Lord Shiva is one of the very few deities who have been worshipped since time immemorial. He is called the god of destruction, where he destroys immoral qualities, such as crave, greed and anger and negative presences, such as evil and death. God Shiva thus protects souls to help recreation by Brahma, who is one of the holy trinity.
The omnipresence of Lord Shiva is beyond the world. Considered the first of all gods, he has created the universe. He protects and transforms it. People worship God Shiva by chanting various mantras. Mahamrityunjaya mantra is the most powerful mantra and one dedicates himself or herself to the Lord by chanting it.
Meaning of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is also called Tryambakam Mantra or Rudra Mantra. This mantra has its origin in the Rig Veda and one attains the highest divine power by chanting it several times. This death-conquering mantra has powerful healing effect.
The mantra reads like this:
- Oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam
- Urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya mā 'mṛtāt
The meaning of the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra goes like this:
The first word ‘om’ or ‘aum’ is a sacred syllable used to chant any mantra to worship in Hinduism. ‘Tryambakam’, where ‘tri’ means ‘three’ and ‘ambaka’ means ‘eye’ and it gives the meaning of ‘three-eyed one’ in accusative case. ‘yajamahe’ has a meaning of ‘we worship’ and ‘sugandhim’ means ‘the fragrant or fragrance of’.
‘Pusti’ means ‘nourishment, prosperous’ and ‘vardhanam’ refers to ‘increase or growth’. The first part of the mantra says, “We worship the fragrant three-eyed one – Lord Shiva who nourishes or is the cause to increase nourishment (health and well-being) in all living beings”.
In the second part, ‘Urvarukam’ means ‘cucumber’ and ‘iva’ means ‘like’ or ‘as’. ‘bandhanan’ refers to ‘from bondage’. Here it means ‘from the creeper or stem’ because ‘cucumber is tied to the creeper’.
‘mrtyor or mrtyoh’ means death and ‘muksiya’ means ‘may I be liberated or freed’. ‘mā 'mṛtāt’ refers to ‘not from immortality’.
The second part of the mantra says, “My soul as a cucumber is bonded to the creeper (the body). May I be liberated from death (attachment to all material and perishable things) and not separated from the perceptiveness of immortality (the immortal essence present in every part of the world).
The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra thus means:
“We worship the fragrant three-eyed one – Lord Shiva who nourishes or is the cause to increase nourishment (health and well-being) in all living beings”. “My soul as a cucumber is bonded to the creeper (the body). May I be liberated from death (attachment to all material and perishable things) and not separated from the perceptiveness of immortality (the immortal essence present in every part of the world).
Origin of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is found in Rigveda in Mandala 7, which was authored by Maharishi Vashishta, of Hymn 59. Rishi Markandeya is believed to be the creator of this mantra. Markandeya was born to sage Mrikandu and his wife, Marudmati, who were ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. Their long prayers were answered when God Shiva appeared in their dream and asked them their wish. Both of them said at a time that they want a child. Lord Shiva asked them to make a choice between a son who is pious, wise and virtuous but he will live only for a short span of life up to sixteen years, and a son, who is foolish and evil-natured but he will live for long.
Hearing this, both Mrikandu and Marudmati were speechless for they want a good-natured, intelligent and dutiful child who can be with them for long. They finally opted for the short-lived child. When the child was born, they named him Markandeya, who grew up to master all the Vedas and Shastras. His parents kept worrying and when he became sixteen, they cried looking at him. Markandeya could not resist asking them the reason; after much compulsion, they revealed the secret behind his birth.
Markandeya consoled his parents saying he will pray Lord Shiva and win over death. It was time and Yama, the god of death, who is known to wield a noose that seizes the soul, appeared before him riding a buffalo. Seeing Yama, Markandeya ran and embraced the shivalinga, holding it tightly with his hands. He was chanting Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, which he created during his prayers to God Shiva. Yama, who cannot allow Markandeya to live any longer, threw the noose on his head. It incidentally fell on both Markandeya and shivalinga. When Yama pulled the noose, the shivalinga split and Lord Shiva appeared and killed Yama to free Markandeya, who is blessed to become immortal.
Benefits of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
Some of the benefits of chanting Mahamrityunjaya Mantra are:
It helps benefit mentally, physically and emotionally. The mantra brings happiness, prosperity, peacefulness and contentment in life.
- The three words, ‘Maha’, ‘Mrityun’ and ‘Jaya’ refers to ‘great’, ‘death’, and ‘victory’. It is therefore a lifesaving mantra and when one chants it with devotion it is believed that it saves him or her from untimely death.
- When chanting this life-restoring mantra, one is required to concentrate in his/her inner self, which is the third eye. This helps one get connected to the lord.
- Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is said to have amazing healing power created through divine vibrations while chanting. People who suffer from anxiety, fear and other negative emotions can get rid of them by chanting this mantra.
- People who fear of failing in business or having financial losses can benefit by this mantra.
- Astrologers advise one to chant this mantra for any problems in the horoscope.
- A life-saver mantra, it is believed that Lord Shiva through Shukracharya taught this to Rishi Dadichi, who used it to save King Kshuva. This has helped recognize the mantra as a life-saver.
- Chanting Mahamrityunjaya Mantra 108 times early in the morning helps ward of negative forces and generate divine vibrations.
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is chanted with inner consciousness and by smearing ash called ‘vibhuti’ on some parts of the body in japa to have desired results.
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