Navagraha
Ketu — the south node
ॐ स्रां स्रीं स्रौं सः केतवे नमः
Oṁ srāṁ srīṁ srauṁ saḥ ketave namaḥ
Simple reading: Om sraam sreem sraum sah ke-ta-ve na-mah
About this mantra
The bīja-mantra of Ketu, the Moon's south node — the second shadow-graha, the headless body of the same eclipse story, with no weekday of its own. Jyotisha counts Ketu as the significator of detachment, moksha and hidden insight.
Meaning
Om — with the seed-syllables srāṁ srīṁ srauṁ saḥ — salutations to Ketu, the south node: the flag of what has already been lived. Ketu strips away. The jaap asks that the stripping be liberation rather than loss — detachment that opens into insight and, finally, into moksha.
When to recite it
Counted around eclipses and in graha-shanti; kept by those practising detachment — endings accepted, losses digested, moksha sought.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- स्रां स्रीं स्रौं सःsrāṁ srīṁ srauṁ saḥ
- the bīja (seed) syllables of this graha
- केतवेketave
- to Ketu
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Navagraha bīja-mantra tradition (jyotiṣa / graha-śānti practice)
Note: Given here in its commonly used form; wording can vary slightly between family and regional traditions.