THE MRUTYUNJAYA MANTRA

“Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivarhanam

Urvarukamiva Banhdanath Mrutyoh Muksheeya Maa Amritath

- Krishna Yajurveda

“We offer salutations to the three-eyed Shiva who has a divine fragrance and who bestows boundless nourishment. May we be relieved from the clutches of Death as easily as a cucumber gets itself released freely from its stem. May we never be separated from immortality”

This Vedic hymn which occurs in the Krishna Yajurveda expresses the innermost urge of humanity for immortality which abides in the heart of every human being. This hymn adoring Lord Shiva was revealed to the ancient seers during their long hours of communion with the Self [Tapas]. The lotus of divine experience bloomed in the clear lakes of their hearts, inspiring them to compose this hymn as well as many other Vedic hymns and to present them to the world as the key to open the secret treasure of mystic values.

The term ‘Mrutyunjaya’ on the surface of it suggests that the Mantra enables us to conquer death from disease or accident. This is just a narrow interpretation. In its widest sense it means that the Mantra leads us to immortality. It is not that we actually overcome death or save the body from dying but we overcome the ignorance of what dies and what is undying. We realize that there is no death for the soul within which is a part of God and therefore immortal. This is what the Bible also says as is evident from St.Paul’s statement which states that “The last enemy that has to be destroyed is Death”.

The Mantra begins with the sacred “OM” [Aum] which is not an essential part of the Mantra as such. However, it has been added to enhance its effect, as ‘OM’ is the symbol of the Absolute or God and it is a mystic formula for invoking that supreme Self.

Tryambakam: Tryambaka means one who has three eyes. It is well known that Shiva is supposed to have three eyes. Different interpretations are given for these three eyes. When Lord Shiva is considered in the Vishwaroopa form, these three eyes are the sun, the moon and fire. These three are chosen because they are the illuminators of the world.
In the second interpretation, two normally placed eyes are material eyes through which we experience the material world. The third eye on the forehead stands for the ‘Atma Jnana’ [Knowledge of the Self] through which we can see the higher Reality and burn away ‘Agjnana’ or ignorance. According to another interpretation, the two normal eyes represent vices of lust, anger and greed and the third eye on the forehead represents the eye by opening which Shiva burnt these vices into ashes. By reflecting on these meanings


and their significance constantly together with the word Yajamahe, we repeatedly think of God’ virtues like Self control, Kindness, charity etc and gradually imbibe these qualities from Him.

Yajamahe: Though the word ‘Yajamahe’ is usually applied to sacrifice, it is used here in the sense of worship.

Sugandhim: Means having an excellent fragrance. Chanting of the word’ Sugandhim’ repeatedly will have a purifying influence on the mind. We are all full of evils and impurities in the mind caused by bad thoughts and bad habits. God is full of fragrance. Constant meditation on this attribute of the Almighty will enable us to cast off the evil in us and acquire a purified mind.
Shiva’s fragrance is not artificial but natural since the Shrutis declare God to be
‘Pushpa Gandhah Pushpa Rasah’ which means ‘divinely fragrant and sweet’. Acharya Shankara uses the word ‘Sugandhou’ while describing the Devi in his ‘Soundarya Lahari’.[Shloka No.45]

Pushtivardhanam: means ‘giver of spiritual nourishment’. It is used in the higher spiritual sense of one who will be blessed with God’s grace and will enable him to acquire all the things that conduce to what the Upanishads call ‘Manushya Anandam’—full of human happiness as set out in the Ananda Meemamsa of the Taittareeya Upanishad.

Urvarukamiva Bandhanath: Meaning, freeing us without effort from the clutches of material attachment like a cucumber from its creeper.
We should pray to Lord Shiva to make us a ripe fruit so that we can get detached from worldly attachments. The cucumber first grows on a creeper and being heavy grows on the ground itself. When it becomes ripe it detaches itself from the creeper; rather the creeper gets separated. The difference between a cucumber and an ordinary fruit is that the latter on becoming ripe, separates itself from the tree by falling to the ground whereas in the case of a cucumber, the creeper falls off the fruit. The creeper represents the family [Samsara] and other worldly attachments and we are akin to the fruit. As we progress spiritually, worldly attachments will drop off on their own.

Mrutyoh Muksheeya: This has four meanings: 1. Let me live the full length of life and not die of Apamrutyu or untimely death. 2. Let me not have a violent death-end like fire, drowning etc. 3. Let me not die bedridden for a long time and suffering with protracted illness.. It is well known that one of the prayers of the Hindus is to wish for ‘Anayasena Maranam’ which means painless and easy death. 4. Taking the next words ‘Maa Amrutat’ into consideration, Mrutyu means not only one’s bodily death but also the death of its cause namely Samsara. Hence, the implied meaning is ‘release me from the greater death of Samsara’

Ma Amritath: Lead me to immortality. May I not be separated from the immortal abode of the Self, Brahman.



There is a logical sequence in the use of the words Sugandhim, Pushtivarhanam and Amritham—in that particular order. This has an esoteric significance. In the initial stages of spiritual evolution, an aspirant has to cleanse all inward impurities like anger, greed, and lust. This requires acquisition of fragrance or Sugandhi. Then, with the destruction and sublimation of all bad odors arising out of bad traits, space is made available for the entry of spiritual energy. This prepares ground for
acquisition of Atmavidya which leads to Amrutatvam or Immortality. The same esoteric significance can be seen in the observance of the Navaratri Festival where for the first three days we worship Durga for elimination of evils and all negative forces within which is the first step towards Self-Realization. The second step is to practice the positive aspect of Sadhana by worshipping Lakshmi who is the Goddess of Aishwarya. Here, the word Aishwarya is not to be understood as material wealth. It means divine wealth like love, kindness, sacrifice, devotion, charity and all such good qualities. The acquisition of these divine qualities makes way for the acquisition of spiritual knowledge for which the presiding deity is Saraswathi who is worshipped during the last three days.

The Mrutyunjaya Mantra is an extremely potent Mantra to invoke Lord Shiva. Regular chanting of the Mantra with devotion and dedication helps one to overcome the fear of death and leads one to immortality.



Fw: ARTICLE NO. 545---The Mrutyunjaya Mantra.
Created: Friday, December 25, 2009 8:52 PM