Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra - The Dalai Lama

When Mayu and I went to visit the "singing salad bowl guy", he handed out a CD with the Dalai Lama's version of the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra. It is about 48 minutes long, and about 44MB in size, and is repeated 108X during those 48 minutes. There are only four lines in total to this mantra, but the meaning of it, and the sound, and how it resonates in the soul... are wonderful.

If you wish to download the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra (43.8MB), please do! As it is large, it will take some time, so I suggest you "right click" and download to your hard drive rather than left-click and play in the streaming fashion. I hope you don't have trouble downloading it, but let me know if you do (after a few attempts because FileDen is not always a reliable storage facility, mostly because it is free).

I thought that it would be difficult to play the same thing over and over for 48 minutes... but time flew and before I realized it, it was ending. And I felt good.

I love you!

Cam

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Introduction to the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

The great mantra dedicated to Shiva as Mrityunjaya is found in the Rig Veda. It is called the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, the Great Death-conquering mantra. It is a mantra that has many names and forms.

It is called the Rudra mantra, referring to the furious aspect of Shiva; the Tryambakam mantra, alluding to Shiva's three eyes; and it is sometimes known as the Mrita-Sanjivini mantra because it is a component of the "life-restoring practice given to the primordial sage Shukra after he had completed an exhausting period of austerity.

The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra is hailed by the sages as the heart of the Veda. Along with the Gayatri mantra it holds the highest place among the many mantras used for contemplation and meditation.

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Om Tryambakam yajamahe,
Sugandhim pushti vardhanam,
Urvarukamiva bandhanan,
Vrityor mukshiya Mamritat.

Translation

I meditate on, and surround myself to the divine being who embodies the power of will, the power of knowledge, and the power of action. I pray to the Divine Being who manifests in form of fragrance in the flower of life and is the eternal nourisher of the plants of life. Like a skillful gardener, may the Lord of Life disentangle me from the binding forces of my physical, psychological, and spiritual foes. May the Lord of immortality residing within me free me from death, decay, and sickness and unite me with immortality.

Explanation

This is a healing and nourishing mantra and in a sense, "The Heart of the Vedas". The healing force awakened by the mantra sends forth its ripples from body to psyche and from the psyche to the soul. It strengthens our powers of will, knowledge and action, thus unblocking the flow of enthusiasm, courage and determination.

The vibration of this mantra awakens the internal healing forces while attracting nature's healing agents, creating an environment where the forces from both origins converge.

This mantra connects us to the healer within and helps us receive the full nourishment from food, herbs, or any discipline undertaken from our total well-being.

Meaning of the mantra

OM. We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva.
You are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, who nourishes us, restores our health, and causes us to thrive.
As, in due time, the stem of the cucumber weakens, and the gourd if freed from the vine, so free us from attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality.

Word-to-word Meaning:

OM - Almighty God
Tryambakam - Three-eyed
Yajamahe - We worship, adore, honour, revere
Sugandhim - Sweet fragrance
Pushti - A well-nourished condition, thriving, prosperous, full and complete
Vardhanam - One who nourishes, strengthens, causes to increase (in health, wealth, well-being); who gladdens, exhilarates, and restores health, a good gardener
Urvarukam - Disease, attachment, obstacles in life, and resulting depression
Iva - Like, just as
Bandhanan - Stem (of the gourd); but more generally, unhealthy attachment
Mrityor - From death
Mukshiye - Free us, liberate us
Ma - Not
Amritat - Immortality, emancipation

Important Note: The CD of the Dalai Lama chanting this ancient mantra from the Rig Veda  "Maha Mrityunjaya" mantra was recorded by one of his disciples with the Dalai Lama's permission. At first he refused to release it but then he agreed, saying that it must never be sold, it can only be given.

If you share it with others, please include this note and ask that they do the same.

Download the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra.