Mantra 02 — Mahāmṛtyuñjaya — The ripening of release
MANTRA 02 · CONTEMPLATION
त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā amṛtāt ||
Source: Ṛgveda 7.59.12
भावार्थ
हम सुगंधित और पोषण बढ़ाने वाले त्र्यम्बक की उपासना करते हैं। जैसे पका फल डंठल के बंधन से छूटता है, वैसे मैं मृत्यु से मुक्त होऊँ, अमृतत्व से नहीं।
Meaning
We worship Tryambaka, fragrant and nourishing. As a ripe fruit is released from its stem, may I be freed from death, not from the deathless.
Mahāmṛtyuñjaya — The ripening of release
The striking image is organic: release resembles ripening. The fruit belongs to the vine and is nourished by it, yet a moment comes when holding and growing are no longer the same. As a contemporary reflection, this image asks us to distinguish devotion to life from the fear that tries to freeze it.
The prayer’s language of death and immortality belongs to a spiritual horizon. Its image can also invite an honest encounter with endings: an identity outgrown, a resentment ready to loosen, a season that cannot be prolonged by force. Release may require patience as well as courage.
A moment to reflect
What are you holding that once nourished you but may now be ready to change?
Tryambaka is associated with Rudra–Śiva. This is a plain-language devotional rendering; traditional translations differ in detail.