Canto 6: Prescribed Duties for Mankind | Chapter 8: The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.8.20
māḿ keśavo gadayā prātar avyād
govinda āsańgavam ātta-veṇuḥ
nārāyaṇaḥ prāhṇa udātta-śaktir
madhyan-dine viṣṇur arīndra-pāṇiḥ
SYNONYMS
mām — me; keśavaḥ — Lord Keśava; gadayā — by His club; prātaḥ — in the morning hours; avyāt — may He protect; govindaḥ — Lord Govinda; āsańgavam — during the second part of the day; ātta-veṇuḥ — holding His flute; nārāyaṇaḥ — Lord Nārāyaṇa with four hands; prāhṇaḥ — during the third part of the day; udātta-śaktiḥ — controlling different types of potencies; madhyam-dine — during the fourth part of the day; viṣṇuḥ — Lord Viṣṇu; arīndra-pāṇiḥ — bearing the disc in His hand to kill the enemies.
TRANSLATION
May Lord Keśava protect me with His club in the first portion of the day, and may Govinda, who is always engaged in playing His flute, protect me in the second portion of the day. May Lord Nārāyaṇa, who is equipped with all potencies, protect me in the third part of the day, and may Lord Viṣṇu, who carries a disc to kill His enemies, protect me in the fourth part of the day.
PURPORT
According to Vedic astronomical calculations, day and night are each divided into thirty ghaṭikās (twenty-four minutes), instead of twelve hours. Generally, each day and each night is divided into six parts consisting of five ghaṭikās. In each of these six portions of the day and night, the Lord may be addressed for protection according to different names. Lord Keśava, the proprietor of the holy place of Mathurā, is the Lord of the first portion of the day, and Govinda, the Lord of Vṛndāvana. is the master of the second portion.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness