Saptashati Kavacha (within Devi Mahatmya prelude)

A kavacha (literally “armour”) is among the most-prescribed protective practices in Hindu daily worship. The structure is regular: an opening dhyāna (visualisation of the deity), an aṅga-nyāsa in which the deity’s bījas are placed on the parts of the body, and then verse after verse in which a specific aspect or weapon of the deity is invoked to protect a specific limb — the head, the forehead, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the throat, the heart, the navel, the genitals, the thighs, the knees, the feet, and the surfaces of the body.

The Saptashati Kavacha (within Devi Mahatmya prelude) is recited daily by devotees of Durga, especially during travel, illness, or periods of difficulty. Most kavachas conclude with a phalaśruti — a verse describing the merit of recitation. Many kavachas should be received from a guru along with the rules of recitation; some, like the Devī Kavacham and Rāma Rakṣā Stotra, are universally available and recited freely.

The text given here is a structured summary; the full Sanskrit text with line-by-line meaning is available in standard editions like Gītā Press’s Stotra Ratnāvalī. Where audio recordings are available — Anuradha Paudwal, Hari Om Sharan, Pandit Jasraj — they are highly recommended for learning correct pronunciation and svara.