Shastric Account and Pacification of Epidemic Afflictions

॥ नमः प्रकृत्यै ।।
|| Namaḥ Prakṛtyai ||
(Salutations to Primordial Nature)

Author: Pandit Gangadhar Pathak ‘Vedadhyacharya’ Chief Acharya—Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Shila Pujan, Ayodhya Guide:  Shri Sarveshwar Jayaditya Panchangam, Jaipur  

Chief Priest Acharya Shri Gangadhar Pathak presiding as Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya

शिवदूति महाकालि भैरवि प्रलयेश्वरि । रक्ष रक्ष जगन्मातर्मा मां स्पृशतु कोपतः ॥
“O Shivaduti, Mahakali, Bhairavi, Sovereign of dissolution! Protect, protect, O Mother of the universe! May Thy wrath never touch me!”

        In the Vedas and allied shastras (sacred scriptures), exhaustive descriptions and diverse remedies are available for pacifying adhibhautika (caused by living creatures), adhidaivika (caused by unseen divine forces), and adhyatmika (caused by the body-mind) afflictions, or terrestrial, celestial, and atmospheric tribulations, as well as all upheavals arising from pestilence and pandemic. In the present essay, certain forms of pandemic-induced afflictions and their shastric antidotes are presented.

In the twelfth chapter of the world-renowned Shri Durga Saptashati, it is stated unequivocally:

व्याप्तं तयैतत्सकलं ब्रह्माण्डं मनुजेश्वर । महाकाल्या महाकाले महामारीस्वरूपया ।। सैव काले महामारी सैव सृष्टिर्भवत्यजा । स्थितिं करोति भूतानां सैव काली सनातनी ॥
“O King, by Her is this entire universe pervaded; at the time of the Great Dissolution, She assumes the form of Mahakali as Mahamari (the Great Pestilence). She alone at that hour is the pandemic; She alone, though unborn, becomes creation; She sustains all living beings, and She alone is the eternal Kali.”

        It is Bhagavati Mahakali, assuming the form of Mahamari at the time of cosmic dissolution, who pervades this entire universe of moving and unmoving beings. Incensed by the deprivation of bali (sacrificial offerings) and homa (fire oblations), She seeks at the time of dissolution to swallow the entire world in the form of a pandemic. Though unborn, She becomes both creation and preservation, and that very same eternal Goddess Bhagavati Mahamaya, when propitiated through proper adoration and upasana (contemplative worship), protects all living beings.

        In the Pradhanika Rahasya, when Bhagavati Mahakali inquired of the Primordial Power Adyashakti Mahalaksmi regarding Her names and functions, Mahalaksmi—bestowing numerous names upon Mahakali: “Mahamaya Mahakali Mahamari Kshudha Trisha”—also conferred upon Her the name ‘Mahamari’, whose function is to visit a sweeping, apocalyptic collective retribution upon the wicked and sinful souls of the world who have abandoned bali, homa, and the sankirtana (congregational chanting) of the divine Name. Furthermore, according to the Murti Rahasya as well—“Sa Mahamariti giyate”—it is Bhagavati Mahakali Herself who is celebrated as the goddess Mahamari.

Learned commentators of the Shri Durga Saptashati, such as Shantanavi, have expounded the etymological and esoteric significance of the word ‘Mahamari’ in diverse ways:

महांश्चासौ अकालश्चेति महाकाल: अनिष्टकाल: अकालः कालाग्निरुद्रः तस्मिन्नुपस्थिते महाकाले संहारसमये समुपस्थिते सति । महांश्चासौ कालः कालाग्निरुदः संहारकमहाकालः तस्येयं स्त्री महाकाली तथा मारयति संहरति मारः  । पचाद्यच् । महांश्चासौ मारश्च संहारक महामार कालाग्निरुद्र: तस्येयं स्त्री महामारी सा स्वरूपं यस्याः सा देवी महामारीस्वरूपा । यद्वा 'मह उद्धव उत्सवः' महानुत्सवानासमन्तान्मारयति नाशयति महामारी महाप्रलयानलज्वाला तस्या इव स्वरूपं यस्याः सा महामारीस्वरूपा 'मृत्युजिह्वा महामारी जगत्संहारकारिणी महारात्रिर्महानिदा महाकाल्यतितामसी ॥ सैव कालानलज्वाला सैव विद्या तमः प्रसूः । सैव मोहप्रसूमृत्युः सैव सर्वाधिदेवता || महामारी संहृतिक्रिया । महती मारी महामारी महामारी संहारशक्तिः । महाकाली एव महाप्रलयसमये तमोगुणमयी सती महामारी इति कथ्यते । काले द्विपरार्द्धान्ते महतो ब्रह्मादीनपि मारयति इति महामारी महाप्रलयकारिणीशक्तिः ।

