Ketu Beej Mantra Jaap — 18,000 Count, Vidhi, Benefits and Booking in Ujjain

The beej (seed) mantra of Ketu is:For a full Ketu Shanti Jaap, it is recited 18,000 times — the count prescribed for Ketu — followed by a havan of one tenth of that number. Some lists give Ketu 17,000; the count our pandits follow is 18,000. Our pandits in Ujjain perform it with the sankalp in your name and gotra, on a Tuesday, the day kept for Ketu.

Ketu is the karaka of detachment, past karma, liberation and hidden knowledge. The jaap is usually taken up in these situations:

• Running a Ketu mahadasha (7 years) or antardasha
• A sense of losing direction, or detachment from everything at the wrong time
• Sudden obstacles and work left half done
• Health trouble that is hard to diagnose — alongside proper tests and treatment
• Ketu with the Moon or the Sun, or in the 8th or 12th house

Ketu’s mahadasha lasts 7 years in the Vimshottari system, which is why the remedy is so often taken up during it.

Each of the nine grahas has its own jaap count, based on the number of syllables and the tradition of the mantra; for Ketu it is 18,000. The texts also say that in Kaliyug a jaap should be done four times over — hence the second count of 68,000, done by 19 pandits, for a long dasha or a heavier affliction. Neither count is a guarantee; a larger count is a larger prayer. See the jaap counts of all nine grahas side by side.

• Sankalp — your name, gotra and the purpose are stated
• Ganesh pujan and navagraha sthapana, then Ketu is invoked
• 18,000 recitations of the beej mantra, shared among 5 pandits and counted on the mala
• Dashansh havan — a tenth of the count offered into the fire — then tarpan, marjan and brahman bhojan

You do not need to be in Ujjain: the sankalp is taken in your name, you can watch on a video call, and prasad is sent to your address. The date is fixed by the panchang and told to you before you pay.

• Worship Ganesha, the deity traditionally given to Ketu; offer durva on Tuesdays.
• Give a blanket, sesame or food to a dog or to those in need.
• Chant Om Kem Ketave Namah 108 times on Tuesdays.

If you chant the beej mantra yourself, 108 times a day on a rudraksha mala, with a steady mind, is the usual practice.

Not everyone going through a hard time has an afflicted Ketu. Whether this jaap is the right remedy is read in your own kundli — check it free in Find Your Puja: enter your birth details and the problem, and the kundli is read for it. Where Ketu eclipses the Sun or Moon, see Grahan Dosh Puja; for Rahu and Ketu together across the chart, Kaal Sarp Dosh Puja. To book: Ketu Shanti Jaap in Ujjain, from ₹6,700.