Navagraha Rāhu Gāyatrī Mantra | Viniyoga Chants by Dr Kausthub Desikachar

Navagraha-s are the nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth and is greatly relevant in Vedic tradition, especially Vedic Astrology. The term is derived from Nava, meaning nine, and Graha, meaning house, planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding. The Vedic calendar's seven days of the week is also based on the Navagraha. The position of each of these houses in our astrological chart that is calculated based on the time and place of our birth influences our dharma (purpose) and karma (destiny).

Śrī Rāhu (Ascending node of the moon) represents foreigners, foreign countries, international travel, engineering and technical trades, smoke, old men, grandparents, theft, gambling, drinking, nonconformists, the underworld and the harmful elements in the society. He is generally shown riding a lion and carrying a sword, a javelin and a shield in his three hands, while his fourth hand is held in Varadamudrā.

Rāhu allows one to break the traditional known boundaries and explore the unknown in all fields. Therefore he gives one the ability to do excellent research and bring about innovations worldwide.

Listen to this chant six times, once in the morning and once in the afternoon and benefit from the power of Rāhu.

oṁ śūkadantāya vidmahe | ugrarūpāya dhīmahi | tanno rāhuḥ pracodayāt


Dr Kausthub Desikachar is the successor and current lineage holder of the classical Yoga tradition of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar. He is an acclaimed yoga teacher, yoga therapist, healer and spiritual adviser. His objectives include the sharing of the authentic teachings of Yoga to the modern era, as well as building bridges between different healing modalities to promote physical, emotional social and spiritual health.

He is the founder of Viniyoga Pte. Ltd. and also the co-founder of Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation, India, and the founder and president of Europe based KHYF International.


Dr Kausthub Desikachar is a champion of women’s empowerment and guides many of his female students to embody their strength. To view his interviews with Viniyoga Women, visit this page here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/viniyoga-women

He charitably offers precious teachings of Viniyoga for free through various channels. He offers a Mantra blog, where students can listen to different Mantras from the Vedic Tradition. To benefit from this, visit here -https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mantra.

He also offers a complimentary weekly Youtube video on Frequently Asked Questions on a wide range of topics related to Yoga. You can visit here to view these videos - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/viniyoga-faq-kausthub-desikachar

Dr. Kausthub Desikachar also assists many clients in their healing journey that including mental health issues. He regularly writes articles on Mental Health issues and these can be found here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mental-health

Being an excellent and well-experienced Yoga Therapist and Spiritual guide, Dr Kausthub Desikachar also offers insightful mentoring through private consultations, which can be taken either face-to-face or online. To book a session with him, kindly visit his private consultations page by clicking here>

Apart from Yoga Teaching, Kausthub is also an avid photographer, inspirational writer and poet. To view, some of his inspirations, visit the website www.kausthubdesikachar.com

To view his other Yoga teaching page, visit here https://www.kausthub.yoga/