(“Mahakala is the great inauspicious time, the Kalagnirudra; when that Mahakala, the hour of universal dissolution, is at hand. He who is the Great Time, the Kalagnirudra, the dissolver Mahakala—His consort is Mahakali. So too, that which slays and destroys is ‘mara’ (from the root mṛ with the suffix ac). He who is great and the slayer is the annihilating Mahamara Kalagnirudra; His consort is Mahamari. She whose intrinsic form is this is the goddess Mahamarisvarupa. Or alternatively, from ‘maha’ meaning festival or joy: She who completely slays and destroys great celebrations is Mahamari, possessing a form like the blazing fire of cosmic dissolution. She is the ‘tongue of Death, Mahamari, the cause of universal dissolution, the Great Night, the Great Sleep, Mahakali of extreme tamas (the cosmic quality of darkness/inertia)... She is the flame of the fire of Time, She is wisdom, She is the mother of darkness; She is the mother of delusion, She is Death, She is the supreme presiding deity of all.’ Mahamari is the act of universal retraction. The great plague is Mahamari; Mahamari is the power of destruction. Mahakali Herself, embodying tamoguna at the time of the Great Dissolution, is designated Mahamari. At the close of the two parardhas of cosmic time, because She brings even exalted beings such as Brahma to an end, She is called Mahamari—the power that executes universal dissolution.”)

Elsewhere this pestilence is also referred to as maraka, mari, marak, or madak: प्रियन्ते जना यस्मात् । मृ+अपादाने अप् । ततः स्वार्थे संज्ञायां वा कन् । यद्वा मृ+भावे अप् | मरो मरणमिति शब्देन कायति शब्दायते इति । कै+कः मरकः ।
(“That from which people die: from root mṛ + ap in the ablative sense, followed by kan in pleonastic or nominal sense; or mṛ + ap in the abstract sense of death, combined with the root kai + ka, meaning that which cries out or causes the cry of ‘death, dying’—hence maraka.”)

        What more needs to be said? It is established from the above shastric derivations that when the world becomes devoid of diverse yajnas (Vedic sacrifices), bali, homa, and sattvic (pure and harmonious) dispositions such as the chanting of the divine Name, Bhagavati Mahakali, embodying tamoguna, seeks to turn the world into Her sacrificial food as the all-destroying power, the tongue of Death, Mahamari. In the Brahmavaivarta Mahapurana, Uddhava has eulogized Shri Radharani under the name of Mahamaridevi. In the Sahasranamavalis (thousand-name hymns) of nearly all goddesses, the names Mari or Mahamari occur. In accordance with the Brahmavaivarta Mahapurana and the Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Mahapurana, Gita Press’s ‘Vrata Parichaya’ issue also provides a brief rite for the pacification of Mahamari. If one were to detail the pacification rites prescribed in the various shrutis (revealed scriptures), smritis (remembered traditions), and tantragamas (esoteric ritual treatises) for countering the severe afflictions born of pandemics, an independent body of literature would emerge.

