The word “Navkar” (more accurately “Namokar” / “Namaskar”) is not correctly broken as Nava + Kar. In Jain tradition it is understood as:

• Namo / Namoḥ / Namah → bowing, paying obeisance, salutation
• Kāra → the act / process / expression of doing that bowing

So:

Namokar / Navkar = Namo + Kāra = “that which is the act of bowing (salutation)” = “the mantra / expression by which we bow with respect.”

People sometimes wrongly connect it with:

• Nava (nine) + Kāra (doing / making)

as if it meant “that which does nine things” or “made of nine parts,” but this is not how Jain acharyas explain the word.

Across both Śvetāmbara and Digambar usage, it is simply the Namaskār-mantra – the mantra of bowing/ salutation to the Pañcha-Parameṣṭhi – and the word “Navkar” is just a popular/prakrit form of Namokar / Namaskar, not “Nava + Kar.”