Bhagvatam: HOW INDRA, THE KING OF HEAVEN, WAS VICTORIOUS OVER THE SOLDIERS OF THE DEMONS, USING THE SHIELD OF THE VISHNU MANTRA.
This chapter describes how Indra, the King of heaven, was victorious over the soldiers of the demons, and it also describes the shield of the Vishnu mantra.
To take protection from this shield, one must first touch kusha grass and wash one's mouth with ächamana-mantras. One should observe silence and then place the eight-syllable Vishnu mantra on the parts of his body and place the twelve-syllable mantra on his hands.
The eight-syllable mantra is om namo näräyanäya. This mantra should be distributed all over the front and back of the body. The twelve-syllable mantra, which begins with the pranava, omkära, is om namo bhagavate väsudeväya. One syllable should be placed on each of the fingers and should be preceded by the pranava, omkära.
Thereafter, one must chant om vishnave namam, which is a six-syllable mantra. One must progressively place the syllables of the mantra on the heart, the head, between the two eyebrows, on the shikhä and between the eyes, and then one should chant mam asträya phat and with this mantra protect himself from all directions. Nädevo devam archayet: one who has not risen to the level of a deva cannot chant this mantra. According to this direction of the shästra, one must think himself qualitatively nondifferent from the Supreme.
After finishing this dedication, one must offer a prayer to the eight-armed Lord Vishnu, who sits on the shoulders of Garudadeva. One also has to think of the fish incarnation, Vämana, Kürma, Nrsimha, Varäha, Parashuräma, Räma Chandra (the elder brother of Lakshmana). Nara-Näräyana, Dattätreya (an empowered incarnation), Kapila, Sanat-kumära, Hayagriva, Näradadeva (the incarnation of a devotee). Dhanvantari, Rshabhadeva, Yajna, Balaräma, Vyäsadeva, Buddhadeva and Keshava.
One should also think of Govinda, the master of Vrndävana, and one should think of Näräyana, the master of the spiritual sky. One should think of Madhusüdana, Tridhämä, Mädhava, Hrshikesha, Padmanäbha, Janärdana, Dämodara and Vishveshvara, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krshna Himself.
After offering prayers to the Lord's personal expansions known as the svämsha and shaktyävesha-avatäras, one should pray to the weapons of Lord Näräyana, such as the Sudarshana, gadä, shankha, khadga and bow.
After explaining this process, Sukadeva Gosvämi told Mahäräja Parikshit how Vishvarüpa, the brother of Vrträsura, described the glories of the Näräyana-kavacha to Indra.