What is truly astonishing is that even amidst this catastrophic, apocalyptic crisis born of the wrath of the Supreme Shakti, the rulers of a deeply dharmic land like India—hallowed by the presence of Shri Ram and Krishna—devoid of faith in the shastras, seek to vanquish pandemic-induced calamities through non-Vedic, purely materialistic apparatus alone, trying to defeat the unconquerable Mahashakti through unscriptural might. This is wholly laughable and impossible. In treating great diseases born of nature’s wrath, even medical and material apparatus will derive strength solely from shastric pacification rites; this is certain. Take heed: the all-powerful Mahamari will be appeased swiftly only through the manifold forms of scriptural worship and upasana; otherwise, She will not rest until She has fulfilled Her destructive mandate.

Terrible and unbearable afflictions such as pestilence erupt among the subjects as a consequence of the grave sins committed by kings. Any ruler or administrator possessing even the slightest concern for the protection of their subjects must, endowed with an astika (orthodox theistic) intellect, organize and direct their subordinates to conduct widespread Mahopasarga-shanti yajnas (sacrificial rites for the pacification of great calamities) at a national scale according to the immaculate methods of the Vedas and shastras. Only then will the welfare of the nation and the world be secured. If secular governments, devoid of commitment to varnashramadharma (the duties of the four varnas and life stages), are incapable of publicly executing rites prescribed by the Vedas and shastras, why then do the hundreds of thousands of monastic heads in this sacred land—wealthy as Kubera, who preach day and night in lavish assemblies that “Yajno vishvasya jivanam” (Yajna is the life of the universe)—or other capable Sanatanis, fail to conduct experiments and research in the shastric laboratory on the globally beneficial science of yajna by properly protecting and nurturing indigenous bovine wealth and Veda-knowing Brahmins, who are the very bedrock of yajna? Rather than sanitizing with tainted alcohol and chemicals, what objection can there be to sprinkling pot-water consecrating all-disease-curing and longevity-bestowing mantras, prepared with pure, traditional panchagavya (the five sacred bovine products) or water from sacred tirthas (pilgrimage sites) combined with sovereign medicinal herbs?

        According to the Kamandakiya Nitisara 14.20–21, fire, water, disease, famine, and pestilence (maraka) are the five forms of devastating divine wrath, for whose pacification the performance of Atharvavedic shanti-rites and the worship of Shri Durga are declared mandatory for both king and subjects:

हुताशनो जलं व्याधिर्दुभिक्षं मरकस्तथा । इति पञ्चविधं दैवं व्यसनं मानुषं परम् ।। दैवं पुरुषकारेण शान्त्या वा प्रशमं नयेत् । उत्थायित्वेन नीत्या वा मानुषं कार्यतत्त्ववित् ॥
“Fire, water, disease, famine, and pestilence—these are the five kinds of divine calamities; human calamities are distinct. One who understands the true nature of action should pacify divine afflictions through heroic effort and shanti (propitiatory) rites, and human afflictions through prompt initiative and sound statecraft.”

        In a passage from the Jyotistattvam cited in the Shabda Kalpadruma, certain astrological causes for the outbreak of these calamities are also enumerated, among which the transit of Saturn in Capricorn is one:

यावन्मार्त्तण्डसूनुर्गवि धनुषि झषे मन्मथे वास्ति नार्य्या  तावहुर्भिक्षपीडा भवति च मरकं संक्षयं यान्ति लोकाः । हाहाकारा तथोर्व्वो मनुजभयकरी फेरुरावैश्च भीमैः । शून्यग्रामा भवेयुर्नरपतिरहिता भूरिकङ्कालमाला ॥
“So long as the son of the Sun (Saturn) transits Taurus, Sagittarius, Pisces, Capricorn, or Virgo, there is the torment of famine and pestilence, and people perish; widespread lamentation grips the earth, striking terror into mortals with the dread howls of jackals; villages are emptied, stripped of their kings, littered with heaps of human skeletons.”

