Mahamrityunjaya Mantra: Word-by-Word Meaning
महामृत्युंजय मंत्र
Rigveda 7.59.12; its seer is Vasishtha, by tradition
The Mahamrityunjaya mantra ("the mantra of the great conqueror of death") is one verse of the Rigveda, the last verse of hymn 59 in the seventh book (7.59.12). It is addressed to Tryambaka, a name of Rudra, the god whom Hindus today worship as Shiva. It is also called the Tryambaka mantra, after its first word. Griffith's note says the verse also occurs in the Yajurveda. Many Hindu families chant it in daily prayer, in Shiva worship, and when someone in the family is ill.
Also spelled: Mahamrityunjay Mantra.
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Verse 12
त्र्यंबकं यजामहे सुगंधिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।उर्वारुकमिव बंधनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanamUrvarukamiva bandhananmrityormukshiya mamritat
IAST
tryaṃbakaṃ yajāmahe sugaṃdhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam |urvārukamiva baṃdhanānmṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt ||
Our explanation Word by word: tryambakam, Tryambaka, a name of Rudra (Shiva); yajāmahe, "we worship"; sugandhim, fragrant; puṣṭi-vardhanam, the one who makes nourishment and well-being (puṣṭi) grow; urvārukam iva, like a cucumber or gourd; bandhanāt, from its bond, that is, from the stem; mṛtyoḥ, from death; mukṣīya, "may I be set free"; mā amṛtāt, not from immortality (amṛta). The worshippers say that they worship Tryambaka, the fragrant one who makes nourishment grow. They ask to come free from death as a ripe cucumber comes free from its stem, but not to be cut off from immortality. The commentators read Tryambaka and the last words in different ways; see the classical readings.
हिंदी अर्थ शब्दार्थ: त्र्यंबकं, त्र्यंबक, रुद्र (शिव) का एक नाम; यजामहे, "हम पूजा करते हैं"; सुगंधिं, सुगंध वाले; पुष्टिवर्धनं, पुष्टि (पोषण और कल्याण) को बढ़ाने वाले; उर्वारुकम् इव, ककड़ी या खरबूजे की तरह; बंधनात्, बंधन से, यानी डंठल से; मृत्योः, मृत्यु से; मुक्षीय, "छूट जाऊँ"; मा अमृतात्, अमृत (अमरता) से नहीं। उपासक कहते हैं कि वे सुगंध वाले और पुष्टि बढ़ाने वाले त्र्यंबक की पूजा करते हैं। वे प्रार्थना करते हैं कि जैसे पकी ककड़ी अपने डंठल से छूट जाती है, वैसे ही वे मृत्यु से छूट जाएँ, पर अमृत से अलग न हों। टीकाकार त्र्यंबक और अंतिम शब्दों का अर्थ अलग-अलग करते हैं; नीचे पुराने अर्थ देखें।
Word by word
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Word by word
- त्र्यंबकम् tryaṃbakam · Tryambaka, the three-eyed one (accusative singular) Dictionary: try-ambaka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 463, col. 1 “‘three-eyed’”
- यजामहे yajāmahe · we worship (present, 1st person plural (middle)) Dictionary: 1. yaj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 838, col. 3 “to worship, adore, honour (esp. with sacrifice or oblations)”
- सुगंधिम् sugaṃdhim · fragrant (adjective, accusative singular) Dictionary: su-gandhi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1222, col. 2 “sweet-smelling, fragrant”
- पुष्टिवर्धनम् puṣṭivardhanam · who makes nourishment and welfare grow (compound, accusative singular) Dictionary: puṣṭi-vardhana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 639, col. 2 “increasing pr° or welfare”
- उर्वारुकम् urvārukam · a cucumber or gourd (noun (neuter), nominative or accusative singular) Dictionary: urvāruka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 218, col. 2; urvāru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 218, col. 2 “the fruit of Cucumis Usitatissimus”
- इव iva · like, as (indeclinable) Dictionary: iva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 168, col. 3 “like, in the same manner as”
- बंधनात् baṃdhanāt · from its bond (the stem) (ablative singular) Dictionary: bandhana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 721, col. 1 “a bond, tie (also fig.), rope, cord, tether”
- मृत्योः mṛtyoḥ · from death (ablative singular) Dictionary: mṛtyu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 827, col. 3 “death, dying”
- मुक्षीय mukṣīya · "may I be set free" (benedictive (a wish), 1st person singular, middle) Dictionary: 2. muc, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 820, col. 3 “to loose, let loose, free, let go, slacken, release, liberate”
- मा mā · not (particle of prohibition) Dictionary: 1. mā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 804, col. 1 “not, that not, lest, would that not”
- अमृतात् amṛtāt · from immortality (ablative singular) Dictionary: a-mṛta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 82, col. 2 “world of immortality, heaven, eternity”
2 printings differ
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- Spelling The 1873 London printing reads: त्र्यंबकं यजामहे सुगंधिं पुष्टिवर्धनं। उर्वारुकमिव बंधनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥ p. 43, leaf n484: 'पुष्टिवर्धनं' with anusvara for the final म्.
