Mahamrityunjaya Mantra · महामृत्युंजय मंत्र

By Rigveda 7.59.12Language Sanskrit2 verses

मंत्र · The mantra

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात्॥

Om Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushti-vardhanam, Urvarukam-iva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya maamritat.

We worship the three-eyed Lord, who is fragrant and who nourishes and increases all beings. As a ripe cucumber is freed from its bond to the vine, may He free us from death, and not from immortality.

सम्पुटित महामृत्युंजय · The enclosed form for anushthan

ॐ हौं जूं सः ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात्॥ ॐ स्वः भुवः भूः ॐ सः जूं हौं ॐ॥

Om Haum Joom Sah Om Bhur Bhuvah Swah, Om Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushti-vardhanam, Urvarukam-iva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya maamritat, Om Swah Bhuvah Bhooh Om Sah Joom Haum Om.

For a formal anushthan the mantra is enclosed (samputit) by the seed syllables Haum, Joom and Sah and by the three worlds, earth, atmosphere and heaven, first in order and then reversed. This form is usually learnt from a guru or performed by priests; the short form above is complete in itself.

शब्दार्थ · Word by word

What each word means

Word	Sounds like	Meaning
ॐ	Om	the primordial sound, the Supreme
त्र्यम्बकं	tryambakam	the three-eyed one, Shiva
यजामहे	yajamahe	we worship, we honour
सुगन्धिं	sugandhim	the fragrant one, whose presence pervades like fragrance
पुष्टिवर्धनम्	pushti-vardhanam	who nourishes and makes all beings flourish
उर्वारुकम्	urvarukam	a cucumber or gourd
इव	iva	like, just as
बन्धनात्	bandhanat	from its bond (to the stem)
मृत्योः	mrityoh	from death
मुक्षीय	mukshiya	may I be freed
मा	maa	not
अमृतात्	amritat	from immortality, the deathless

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ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात्॥

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सुनें · Listen and sing along

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra: audio & video

विधि · How to chant

How to chant the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

How many times

108 times (one mala) a day. For a sankalp, 11 or 21 malas daily; a full anushthan is 1.25 lakh repetitions.

When

Early morning in Brahma muhurta or at Pradosh in the evening. Mondays, Shivaratri and the month of Sawan are especially auspicious.

Bathe, wear clean clothes and sit on a mat (asana) facing east or north.
Light a diya before Shiva or a Shivling and offer water, a bel leaf or a flower if you can.
Take a sankalp: say in your mind for whom and for what you are chanting.
Chant on a rudraksha mala, one bead for each mantra. Do not cross the sumeru (guru bead); turn the mala around to begin the next round.
Say every syllable clearly and without hurry, aloud, in a whisper or silently.
End with a prayer for the well-being of all and offer the jap at Shiva's feet.

फल · Why it is chanted

Benefits in tradition

Chanted for good health and recovery, and whenever someone in the family is unwell.
Believed to protect from untimely death, accidents and fear.
Calms the mind and steadies the breath; many chant it before sleep or in anxious times.
Called the moksha mantra: it asks for freedom from the cycle of birth and death.

These are the benefits described in scripture and tradition. Mantra and prayer support, but never replace, medical or professional care.

About the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

The Mahamrityunjaya (great conqueror of death) mantra is a verse of the Rigveda (7.59.12) that also appears in the Yajurveda. It is addressed to Tryambaka, the three-eyed Shiva, and asks to be released from death as easily as a ripe cucumber slips from its vine, while never being separated from the deathless. Puranic tradition links it with the boy-sage Markandeya, whom Shiva protected from Yama, and it is also called the moksha mantra. Families chant it when someone is unwell, before a journey or an operation, on Mondays and through the month of Sawan, and priests perform the 1.25 lakh anushthan for those in serious difficulty.

दर्शन · Temples

Where it is sung

Questions

How many times should the Mahamrityunjaya mantra be chanted?

One mala of 108 a day is the usual practice. For a particular wish devotees chant 11, 21 or 51 malas a day for a fixed period, and the full anushthan of 1.25 lakh repetitions is often performed by priests.

Where does the Mahamrityunjaya mantra come from?

It is verse 7.59.12 of the Rigveda and is repeated in the Yajurveda. Puranic tradition connects it with Markandeya, the young devotee whom Shiva saved from Yama.

Who can chant it?

Anyone, man or woman, who chants with faith. A clean body and place, a fixed time and a steady count help the practice.

Can the Mahamrityunjaya jap cure illness?

Devotees chant it for strength and healing alongside treatment. It is a prayer, not a substitute for a doctor's care.

What does urvarukam iva bandhanan mean?

Like a cucumber from its stem. A ripe cucumber falls away from the vine without effort or pain; the prayer asks for the same easy release from the bonds of death.

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