        In accordance with the injunctions of the Puranas, the Mahabharata, Jyotisha (Vedic astrology), and Ayurveda, for the pacification of pandemics arising from diverse causes, one should—either personally or through Brahmins—devoutly perform the recitation of the Devi Mahatmya, the Batuka Bhairava Stava, and the Sahasrarchana (worship with a thousand names) of Bhagavan Shri Vishnu with tulsi, and carry out as far as possible the japa (mantra chanting) and homa of the Brahma Purana mantra that dispels all afflictions: “Om namaste bahurupaya vishnave paramatmane svaha”. For the pacification of all pandemic-induced upheavals, steadfast, vigilant Brahmins devoted to dharma and shastric ritual praxis should perform, according to one's capacity, a Navachandi, Shatachandi, Sahasrachandi, Ayutachandi, or Lakshachandi yajna of the Shri Durga Saptashati, intercalated mantra by mantra with: “Saumyani yani rupani trailokye vicharanti te | Yani chatyantaghorani tairakshasmamstatha bhuvam ||” or “Upasarganasheshamstu mahamarisamudbhavan | Tatha trividhamutpatam mahatmyam shamayenmama ||”; performing japa of these two mantras as far as one is able is also deeply beneficial. The recitation of the Shri Mahamrityunjaya Mantra by vigilant, Veda-knowing Brahmins, as well as the Shri Durga Saptashati intercalated with this mantra for the prescribed number of recitations, is exceedingly efficacious.

In the shastras, remedies such as Nrisimha mantra japa, Rudrayaga, the upasana of Bhairava and Bhairavi, extensive homa with cow’s ghee, shakalya (sacred oblation mixture), and antitoxic herbs such as amrita (guduchi), a nine-day continuous sankirtana of the holy name of Shri Sita-Ram, diverse acts of charity and dharma, and the feeding of Brahmins have also been prescribed for the pacification of pestilence. Chanting as much as possible the four mantras from the fourth chapter of the Shri Durga Saptashati beginning with “Shulena pahi no devi... tairasmanraksha sarvatah” yields swift benefit; these four verses are celebrated as the original Chandi Kavacha. An initiated dvija (twice-born) bearing a shikha (sacred tuft) and yajnopavita (sacred thread) should systematically perform or commission four hundred thousand recitations of the moola mantra of Mahamari imbued with the Maya-bija: “Om Mahamaryai Namah” or “Om Hrim Mahamaryai Namah”, followed by the requisite dashamsha (one-tenth) homa. A devotee without shikha or sacred thread should perform an equal count of “Shri Mahamaryai Namah”. Japa of “Apadamapahartaram dataram sarvasampadam | Lokabhiramam Shriramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham ||” or the recitation of the Shrimad Valmiki Ramayana intercalated with it is of immense significance. The practitioner should recite the Shri Ramcharitmanas, Sundarkand, and Shri Hanuman Chalisa according to eligibility. Let one imbue one’s very breath with the divine Name; across all calamities, the greatest shield is the Name of God alone.

For the welfare of the world, Brahmins must themselves undertake these rituals with unflagging diligence and devotion. Taking a sankalpa (formal ritual vow) and rushing through more than two thousand recitations of the Shri Mahamrityunjaya Mantra in an hour, or completing the recitation of the Shri Durga Saptashati intercalated with a forty-four-syllable mantra in an hour and a half to two hours, or rushing through a saptaha-parayana (seven-day recitation) of the Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana in the same span, will simply not do. Be warned: the consequences of deceiving the devas, or the mantras and scriptures that are the very embodiments of the Divine, are horrifying. Bear ever in mind the scriptural warnings: “Nastiyajnasamam mitram nasti yajnasamo ripuh” (There is no friend like yajna, nor any enemy like an ill-performed yajna) and “Vidhihinasya yajnasya sadyah karta vinashyati” (The performer of an uncanonical yajna is instantly destroyed).