- Addition Today's text from Gita Press, Gorakhpur reads: ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥ Today's Gita Press book of daily rites (leaf n240) prints 'ॐ' before the verse, as many people chant it; the words of the verse are the same. The Rigveda text has no 'ॐ'.
Tryambaka we worship, sweet augmenter of prosperity.
As from its stem the cucumber, so may I be released from death, not reft of immortality.
Sanskrit text: Handbook to the Study of the Rigveda, Part II: The Seventh Mandala of the Rigveda (Bombay Sanskrit Series No. XLIII), by Peter Peterson, 1892. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
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Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
त्र्यंबकं यजामहे सुगंधिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
उर्वारुकमिव बंधनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhananmrityormukshiya mamritat
Word by word: tryambakam, Tryambaka, a name of Rudra (Shiva); yajāmahe, "we worship"; sugandhim, fragrant; puṣṭi-vardhanam, the one who makes nourishment and well-being (puṣṭi) grow; urvārukam iva, like a cucumber or gourd; bandhanāt, from its bond, that is, from the stem; mṛtyoḥ, from death; mukṣīya, "may I be set free"; mā amṛtāt, not from immortality (amṛta). The worshippers say that they worship Tryambaka, the fragrant one who makes nourishment grow. They ask to come free from death as a ripe cucumber comes free from its stem, but not to be cut off from immortality. The commentators read Tryambaka and the last words in different ways; see the classical readings.
(Meaning written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition.)
Text: Government Central Book Depot (for the Department of Public Instruction, Bombay), Bombay, 1892 (public domain).
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About the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
In the Rigveda the rest of hymn 59 praises the Maruts, the storm gods, who are Rudra's sons. The 1873 Rigveda edition of Max Müller names Vasishtha as the seer of the hymn and Rudra as the deity of this last verse. The verse is in the anushtubh metre: four quarters of eight syllables.
The words are a prayer, not a promise. The worshippers praise Tryambaka as fragrant and as the one who makes nourishment grow, and they ask to be set free from death as a ripe cucumber comes free from its stem, but not to be cut off from immortality (amṛta). The old commentaries read some words in different ways, for example whether Tryambaka means "the three-eyed one" or "the father of the three gods", and what "immortality" means here. Each reading is shown with its source.
The text is read from the Bombay edition of the seventh mandala by Peter Peterson (1892), checked against Müller's 1873 Samhita text. The English translation beside it is Ralph Griffith's (1897). Many people today add "Om" before the verse when they chant it; the Rigveda text does not have it.
How to say it
The 1892 printing writes the nasal before a consonant as a dot (anusvara), in tryaṃbakaṃ, sugaṃdhiṃ and baṃdhanāt. It is spoken as the nasal of that consonant's group: "tryambakam", "sugandhim", "bandhanāt". Many printings today write the full nasal letter instead; the sound is the same. The words join as "bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā amṛtāt": "māmṛtāt" is mā + amṛtāt. The IAST line writes the anusvara as ṃ, as printed. Vedic recitation also uses pitch accents, which the printing marks and this page does not show.
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Who wrote the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra?
Rigveda 7.59.12; its seer is Vasishtha, by tradition.
Which text does this page follow?
Sanskrit text: Handbook to the Study of the Rigveda, Part II: The Seventh Mandala of the Rigveda (Bombay Sanskrit Series No. XLIII), by Peter Peterson, 1892. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Source and licence
- Text
- Handbook to the Study of the Rigveda, Part II: The Seventh Mandala of the Rigveda (Bombay Sanskrit Series No. XLIII), by Peter Peterson (Peter Peterson, Government Central Book Depot (for the Department of Public Instruction, Bombay), Bombay, 1892). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.