Navagraha
Rahu — the north node
ॐ भ्रां भ्रीं भ्रौं सः राहवे नमः
Oṁ bhrāṁ bhrīṁ bhrauṁ saḥ rāhave namaḥ
Simple reading: Om bhraam bhreem bhraum sah raa-ha-ve na-mah
About this mantra
The bīja-mantra of Rahu, the Moon's north node — a shadow-graha with no body and no weekday of its own. The Puranas tell of the asura whose severed head still swallows the sun and moon at eclipses; jyotisha counts Rahu as the significator of worldly desire, the unconventional and sudden change.
Meaning
Om — with the seed-syllables bhrāṁ bhrīṁ bhrauṁ saḥ — salutations to Rahu, the north node: the shadow that swallows the sun in eclipse. Rahu is hunger without a floor — ambition, obsession, the unconventional road. The jaap asks that this immense pull be pointed somewhere worth going.
When to recite it
Counted around eclipses and on Saturdays; taken up when ambition turns obsessive, in sudden upheaval, and at unconventional turns of the road.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- भ्रां भ्रीं भ्रौं सःbhrāṁ bhrīṁ bhrauṁ saḥ
- the bīja (seed) syllables of this graha
- राहवेrāhave
- to Rahu
- 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.