According to Ayurveda as well, the outbreak of pandemics is rooted in adharma (unrighteousness). To halt these contagious diseases, the performance of canonical dharmic rites, yajna rituals, homa, dharmic instruction, the singing of God's names, and health counsel are indispensable. A properly executed homa yields numerous scientifically proven worldly benefits, such as the purification of the atmosphere, the destruction of harmful viruses and bacteria, the attainment of vigor and health, and the generation of fragrant, life-sustaining air enriched with vitalizing elements (such as oxygen). In the Vedas and Upavedas, smoke-therapy (dhuma-chikitsa) is accorded supreme importance. Charaka in the Chikitsasthana 8.189 has declared Veda-ordained yajnas indispensable for the restoration of health. In 17.17 of the same text, Charaka emphasizes eradicating toxic pathogens and bacilli in a patient’s room using the sacred smoke of yajna. Daily homa ought to be performed in the home. In the Rigveda Samhita 10.161.1 and the Atharvaveda Samhita Dirghayuh-prapti Sukta 3.11.1, the eradication of pathogens and consumption-causing bacteria by means of yajna-homa is explicitly described:

मुञ्चामि त्वा हविषा जीवनाय कमज्ञातयक्ष्मादुत राजयक्ष्मात् ।
“Through this oblation, I liberate thee for life, freeing thee from unknown consumption as well as from the royal consumption (tuberculosis).”

In the Gopatha Brahmana 3.12.16, yajna is hailed as the supreme sovereign remedy that cures all ailments: भैषज्या यज्ञा वा एते । तस्मादूतुषु सन्धिषु प्रयुज्यन्ते, ऋतुसन्धिषु व्याधिर्जायते ॥
“These yajnas are veritable medicines. Therefore are they performed at the junctions of the seasons, for it is at seasonal transitions that disease is born.”

In the Charaka Samhita, Vimanasthana 3.6.15–18, there is also an extensive exposition on this subject: सत्यं भूते दया दानं बलयो देवतार्चनम् । सद्वृत्तस्यानुवृत्तिश्च प्रशमो गुप्तिरात्मनः ।। हितं जनपदानां च शिवानामुपसेवनम् । सेवनं ब्रह्मचर्यस्य तथैव ब्रह्मचारिणाम् ।। सङ्ख्या धर्मशास्त्राणां महर्षीणां जितात्मनाम् । धार्मिकैः सात्त्विकैर्नित्यं सहास्या वृद्धसम्मतैः ॥ इत्येतद्भेषजं प्रोक्तमायुधः परिपालनम् । येषामनियतो मृत्युस्तस्मिन् काले सुदारुणे ।।
“Truthfulness, compassion toward living beings, charity, bali-offerings, the worship of deities, emulation of noble conduct, inner tranquility, self-protection, seeking the welfare of communities, veneration of auspicious persons, the observance of brahmacharya (continence) and association with brahmacharis, recital of the dharmashastras, association with self-controlled maharshis, and constant fellowship with righteous, sattvic elders—this is declared to be the medicine that preserves lifespan for those whose death is not predetermined in that dread time.”

        According to Bhagavan Veda Vyasa, the destruction of indigenous cows leads to the destruction of yajna; the destruction of yajna leads to the loss of havya (sacrificial offerings meant for the devas) and kavya (offerings meant for the pitris or ancestors); and thereafter, the catastrophic wrath of the devas brings about the total annihilation of the world:

गोषु प्रनष्टमानासु यज्ञो नाशं गमिष्यति । यज्ञे नष्टे देवनाशस्ततः सर्व प्रणश्यति ॥
“When cattle perish, yajna goes to ruin; when yajna is ruined, the devas are starved; and thence, everything is completely destroyed.”

For the welfare of the world, the Government of India must immediately declare an official nationwide ban on cow slaughter: “Vinashyatyashu tadrashtram yasmin rashtre gavam vadhah”—that nation wherein cows are slaughtered is swiftly ruined. Through the protection and preservation of indigenous cattle, which yield the havya and kavya that are the foundation of Shrauta and Smarta yajnas (Vedic and traditional fire rituals), and of the Brahmins who uphold the mantras, the welfare of the world will be secured; for across all scriptures beginning with the Vedas, Shrauta and Smarta yajna is proven to be the supreme karma (sacred action) and the joyful life of the cosmos: “Yajno vai shreshthatamam karma” (Yajna is indeed the highest deed), “Yajno vishvasya jivanam” (Yajna is the life of the universe).

