Mahamrityunjaya Mantra: Meaning

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1. Verse 1

   ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥

   oṁ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam । urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt ॥

   त्र्यम्बकम्	tryambakam	the three-eyed one
   यजामहे	yajāmahe	we worship
   सुगन्धिम्	sugandhim	fragrant, pure
   पुष्टिवर्धनम्	puṣṭivardhanam	who increases nourishment
   उर्वारुकम्	urvārukam	the cucumber (melon)
   इव	iva	like
   बन्धनात्	bandhanāt	from the stalk, from bondage
   मृत्योः	mṛtyoḥ	from death
   मुक्षीय	mukṣīya	may I be freed
   मा	mā	not
   अमृतात्	amṛtāt	from immortality

   ॐ। हम तीन नेत्रों वाले (शिव) की उपासना करते हैं, जो सुगंधित हैं और पोषण तथा समृद्धि बढ़ाते हैं। जैसे ककड़ी का फल अपनी बेल के बंधन से छूट जाता है, वैसे ही मैं मृत्यु से मुक्त होऊँ, अमरत्व से नहीं।

   Om. We worship the three-eyed one (Shiva), fragrant, who increases nourishment and well-being. As a cucumber is released from its stalk, may I be freed from death, but not from immortality.

   Tryambakam yajamahe: "We worship the three-eyed one." Tryambaka is read as the god with three eyes (sun, moon and fire), or, in an older sense, as the one connected with three mothers or the three worlds.

   Sugandhim pushtivardhanam: he is "fragrant", that is, pure and pleasing like a sweet scent, and "the one who increases nourishment", who makes life grow and thrive.

   Urvarukam iva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya: "Like a cucumber from its stalk, may I be freed from death." A ripe cucumber parts from its stem by itself, without force or pain. The prayer asks for release from death's bondage that is natural and gentle, the way ripe fruit falls.

   Mamritat: "not from immortality". May I be freed from death, but not cut off from the immortal. Commentators read this both as a prayer for long healthy life and as a prayer for liberation (moksha).