Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (Sanskrit: महामृत्युञ्जयमन्त्र, romanized: mahāmṛtyuñjayamantra, lit. 'great death-conquering mantra'), also known as the Rudra Mantra or Tryambakam Mantra, is a ṛc (verse) of the Ṛgveda (RV 7.59.12) addressed to Tryambaka, 'the three-eyed one', an epithet of Rudra, who is identified with Śiva in Shaivism. It also recurs in the Yajurveda (Taittirīya Saṃhitā 1.8.6.i;[1][2][3] Vājasaneyi Mādhyandina 3.60[4]).

The mantra

The mantra, as it appears in the Ṛgveda, reads:

Devanagari

त्र्य॑म्बकं यजामहे सु॒गन्धिं॑ पुष्टि॒वर्ध॑नम् । उ॒र्वा॒रु॒कमि॑व॒ बन्ध॑नान्मृ॒त्योर्मु॑क्षीय॒ मामृता॑त् ॥[5]

IAST

tryàmbakaṃ yajāmahe sugándhiṃ puṣṭivárdhanam.
urvārukámiva bándhanānmṛtyórmukṣīya mā́mṛ́tāt.

Translation by Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton as:[6]

We sacrifice to Tryambaka the fragrant, increaser of prosperity.
Like a cucumber from its stem, might I be freed from death, not from deathlessness.

Origin

In the Ṛgveda, the verse is found in sūkta (hymn) LIX of maṇḍala (book) VII, a composite hymn attributed to Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi. The final four verses of the hymn, which include the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, are late additions to the text. These verses relate to the sākamedha, the final ritual of the cāturmāsya (four-monthly) sacrifices. The sākamedha concludes with an oblation to Rudra Tryambaka, providing the liturgical context for the verse.[7]

Significance

Within Hindu traditions, the mantra is recited for longevity and immortality, and mental, emotional, and physical health.[8] It is categorized as a mokṣamantra (mantra for liberation), and is chanted during the application of vibhūti (sacred ash), during japa (meditative repetition), or within homa (votive rituals).

See also

References

  1. ^ Anantashastri; et al. kr̥ṣṇa-yajurvēdīya taittirīya-saṁhitā कृष्ण-यजुर्वेदीय तैत्तिरीय-संहिता [Taittiriya Samhita of the Krishna Yajurveda] (in Sanskrit). pp. ५२.
  2. ^ Bashyam, Vijayaraghavan (4 July 2005). "Taittiriya Samhita – Edited by Vijayaraghavan Bashyam – Book 1 Chapter 8" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1914). The Veda of the Black Yajus School entitled Taittiriya Sanhita – Part 1 : Kandas I–III Translated from the Original Prose and Verse. Princeton Theological Seminary Library. Cambridge, Mass. : The Harvard university press. p. 118.
  4. ^ "Vajasneyi Madhyandina Samhita Adhyaya – 03". Vedic Heritage (in Sanskrit). Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ Rg Veda with Sayana's Commentary Part 3.
  6. ^ Jamison, Stephanie; Brereton, Joel (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. p. 954. ISBN 9780199370184.
  7. ^ Jamison, Stephanie; Brereton, Joel (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 953–954. ISBN 9780199370184.
  8. ^ Vishnu Devanand (1999). Meditations and Mantras:An Authoritative Text. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 9788120816152.
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