Sushrutacharya, in the Sushruta Samhita 6.20 and 6.21, has explicitly identified adharma, the cessation of yajna, and indulgence in sinful conduct as the primary causes for the spread of pandemics. From corrupted regions, contaminated water, polluted air, and degraded medicinal plants, two types of diseases arise: common ailments and maraka (epidemic pestilence). To counter these, one must undertake relocation, shanti rites, prayashchitta (expiatory penance), japa and homa for auspiciousness, tapas (austerity), yama and niyama (ethical restraints and observances), the worship of devas, rishis, and pitris, and the sacred performance of the japa and sankirtana of the divine Name. In the Nidanasthana of the Sushruta Samhita, diverse other modes of transmission for infectious diseases are also described:

प्रसङ्गागात्रसंस्पर्शान्निः श्वासात्सहभोजनात् । एकशय्यासनाच्चापि वस्त्रमाल्यानुलेपनात् ।। कुष्ठं ज्वरश्च शोषश्च नेत्राभिष्यन्द एव च । औपसर्गिकरोगाश्च संक्रामन्ति नरान्नरम् ।।
“Through intimate contact, physical touch, exhaled breath, eating together, sharing the same bed or seat, and using the garments, garlands, and unguents of another: leprosy, fever, pulmonary consumption, conjunctivitis, and other contagious diseases pass from person to person.”

In the Garuda Mahapurana 195.6 as well:

आलापागात्रसंस्पर्शात्संसर्गात्सहभोजनात् । आसनाच्छयनाद्यानात्यापं संक्रमते नृणाम् ।।
“Through conversation, bodily touch, close association, dining together, sharing seats, beds, or vehicles, sin and contagion pass among men.”

        By sitting and rising with an infected person, through bodily touch, through breath, through communal dining, through resting or sitting on a common bed or seat, through traveling together in a small vehicle, through donning their clothes, garlands, or footwear, or by applying sandalwood pastes and unguents used by the sick—leprosy, enteric fever, dysentery, cholera, and other contagious epidemic diseases enter from one human into another. Sushruta has also prescribed the remedy for these contagious maladies: “Deshatyagajjapaddhomanmahamari prashamyati”—by abandoning an infected locality, through the recitation of diverse mantras, and through the proper performance of homa, the pandemic is subdued.

        In his commentary on the Shrimad Devi Bhagavata, the eminent scholar Acharya Nilakantha wrote of plague—a terrible divine wrath triggered by moral corruption using rats as an intermediary instrument: “Mushakam patitottham cha mritam drishtva cha yadgrihe | Tadgriham tatkshanam tyaktva sakutumbo vanam vrajet ||” In whatever house a rat is seen falling, leaping, and dying, one should abandon that house that very instant and depart with one’s family to the forest to access pure, life-giving air. For the preservation of all life, the conservation of forests is of paramount necessity.

When man undermines his vitality through improper diet and lifestyle, and his natural resistance to disease is shattered, he falls prey to contagious pandemics. At present, an acute lack of wholesome diet and regimen has led to a miserable state of affairs in Bharatavarsha. The destruction of indigenous cattle has virtually eliminated genuine milk and ghee; their replacement by synthetic milk and adulterated ghee has triggered pulmonary diseases, asthma, cough, chronic catarrh, impaired vision, premature graying and loss of hair, dyspepsia, and reproductive disorders. The absence of nourishing, invigorating food and drink causes a collapse in immunity, inviting the wrath of pandemics.

        In the Garuda Purana and other texts, these matters are discussed at length. In the 137th chapter of the Agni Purana, the Mahamari Vidya is described in detail as an abhichara (destructive occult) rite employed by kings in times of war to shatter enemy forces. In chapters 90–91 of the second khanda of the Shri Lakshminarayana Samhita, composed in the 1950s–60s, there is a comprehensive description of Shivaduti Mahamari. The bedrock of all meritorious deeds such as yajna is the auspicious, holy, and all-accomplishing Name of Bhagavan Shri Ram, Krishna, and other divine manifestations. The power residing in the Name of God to expiate sin is such that no great sinner has ever possessed the capacity to commit sins matching it: “Namno’sti yavati shaktih papanirharane hareh | Tavatkartum na shaknoti patakam pataki janah ||” The Name of God possesses the marvelous potency to transmute even deadly venom into nectar. In the Ananda Ramayana, Janmakanda 6.43, the omnipotent Lord Shiva Himself declared while drinking the poison:

