BENEFITS OF CHANTING MAHA MRUTHUYNJAYA MANTHRA
Once as I was analyzing a friend's (my class-mate in high school classes) chart during August, 1983. I noticed a planetary combination that was particularly dangerous for him in the near future. I strongly recommended that he regularly recite the maha mrityunjaya mantra, the traditional mantra of protection, over the following weeks, for 1008 times daily. He was a civil engineer (Executive Engineer); he had respect for my astrological predictions. About a month later as the man was doing a routine inspection in a construction site, a support beam suddenly gave way and the decking for RCC slab landed on top of him! His co-workers were quite certain that he had been killed beneath that weight. However, when they finally removed the material of decking, they found that he was not only alive, but that the only injuries he sustained was a hairline fracture to his left fore-arm bone ! It was a great miracle to all people present there. He is still alive and hale and healthy.
The mrityunjaya mantra is considered one of the maha mantras of efficacy or a great Sanskrit mantra because of its high potency to give protection and manifold blessings. Maha mrityunjaya literally means the great victory over death. It is associated with Bhagavan Shiva, the destroyer of ignorance, and the liberator from the cycle of death and rebirth. It is therefore a life giving mantra that not only protects the physical body and gives health, but purifies the mind at a deep level.
The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Om tryambakam yajamahe
sugandhim pushtivardhanam
urvarukamiva bandhanan
mrityor mukshiya mamritat.
"I bow down to that three-eyed Lord Shiva, who is full of sweet fragrance, who nourishes all living beings. May He free me from the bondage of samsara and death, just as a ripe cucumber is separated from the vine. May I be fixed in immortality!"
Bhagavan Shiva is said to have three eyes, because he sees the past, present, and future simultaneously. He is the lord of the three worlds - physical, astral, and causal. He is also beyond the three gunas - sattva, rajas, and tamas - or creation, sustenance, and destruction. As we chant the maha mrityunjaya mantra we identify with Shiva, develop his attributes, and receive his blessings.
In the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, sage-astrologer Maharshi Parashara prescribes the maha mrityunjaya mantra as an astrological remedial measure on at least 24 separate occasions. In Chapter 55 and in verse 52 he says,
"In this critical period, with the recitation (japa) of mrityunjaya mantra the malefic (harmful) effects will get mellowed down (reduced) with the blessings of Bhagavan Shiva." ======================================
