Mantras - 10

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10. Mahamrutyunjaya Mantra

 

Mahamrutyunjaya Mantra (maha-mrutyun-jaya), also called the Triyambakam

Mantra, is a verse of the Yajurveda(1.8.6.i; VS 3.60) addressed to

Triyambakam " the three-eyed " , identified with the Hindu deity Siva.

Its literal translation is the Great Death-Conquering mantra. It is a

mantra that has many names and forms.

 

It is called the Rudra Mantras referring to the furious aspect of Siva;

the Triyambaka mantra, alluding to Siva's three eyes; and its is

sometimes known as the Mrita-Sanjivini mantra because it is a component

of the " life-restoring " practice given to the primordial sage Sukra

after he had completed an exhausting period of austerity. The Maha

Mrutyunjaya mantra is hailed by the sages as the heart of the Veda.

Along with the Gayatri mantra it holds the highest place among the many

mantras used for contemplation and meditation.

 

The mantra reads (Last transliteration):

 

triyambakam yajaamahE sugandhim pushTi-vardhanam

 

urvaarukam iva bandhanaan mrutyOr mokshiiya maamritaat.

 

1. tri-ambaka-m: the three-eyed-oneyaja-mahe: we praise

 

2. sugandhi-m: the fragrant

 

3. pusti-vardhana-m: the prosperity-increaser

 

4. urvaruka-m: disease, attachment, obstacles in life,

and resulting depression

 

5. iva: like

 

6. bandhanaat: from attachment Stem (of the gourd); but

more generally, unhealthy attachment

 

7. mrutyor: from death

 

8. mokshiiya: may you liberate

 

9. maa: not

 

10. amrutaat: from immortality

 

Meaning: OM! We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva. You

are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, which nourishes us, restores

our health, and causes us to thrive. As, in due time, the stem of the

cucumber weakens, and the gourd if freed from the vine, so free us from

attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality.