Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात्॥
oṁ tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam, urvārukamiva bandhanānmṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt.
Meaning
A Rigveda mantra. The meaning: we worship Tryambaka, the three-eyed Shiva, fragrant and nourishing; as the ripe melon slips of itself from the vine's hold, so may we slip from the hold of death — but not from the deathless. The tradition calls it the great mantra that carries one past the fear of death — Shiva's most solemn jaap.
How to do the jaap
Special on Mondays, through Sawan and on Mahashivratri — and taken up with a sankalp in hard times. Count on a mala of 108, the utterance slow and clean; the sava-lakh japa of this mantra is a major anushthan in tradition, done under a guru's or a worthy pandit's direction.
Frequently asked questions
How does it differ from Om Namah Shivaya?
The panchakshara is the everyday bow — short, for every hour. The Mahamrityunjaya is a long Rigveda mantra taken up with a specific sankalp. Both are Shiva's; the purpose differs.
Can it be chanted without a guru?
Ordinary devotional japa is open to anyone — the rule that matters is clean pronunciation. The large anushthans (the sava lakh and such) are done under direction, by tradition.