"श्रीरामनामामृतमन्त्रबीजं सञ्जीवनी चेन्मनसि प्रविष्टा । हालाहलं वा प्रलयानलं वा मृत्योर्मुखं वा विशतां कुतो भीः ॥ "
“If the sanjivani (life-restoring herb) of the nectar-mantra-seed of Shri Ram’s Name has entered the heart, what fear is there, even if one enters the halahala poison, the fire of cosmic dissolution, or the very jaws of Death?”

A practitioner encased within a divine protective shield born of mantra-infused tapas

The holy Name of Bhagavan Shri Ram is the seed—the very root—of all mantras. If this sanjivani of the Name of Shri Ram, capable of raising the dead, enters the heart of any fortunate soul, where is the fear for him, even if he were to enter halahala poison, the fires of cosmic dissolution, or the very jaws of Death? Uttering this, Lord Shiva drank the deadly poison. By the grace of Shri Ram’s Name, the poison was transformed into nectar, and Shiva attained the title of Nilakantha. Through the indescribable, transcendent power of this sovereign medicine that is Shri Ram’s Name, the lives of all creatures in the cosmos were preserved; through the power of Shri Krishna’s Name, the toxicity of Mirabai’s cup of poison was nullified. Before this supreme medicine of the divine Name, every virus and bacterium is utterly insignificant. It is for this reason that Bhagavan Shri Veda Vyasa, having churned the Vedas and all the shastras again and again, declared as his definitive judgment:

"नामसङ्कीर्तनं यस्य सर्वपापप्रणाशनम् । प्रणामो दुःखशमनस्तं नमामि हरिं परम् ॥'',
“He the chanting of whose Name destroys all sins, and bow unto Whom dispels all grief—to that Supreme Lord Hari do I bow”;
“Ram-nama japatam kuto bhayam” (Whence fear for those who chant the Name of Ram?), “Hari-smritih sarvavad-vimokshanam” (Remembrance of Hari is liberation from all calamities), and so forth.

The Lord ever stands with open arms, making this public proclamation for our supreme spiritual elevation and ultimate liberation:

"मामेकं शरणं व्रज अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥"
“Take refuge in Me alone; I shall liberate thee from all sins, grieve not.”
"सकृदेव प्रपन्नाय तवास्मीति च याचते । अभयं सर्वभूतेभ्यो ददाम्येतद् व्रतं मम ||"
“To him who surrenders unto Me but once, imploring, ‘I am Thine,’ I grant fearlessness from all beings; this is My eternal vow.”

        Let the surrendered soul say but once to the Lord, an ocean of causeless compassion: “O Lord! I am Yours.” For the Lord desires only that the soul seek His protection—“Rakshapeksham apekshate” (He looks only for the soul’s desire to be protected). Thereafter, not a hair on that most fortunate soul's head can ever be harmed. That very Shri Krishna who consumed the destructive forest fire to protect His people will, even today, drink the flames of cosmic dissolution if invoked with unshakeable faith and heartfelt yearning. Ayurveda has made this proclamation with ringing clarity:

"अच्युतानन्तगोविन्दनामोच्चारणभेषजात् । नश्यन्ति सकला रोगाः सत्यं सत्यं वदाम्यहम् ।।"
“Through the sovereign medicine of uttering the names Achyuta, Ananta, and Govinda, all diseases are destroyed; I speak the truth, the absolute truth!”

ॐ अच्युताय नमः । ॐ अनन्ताय नमः । ॐ गोविन्दाय नमः । --- श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम ---
Om Achyutaya Namah | Om Anantaya Namah | Om Govindaya Namah |
--- Shri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ---

--- Pandit Gangadhar Pathak ‘Vedadhyacharya’ --- Chief Acharya—Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Shila Pujan, Ayodhya Guide:  Shri Sarveshwar Jayaditya Panchangam, Jaipur  

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