Mahamritrunjaya Mantra

In our journey over the last 11 months to gather some pearls of wisdom that originate from our roots, we have seen many mantras, shlokas and subhashitams related to various aspects of how our ancestors lived their lives and how we can incorporate them to lead our lives in a better manner.

As I bring for you the final 4 blogs, I was trying to check if I have covered all bases 😊

We always have that niggling doubt, “Is there some important aspect that has got missed out??”

I realized that we have covered a host of shlokas for moments from morning to night, festivals, gods and goddesses, we have spoken about how to lead a good life practising equanimity, resilience and empathy.

Great, we have got the whole life covered! So, can you get us something for beyond – beyond this life???

Well, yes, I can!

Amongst the many many shlokas associated with Lord Shiva, perhaps the most potent and powerful one is the Mahamrutrunjaya Mantra. This is found in the oldest veda – The Rigveda.

It goes thus –

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥

mahamrityunjay

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It means

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे     We pray to Lord Shiva (The Three-Eyed one),

सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्     who is fragrant and helps one become stronger.

उर्वरुकम् इव                        Like a (ripe) cucumber (separates from its stem),

बन्धनात् मृत्योः मुक्षीय     may I be liberated from Death’s bondage;

मा अमृतात्           not from Deathlessness (immortality)

The third eye of Lord Shiva represents a higher sense of perception – the ability to see beyond what we see with our two eyes.

“उर्वारुक” is a term in Samskritam for vegetables in the gourd variety like cucumber, bottle gourds, melons, squash etc. which grow on creepers and when fully ripe, they just come off their stems easily.

Giving this analogy, the mantra states that just as easily and naturally as a cucumber coming off its stem, may I too be liberated from the cycle of life and death for ever and attain the deathlessness (immortality) state. In Hinduism, we believe that when the atman becomes one with the Supreme Consciousness, the atman becomes immortal. It does not require to enter bodies and take birth and die again and again.

This mantra is very versatile.   It can be invoked as a prayer to Lord Shiva. It can be chanted to be free from disease. It can be recited for a long, healthy and prosperous life. It can be intoned during meditation. It can even be recited to calm your mind when one is feeling stressed out or anxious. It is also chanted for one’s loved one when they are in their final moments on Earth.

Do learn this mantra and internalize its meaning.

Including it in your daily chanting routine is sure to help you in this birth and beyond too!