Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

A Prayer for the celebration of Shivaratri (The Night of Shiva)

Aum tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam urvārukamiva bandhanānmṛtyormukṣīya mā'mṛtāt (Rig Veda 7.59.12)

"We offer worship to the fragrant, three-eyed Lord Shiva, who enhances prosperity. May he liberate us from the bondage of death like the water melon; may he not let us turn away from immortality."

This mantra is called the Mrtunjaya Mantra, since it invokes the blessings of God for conquering death. The beauty of this mantra is that it is a complete prayer for all the four important goals of Hindu life. Pushti, which means prosperity, includes both artha (wealth) and pleasure (kama). Sugandhim (fragrance) refers to dharma or virtue. The sweetness and beauty of human life do not come from the fact of wealth but from virtue. It is the practice of virtues like truthfulness, non-violence, compassion, generosity and self-control that gives fragrance and beauty to our lives. Wealth without the fragrance of dharma is unattractive and harmful to oneself and to others. Finally the mantra is also a prayer for the fourth and highest goal of human life, moksha (liberation). A life of dharma leads us gently and naturally to the wisdom (jñāna) that liberates us from the fear of death. A melon goes through a natural ripening process. At the end of it this process, it painlessly separates from the vine. If it is plucked before this process is over, its sweetness is lost. In a similar way if we pursue all of our life-goals in the fragrance of virtue, we are blessed with that knowledge that helps us to overcome the fear of death through understanding the immortal self (ātmā). Moksha is the fruit of wisdom and virtue.

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