Navnath Bhaktisar (literally “Navnath Devotional Essence”) or Navnath Pothi is a miraculous devotional book written by Kaviraj Malu Narhari in 1741 (Jyestha Shukla Pratipadela). The original book, on which it is based, was written by Guru Gorakhnath. The name of the original book is Kimayagaar (Shri Goraksha Kimayagiri Pravah). Ovees (stanzas) in this book are expanded in Navnath Bhaktisar. Both the original and adaptation are in the Marathi language.
Navnath Bhaktisar narrates the life story of the nine saints, including their births, penances, victories, miracles, etc. It has a total of 40 chapters and 7600 stanzas. The 40th chapter (Adhyaya) is considered to be the most important. Reading it is equivalent to reading the whole book. Those who read the book or at least the 40th chapter every day, Navnath themselves stay in their house and protect the readers and their families from all the disasters.
All the chapters start by offering obeisance to Lord Ganesha and mostly end by offering obeisance to Lord Krishna.
Benefits of reading Navnath Bhaktisar:
The benefits of reading Navnath Pothi are mentioned in the 40th chapter. I am providing here a rough translation.
Chapter 1: Freedom from ghosts.
Chapter 2: Victory and Money.
Chapter 3: Destruction of the enemy, the mastery in Mushti-Vidya, Lord Hanuman stays in the house.
Chapter 4: Freedom from vicious plots and defeat of enemies.
Chapter 5: To get rid of ghosts in the house and not to get possessed by ghosts in the future.
Chapter 6: Enemies will be friends.
Chapter 7: To get rid of worries, get free from the cycle of birth and rebirth
Chapter 8: The friend will return from foreign, to get rid of worries.
Chapter 9: To be master of 64 arts and 14 techniques.
Chapter 10: To get rid of Stree Dosha, children will survive.
Chapter 11: Protection from fire. To get rid of Griha Dosha.
Chapter 12: To calm and please the gods.
Chapter 13: To get rid of the sins of murdering a woman. Ancestors will attain salvation.
Chapter 14: To get out of jail.
Chapter 15: To get rid of family quarrels.
Chapter 16: To get rid of bad dreams.
Chapter 17: Yoga Siddhi.
Chapter 18: To get rid of the sins of murdering a Brahmin. Ancestors will be freed from hell.
Chapter 19: Salvation.
Chapter 20: To get rid of mental problems and obtain peace and prosperity in family life.
Chapter 21: To get rid of the sins of killing a cow.
Chapter 22: To get a genius child.
Chapter 23: There will be gold in the house forever.
Chapter 24: To get rid of the sins of murdering a child. The reader’s children will be happy in their life.
Chapter 25: No curse will affect you. You will get the birth of a human. You will get a beautiful wife and kids.
Chapter 26: To get rid of the sins of killing a cow. Children will not be enemies.
Chapter 27: To get the lost valuables and position of power.
Chapter 28: To get a good wife who will serve you forever.
Chapter 29: To cure tuberculosis and fevers.
Chapter 30: The thief will be blind.
Chapter 31: No ill effect from Shabari Mantra.
Chapter 32: To dissolve the perils. Life term will increase.
Chapter 33: You will never get tetanus. If you are already suffering from it, then it will be cured.
Chapter 34: For success.
Chapter 35: To get great Siddhis.
Chapter 36: To heal from the poisons of snakes and/or scorpions.
Chapter 37: Bad behavior will improve. The reader will gain knowledge.
Chapter 38: To cure hivtap, primary, and other fevers.
Chapter 39: To get victory in the war.
Chapter 40: All the wishes will be fulfilled. You will get the Punya of reading the whole book.
Can Females Read Navnath Bhaktisar?
The answer to this question is a bit uncertain and controversial. Some people say females can read it except in their menstrual cycles, while some people say even the shadow of a female should not fall on the book.
I think females cannot read the physical book Navnath Bhaktisar, but they can read it on an electronic device. But reading it on an electronic device is not as beneficial as reading a book.
