Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

The text below is that of the Sanskrit Wikisource edition of Rigveda 7.59 (with the accent marks removed). Many people add the syllable Om at the start when chanting, and longer 'samputita' forms used in some rituals wrap the verse in further bija syllables. Those forms come from later ritual manuals and vary from teacher to teacher, so they are not reproduced here.

As a single verse, the mantra reads:

The verse is the twelfth and last of Rigveda hymn 7.59, a hymn in the seventh book, which tradition associates with Vasishtha Maitravaruni and his family. Most of the hymn praises the Maruts, the storm gods, but the Vedic index (anukramaṇī) quoted with it on Wikisource describes this last verse as an anuṣṭubh addressed to Rudra, 'raudrī mṛtyu-vimocanī': the Rudra verse that frees from death.

Scholars note that the final verses of the hymn are a later addition, linked to the sākamedha, the last of the four-monthly (cāturmāsya) seasonal sacrifices, which closes with an offering to Rudra Tryambaka. The same verse appears in the Yajurveda, in the Vajasaneyi Samhita (3.60) and the Taittiriya Samhita (1.8.6.2), where it accompanies the Tryambaka offerings, and the Shatapatha Brahmana (2.6.2) describes the Tryambaka rite.

In the Puranas and in popular devotion the mantra is linked with stories of Shiva rescuing his devotees from death, most famously the boy-sage Markandeya, whom Shiva protected from Yama. These stories belong to devotional tradition rather than to the Vedic text itself.

Tryambaka is usually understood as 'the three-eyed one', Shiva whose third eye is fire. Sayana, the great medieval commentator, also gives another reading: the 'father' (ambaka) of the three gods Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. Yajāmahe means 'we worship' or 'we offer sacrifice to'. Sugandhi, 'fragrant', is explained by Sayana as one whose holy fame spreads far, like the scent of a tree in flower. Puṣṭi-vardhana is 'the one who increases nourishment': of body, wealth and spiritual strength.

The image at the heart of the mantra is the urvāruka, a kind of cucumber or melon. When it ripens it slips from the vine by itself, without being torn. The prayer asks for that kind of freedom: when the time comes, to be released from death and the cycle of rebirth gently and naturally, by Shiva's grace. The last words, 'mā amṛtāt', mean 'not from immortality': let me be freed from death, but never cut off from the deathless. Sayana reads this as asking for liberation that lasts until union (sāyujya) with the Lord.

The mantra can be chanted at any time with a clean body and a quiet mind, but tradition gives it special weight on Mondays, on Pradosh (the thirteenth lunar day at dusk), during the month of Shravan and on Maha Shivaratri. It is commonly recited during abhisheka of the Shiva-linga, while applying sacred ash (vibhūti), in homa, and at the bedside of the sick.

1. Sit facing east or north on a clean seat. If possible, keep a Shiva-linga or image of Shiva before you, and offer water, bilva leaves or a lamp. 2. Take a rudraksha mala of 108 beads in the right hand. 3. Chant the verse slowly and clearly, one bead for each repetition, without crossing the head bead. 4. Hold the meaning in mind: the ripe fruit falling freely from the vine. 5. Finish with a prayer for the person you are chanting for, and a moment of silence.

One mala of 108 is the usual daily practice. Some people chant 11 or 21 times when short of time. For serious illness or other crises, families often arrange a formal anuṣṭhāna of 1.25 lakh (125,000) repetitions, shared among priests over several days and closed with a homa. Ancient Vedic manuals also prescribe ritual uses: the Rigvidhana, quoted in the Wikisource commentary, describes a three-night fast followed by a hundred offerings of milk-rice with this verse to Mahadeva, by which one 'lives a hundred years in happiness'.

Hindu tradition calls this a mokṣa-mantra, a mantra for liberation, and also one of protection and healing. Devotees believe that sincere recitation:

- protects against untimely death (akāla-mṛtyu), accidents and serious illness; - supports recovery and strength, physical and mental, which is why it is chanted for the sick; - removes fear, especially the fear of death, and brings calm; - purifies the mind and leads at last to moksha, as the closing words 'mā amṛtāt' ask.

These are matters of faith. The mantra is a prayer, not a substitute for medical care, and families who chant it for the sick do so alongside treatment.

Because the mantra is Vedic, many teachers ask that it be learned with correct pronunciation, especially 'tryambakaṃ', 'urvārukam iva' and 'mṛtyor mukṣīya'. Some traditions hold that the longer ritual forms with bija syllables should be taken from a guru, while the plain Vedic verse may be chanted by anyone with devotion. As always, follow the custom of your own family and teacher where they differ.