Mahamrityunjaya Tryambakam Mantra
The Tryambakam is one of the greatest mantras. It is the last verse of Rig Veda sūkta 7.59, and was authored by Rishi Vasistha. It’s purpose is to ward off untimely death. It goes as follows:
ॐ त्र्य॑म्बकं यजामहे सु॒गन्धिं॑ पुष्टि॒वर्ध॑नम् ।
उ॒र्वा॒रु॒कमि॑व॒ बन्ध॑नान् मृ॒त्योर्मु॑क्षीय॒ माऽमृता॑॑त् ।।
oṃ tryámbakaṃ yajāmahe sughandhíṃ puṣṭivardhánam
urvārukamiva bandhánān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt
It’s impossible to accurately translate a Vedic Sanskrit verse (which is at least 3,500 years old!), but here is an attempt: We worship the Three-eyed Lord who is fragrant and who nourishes and nurtures all beings. Just as the ripened cucumber is freed from its bondage (to the vine), may we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality.
Much benefit is gained from listening to this mantra, and some links to audio are given below. However, to use this mantra to full effect requires chanting Vedic Sanskrit with accents, and performing a long and arduous sādhana (spiritual procedure), for which one should seek out a guru who has “mantra siddhi” to be initiated into the full procedure. In the future, we hope to create a simplified procedure, and build an “app” to guide one through the sādhana (which involves “puja”, “homa” fire offerings, “yantra”, “nyasa”, etc., and can take several months to complete).
Fortunately, there are “lighter” (Sanskrit “laghu”) versions of the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, which are easier to chant and don’t require such long and arduous sādhana. We recommend the Mrityunjaya 10 Syllable Mantra.
Also, if you seek “Kavacha” (armor) and protection for your entire body, we recommend the Mrita-Sanjivani Kavacha.
And, of course, you should seek the grace of Shiva (who is Mrityunjaya), which can easily be obtained by the Shiva Boons procedure.
One can find many versions of the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, chanted in many different styles. Here are some of the most popular renditions:
Traditional chanting by pandits:
Popular version, female vocal:
Popular version, male vocal:
Shiva Boons and Salvation Project 