In Hinduism there is a mantra called the “Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra”, this mantra is very useful for people who are suffering with physical ailments, for people who are about to leave their body, or those who have already left their body, or those who died in a sudden way, as well as, for the loved ones of the person who has passed away. It is usually chanted either 21 times or 108 times.
English : Om Trayambakam Yajamahe, Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam,
Urvarukmiv Bandhanat, Mrityurmokshaya Mamratat.
Sanskrit : ॐ त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् म्रुत्योर्मुक्षिय मामृतात्
Meaning:
- Om : Naad brahm – the sacred sound
- Triyambakam : Three eyed Lord Shiva
- Yajamahe: Worshiped in Yagya or sacred fire rituals
- Sugandhim: Fragrant
- Pushti vardhanam: Nourisher of health, wealth and life
- Uravaruk : Cucumber-like – physical and mundane
- Bandhanan: Bondage or fetters like
- Mrityu : Death like
- Mukshiya: Liberate or give Moksha
- Ma : Me
- Amritat: Divine nectar of life, serenity and prosperity
Om, Tryambaka (the three-eyed Shiva), fragrant nourisher of life. May we be bestowed with liberation from this cycle of life and death, just as a cucumber is severed from its bondage to the creeper.
This mantra was incorporated very beautifully in a Hindi movie called ‘Neerja’. The plot is based on a real-life event: Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization’s hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan, on 5 September 1986. The film is shown from the point of view of the flight’s head purser, Neerja Bhanot, who thwarted the hijack attempt by alerting the pilots, thus grounding the plane; Neerja died trying to help save 359 of the 379 passengers and crew on board. Posthumously, she became the youngest recipient of India’s highest peacetime gallantry, the Ashok Chakra Award, as well as several other accolades from the government of Pakistan and the United States.
