ଶ୍ରୀଵଂସଵୃଦ୍ଧିକରଂ ଦୁର୍ଗା କଵଚମ୍

An armour for the continuance of a family line, framed as a question Shani puts to his father the Sun: tell me, he asks, the kavacha called Vamsha, by whose power a line increases. The reply promises protection of the womb and children to those without them, and names the afflictions it drives off — those from bhutas and pretas, from the fault of the age, from planets, from enemies, and the spirits that seize infants. The armour sets a goddess at each quarter, Varahi in the east and Simhavahini in the north-east, Sharada above and Parvati below, then covers the body limb by limb, Shakambhari at the head, Chamunda at the throat, Shiva at the heart, Kalika at the navel, and Durga over all of it. A root mantra and a long petition for the child follow, and the last verses give the way of wearing it, a red thread knotted with the kavacha and tied at the waist.