflictions (fear), teaching that refuge (śaraṇāgati) expressed through repeated salutation is itself a form of protection.
Bhakti appears here as direct address and surrender—naming the Lord’s protective powers and offering namo-namaḥ—showing that remembrance and praise are practical devotional acts that steady the mind and invoke divine guardianship.
The verse reflects mantra-style application used in prayoga/rakṣā contexts: precise epithets (ghnāya compounds) function as targeted intentions—enemy-force pacification, weapon-nullification, poison-removal, fear-dispelling—typical of technical devotional recitations embedded in Vedanga-oriented sections.