Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (maha-mrityun-jaya) is one of the more potent of the ancient Sanskrit mantras. Maha mrityunjaya is a call for enlightenment and is a practice of purifying the karmas of the soul at a deep level. It is also said to be quite beneficial for mental, emotional, and physical health. The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra is hailed by the sages as the heart of the Veda. The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra also called the Tryambakam Mantra, is a verse of the Rigveda 7.59.12. It is addressed to Tryambaka "the three-eyed one", an epithet of Rudra, later identified with Shiva. The verse also recurs in the Yajurveda (TS 1.8.6.i; VS 3.60) Story behind the mantra There was a sage called Mrikandu. He and his wife propitiated Lord Shiva through severe penance. Lord Shiva was pleased with them and blessed them with a boon, saying, "Either you shall have a divine son who will live only for sixteen years or a bad son who will live for one hundred years. Choose what you want." Sage Mrikandu and his wife chose a good son, even though short lived. Shiva blessed them with a good son whom they named Markandeya. When Markandeya was eight years of age, he knew all the holy scriptures, and all that is to be known for self realization by the direct instruction of his sagely father. His parents never revealed to him that his life was going to come to an end at the age of sixteen, but they asked him to do the worship of Lord Shiva regularly. On the last day of the sixteenth year Yama, the God of death, appeared to him and threw his noose to the nose of Markandeya, while he was sitting for the worship of Lord Shiva. His breath was disturbed as Yama began pulling his soul out of his body. With great devotion, Markandeya embraced the holy Shivalinga (a divine and potent form of Lord Shiva) and burst into a great Mantra known as the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra. When Markandeya uttered the Mrityunjaya Mantra, Lord Shiva appeared through the Shivalinga and drove away Yama, the God of death and blessed Markandeya to become the ever living master of the Himalayas. The Mantra: "ॐ त्र्यम्बकम् यजामहे सुगन्धिम् पुष्टिवर्धनम् | ऊर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ||" aum tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt ॐ aum = is a sacred/mystical syllable in Sanatan Dharma or Indian religions, i.e. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism tryambakam = the three-eyed one (accusative case) yajāmahe = We worship, adore, honor, revere sugandhim = sweet smelling, fragrant (accusative case) puṣṭi = A well-nourished condition, thriving, prosperous, fullness of life vardhanam = One who nourishes, strengthens, causes to increase (in health, wealth, well-being); who gladdens, exhilarates, and restores health; a good gardener urvārukam = cucumber (in the accusative case) iva = like, just as URVAARUKIMIVA: 'URVA' means "VISHAL" or big and powerful or deadly. 'ARUKAM' means 'Disease'. Thus URVARUKA means deadly and overpowering diseases. (The CUCUMBER interpretation given in various places is also correct for the word URVARUKAM, but not apt for this mantra). The diseases are also of three kinds caused by the influence (in the negative) of the three Guna's and are ignorance (Avidya etc), falsehood (Asat etc as even though Vishnu is everywhere, we fail to perceive Him and are guided by our sight and other senses) and weaknesses (Shadripu etc. a constraint of this physical body and Shiva is all powerful). bandhanān = "from captivity" {i.e. from the stem of the cucumber} (of the gourd); (the ending is actually long a then -d which changes to n/anusvara because of sandhi) BANDANAAN means bound down. Thus read with URVAROOKIMIVA, it means 'I am bound down by deadly and overpowering diseases'. mṛtyor = From death mukṣīya= Free us, liberate us mā = not amṛtāt = [for] immortality, emancipation Simple Translation We hail the fragrant Three-eyed One who nourishes [all] and increases the [sweet] fullness of life. As the cucumber is liberated from captivity [from its stem], may we [also] be liberated (mukshiya) from death (mrityor)not for the sake of immortality (maamritaat).
The greatness of a civilization is not only represented with how liberal or vast it is, but also with how powerful knowledge it possesses. It has been mentioned in every religion, that some words or alphabets have special powers and when these words are joined together, they form a very powerful sacred chant. Sacred chants are an indispensable part of Hindu religion. This article is meant to understand one such type of sacred chant, which the Hindu religion believes to increase life span of mortal human being. Mahamritunjay Mantra English Translation “Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat.” Explanation of Mahamritunjay Mantra This mantra is addressed to Lord Shiva, the God with No beginning and end. In Sanskrit its is called “Na aadi , na anth“. As referred in Rig Veda, this mantra was blessed to age old Sage, Shukra, when he completed his very hard long time austerity to please lord Shiva. Meaning of the First part “Hey lord shiva the God with three eyes, with charismatic fragrance and the one who takes care of health and living of every body in this world, I hail to thee ” Meaning of the Second part “Release me from the bindance of life and death and open our eyes to the wider dimension so that we may leave back our mortality to be in peace with Him for ever” This is said with reference to the life span of a fruit in a creeper plant. It grows, it ripens and in the ende it clings off the creeper, to give life to another plant from its seeds. Mahamritunjay Mantra Recitation Instructions With the advent of electronic instruments and distorted music flooding the Indian market, its very disheartening to find the abuse of theses chants in movies and music industry. A chant is not something that one can howl the way he/she wants, but its something that should be practiced with deep meditation and exact humming procedures. One cannot just start reciting the mantra anywhere, anyplace in any posture. It should be perfectly done or else it might even beget negative results.
