As the name suggests,
“MRITYUNJAY” are two
words- “Mrityu” means
Death and “jay” means win
i.e. it is Death-conquering
Mantra. This mantra is
devoted to lord Shiva, the
three eyed one so it’s also
called “triyambakayam”
mantra. This mantra is
invented by Lord Shiva
himself, but later
discovered or “sidh” by
“maharishi Markandeya ji”.
According to the story of
Markandeya ji, he as a 13
year old boy did Lord
Shiva’s Tapasya or deep
meditation for saving his
life. Because his father,
Mirkandu rishi, was told
that his son, Markandeya,
will die at age of 13. It is
believed that, any devotee
who perform true
Tapasaya or bhakti or
deep meditation to lord
Shiva, he or she will be
saved or enlightened from
Trilok or three worlds. Lord
shiva was so happy to see
Markandeya’s tapasaya
that Shiva gave him boon
or Vardan. This way
Markendya was saved
from Yamraj (God of
death) and Dhoots (Death
god’s servants).
Later, this mantra was
used and modified for
specific tasks.
For example, this
Mritunjay mantra can be
used to heal any disease,
it can be used to extend
the time of your death.
But with very care,
extreme trust and
dedication, this mantra
can be used to save your
life (or someone’s life),
can be used to give back
vital force of life to dead
ones, it can also be used
to destroy any enemy or
disease.
worship, adore, honour,
revere,
उवाधरुकममव ब्धनान ् मत्ृ योमुक्ष
ध ीय
माऽमत
ृ ात ् ।।
In IAST transliteration:
auṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe
sugandhiṃ pushtivardhanam ǀ
urvārukamiva bandhanān
mrityormukshīya mā'mritāt ǁ
Word-by-word meaning of the
Mrityunjaya Mantra:
ॐ aum = is a
sacred/mystical syllable in
Sanatan Dharma or hindu
religions.
त्र्यम्बकम ् tryambakam =
the three-eyed one
(accusative case), त्रि +
अम्बकम ् = tri + ambakam =
three + eye
पुनटि puṣṭi = A well-nourished
condition, thriving,
prosperous, fullness of life,
वधधनम ् vardhanam = One
who nourishes, strengthens,
causes to increase (in health,
wealth, well-being); who
gladdens, exhilarates, and
restores health; a good
gardener, पुनटि-वधधनम ् =
puṣṭi+vardhanam = पुनटि:
वधधते अनेन तत ् = puṣṭiḥ
vardhate anena tat (samas)=
The one who nourishes
someone else and gives his
life fullness.
According to Wikipedia.org
पुनटिवधधनम ् ।
सुगन्धम ् sugandhim = sweet
smelling, fragrant
(accusative case),
Now we will know the
most popular mantra of
Mrityunjay and later
specific.
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धंम ्
यजामहे yajāmahe = We
उवाधरुकममव urvārukam-iva =
like the cucumber or melon
(in the accusative case); or
like a big peach.
Note: Some people have
decomposed the compound
urvārukam in this way: 'urva'
means "vishal" or big and
powerful or deadly; 'arukam'
means 'disease'. But urva
(उवाध) does not mean 'vishal'
in Sanskrit; Another
possibility would be ūrva
(root ऊव)्ध , meaning 'to kill,
hurt', which could bend the
translation to 'please
eredicate all disease' as ūrva
is in the imperitive mood.
Another way: uru: big, large;
ārukam (in the accusative
case): peach; iva: like.