In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra and its traditional meaning as a prayer connected with Shiva, transformation, and freedom from death.
Maha means great, Mrityu means death, and Jaya means conquest over death. Therefore, Mahamrityunjaya means the great conquest over death mantra. According to some traditions, this was the mantra that Markandeya recited when he was trying to avoid dying as a sixteen-year-old boy. This may or may not be the historical origin of the mantra, but it is certainly true that the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra appears in the context of the Rudra Adhyaya, the worship of Rudra in the Vedic tradition.
The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is often recited with Bija Mantras. I am going to leave those out today because, first of all, Bija Mantras are not something that should necessarily be translated directly. At most, they can be explained slightly so that you have a general idea, but it is better not to try to hold onto their meaning intellectually. Instead, I would like to go through the meanings of the words themselves.
Tryambakam Yajamahe means we worship the three-eyed one. The three-eyed one is Shiva, or in this case Rudra, who was the Vedic form of Shiva. Shiva developed from Rudra. Yajamahe means we worship, but Yaj also suggests sacrificial worship, an offering into fire, or a Vedic sacrifice.
The word Sugandhim is one that I have always found interesting because it literally means fragrant. “Good smelling” seems like an unusual description for Shiva. However, when looking into the meaning of Sugandhi, another interpretation is a deity like Shiva himself.
My expectation, and I emphasize that this is my own opinion, is that Shiva and other deities are called Sugandhi because their fragrance is constant. Human beings cannot maintain this quality indefinitely because the body produces many things that are not always fragrant. After death, during decomposition, the body becomes especially non-fragrant. This is a mantra concerned with overcoming death, and therefore the quality of eternal fragrance is especially appropriate for the Devatas, the ethereal beings who are not subject to ordinary physical decay.
Therefore, Sugandhim expresses this quality of deathlessness associated especially with Shiva, who is the Lord of Death. The word also connects with nourishment and increase. Shiva increases nourishment, strengthens the organism, and supports our existence in this world.
The mantra then uses the image of Urvarukamiva, a cucumber. Why a cucumber was chosen specifically, rather than another fruit or vegetable, I do not know. But the important point is that a cucumber grows on a vine and remains connected to that vine until the proper moment.
Eventually, the cucumber separates from the vine. If it separates at the appropriate time while it is still healthy, it remains useful and contains seeds that can create new life. If it remains attached too long, it may dry up and lose its usefulness.
The meaning is that just as a cucumber is released from the vine at the right moment while life continues, may I also be released from this connection with the world of death at the proper time. But do not disconnect me from immortality.
This is an important point whenever we pray, especially when we are speaking to the Divine. We should be very clear about what we are requesting. Ask to be freed from death, but do not ask to be freed from immortality.
The deeper meaning is that even if we are separated from the physical body, may our awareness, our subtle body, and our connection with Supreme Reality continue. May we continue to honor, remember, and bow down to that Reality.
The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is therefore especially appropriate for Shiva and especially appreciated by Shiva, because it expresses the desire to move beyond death while remaining connected with immortality.