Following are the points in support of my argument:
1. Except Machchhindranath, all the nine Naths are celibates. In Hinduism, women are prohibited from touching the idols of the gods who are celibates, like Ayyappa, Kartik Swami (per some scriptures), Lord Hanuman, etc. When a devotee reads Navnath Bhaktisar, a part of Navnath resides in that book. That is why the readers should not eat non-vegetarian food on the day you read the book.
2. In the Kanifnath Temple near Saswad, females are not allowed to touch the tomb of Kanifnath.
3. Female menses are irregular. It can come at any time. What would happen if a female gets menses while reading Navnath Bhaktisar? Navnath is considered a little stricter deities than others. Therefore, this might cause the wrath of Navnath upon that female and her family.
4. If you see the benefits section, it is mentioned that the reader would get a good wife, but it is nowhere mentioned that the reader would get a good husband.
But there is a workaround for this problem. I think females can read it by taking the following precautions:
1. Do not read it during the menstrual cycle.
2. Do not touch the book. Keep it at a distance from where you can read it.
3. Tell someone else (a male) to flip the pages.
4. Take a bath before reading it.
5. Generally, females know when their menses would start. Avoid reading two to three days in advance.
In this way, a female will be able to read it without any risk, but still, I would advise consulting a knowledgeable person before doing this.
How to do Navnath Pothi Parayan:
1. Parayan should be started on Thursday or Friday of Shravana or Margashirsha and completed within seven or nine days.
2. While reading the book, the reader should face east direction.
3. Sit on an asana while reading.
4.
i. Read 1-6 chapters on the first day.
ii. Read 7-11 chapters on the second day.
iii. Read 12-16 chapters on the third day.
iv. Read 17-21 chapters on the fifth day.
v. Read 22-26 chapters on the fifth day.
vi. Read 27-31 chapters on the sixth day.
vii. Read 32-35 chapters on the seventh day.
viii. Read 36-38 chapters on the eighth day.
ix. Read 39th and 40th chapters on the ninth day.
5. Take a bath before reading every day.
6. Do not get up in between.
7. If you have to go to the toilet or bathroom, then have a bath again before resuming.
8. After finishing daily reading, do Navnath Aarti and distribute Prasadam.
9. On the first day before starting reading, worship the book by offering some flowers, etc.
10. Read a little bit louder. Do not just murmur.
11. Do not talk with anyone while reading.
12. Keep a lamp burning during this time.
13. Do not eat non-vegetarian food.
14. Do not eat outside food.
15. Refrain from sexual activities and alcohol.
16. Do not lie or harm anyone.
For more details, please visit the following link:
My Experience with Navnath Bhaktisar:
Many people claim that they had divine experiences after reading Navnath Pothi. The listeners generally do not believe others. There are some things that you have to experience yourself. It is believed that you should share such experiences, but I do not mind sharing them because it would help popularize Navnath devotion.
In 2010, I was having some job-related issues. Then further investigating, I found that I was a victim of black magic. Therefore, I started reading Navnath Bhaktisar Adhyay 40 daily. I did Navnath Parayan also. I read it for almost nine months.
While reading it, I used to see some bright light coming out of the book. But I thought it could be due to continuous reading. While reading it, some thoughts used to come to my mind. In one of those thoughts, I found out that the person that I was trusting the most and was even ready to die for was one of the persons doing black magic on me. But I did not believe it completely and started observing that person and found that it was correct. It took many months for me to confirm this.
In between, after about nine months, I lost my job, so I thought that this worship, etc. is of no use and stopped reading the book. On the day I stopped reading it, my wife put it on the upper compartment of our house and went away. When I was standing there near a window, I suddenly heard a deep voice calling my name. I could feel that voice was coming from where the book was kept, but again, I did not pay attention to it. I thought I was hallucinating. At that time, I was not a very staunch believer in all those things.
But now, I know that all those things were real. Even though I could not save my job, I got much more than that. Navnath helped me solve the biggest mysteries in my life that were more important than my job.