Meaning of Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra & Dhyana Sholka

In this, you look at the origin of maha mrutyunjaya mantra and the sloka that describes shiva's form as lord mrutyunjaya.

You will also look at the benefits of chanting this mantra, along with how to chant it properly, and off course it's meaning.

Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra presents itself in the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and the Atharvana Veda. Mrutyuh in Sanskrit, meaning death, and jaya is victory. Chanting this matra provides you the seeker with health, vibrance, strength, and ultimately Victory over the very cycles of birth and death.

tryambakam yajAmahE Sugandhim pushti-vardham |

UruvAruKamiva bandhanAnmruty OrmukshIya mAmrutAt.

The mantra works best, if we attach a form to it, and meditate on that form. This process is called dhyAnam. Let's now learn the shloka that describes the form of shiva as lord mrutyunjaya. This is the form that we need to meditate upon, while we chant the mrutyunjaya mantra.

hastAmbhOja yugasthA KumbhayugalAduddhrutya toyam shirah |

(Lotus hands) (two Pairs)       (with two pots)         (water)  (head)

Sinchantam KarayOryugEna dadhatamsvAnke sakumbhau karau |

(pouring)     (with two hands) (holding)(In lap) (Two pots in Hands)

aksha srag mruga hastamambujagatam murdhastha chandram sravat |

(Rudraksha Mala) (Mrgu Mudra) (Lotus like) (moon on the head)

pIyOshOtra tanum bhojE sagirijam mrutyunjayam tryambakam |

(Pouring)  (Nectar) (Body) (I Pray) (with Girija) (victor of Death) (Three Eyed Shiva)

The gist of the sholka is, I meditate upon that form of shiva, who has his wife by his side, who is known by name mrutyunjaya, who has three eyes. He is purifying himself with water flowing down onto his head or shirah, from two pairs of hands holding two pots, with two more hands he is holding two more pots in his lap. In his other two hands, he is holding a rudraksha mala, and holding mrugi mudra, which is representative of purification. On the top of his head, is the moon, from which pIyusha, or nectar is flowing down. With this form of shiva in mind, let's how look at how to chant the maha mrutyunjaya mantra properly:

Om tryambakam yajAmahe sugandhim pushti Vardhanam |

urvArukamiva bandhanAn mrutuormukshIya mAmrutaat.

Some people called it bandhanAt. That happens when the word are being split apart, and being uttered separately. While chanting it's best to use bandhanAnmrutyOrmukshIya. this mantra, is composed to two lines. In the first line, we invoke shiva to understand this line better in common english, we can look at the words in this order.

yajAmahE Sugandhim, pushtiVardhanam, tryambakam. (Which means I invoke the fragrant, strength, enhancing, three eyed form of shiva). After having invoked him, we now address him directly.

mukshIya mAamrutAt, mrtyohbandhanAt, urvArukamiva (free me not from immortality, but from death's grip, lika rive cucumber).

I have never seen it myself, but they say a ripe cucumber detaches itself from the plant, with utmost grace and effortlessness. So through this shloka, we are beseeching a fragrant potency enhancing  lord mrutyunjaya to free us effortlessly from death's grip and provide us immortality. 

I hope you enjoyed learning Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra...