the mahamrityunjaya mantra is the mantra of lord rudra(shiva) in his most compasionate form.this mantra stands as the king of mantras along with the famous gayatri mantra,the benefits of the recitation of this great mantra are numerous,the recitacion of mahamrityunjaya provides blissful state of mind,japa of this mantra its very helpful to reverse depressions,grief,stress,and many other mind related problems.The recitation of this mantra emits divine vivrations and creates a divine armour(kavacha)around you,this mantra saves you from diseases and the negative influences.This mantra will cure your ailments and help you override harsh circunstances.it will rejuvenate you no end and embellish you.this mantra is the only mantra panacea for bad planets influence and is the best armour against shani dosha or bad saturn, mars and manglik doshas and kalsaarp dosha.its also the best short kavach or protection mantra against all shots of blackmagic.mahamrtyunjaya mantra is a moksha(bliss) mantra,and happiness is what we all look for.its also a wealth giver mantra,many people have gain wealth by the recitation of this mantra,and the person who recites this mantra,will magically turn family quarrels into good moods.the mantra goes like this-------OM TRYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE–SUGANDHIM PUSHTI VARDHANAM-URVA RUKAMIVA BANDHANAM-MRITYOR MUKSHIYA MaAMRITAT-translation—i worship the three eyed lord shiva,who is full of fragance and who nourishes everybody with health and vitality.may he liberate me from death and not from immortality;just as the same way a pumpkin is severed from its bondage from the creeper.there are many ways to practise meditation,but the siddha yogis let us a powerful heritage of mantras to attain salvation ,fullfil our wishes and reach samadhi.om namah shivaya!!!
good for haiti!
for the whole world it is in fact a world benefit, cause is adressed to us and not to me, its a universal prayer,lets pray for haiti and for everyone.in most of asharams ,they recite mahamrityunjaya for personal and common benefit.om namaha shivaya
Hi Omarkaya and All,
The Mahamritunjaya is indeed a powerful mantra.
The most powerful benefit of all is that is can help to liberate our true nature from the delusions of limited, bound consciousness.
Here’s some good background on the mantra, the meaning, and correct pronunciation:
Mahamritunjaya Mantra Overview
And here, as well, is a video of my favorite musical version of the Mahamritunjaya.
Wholeheartedly,
Kirtanman
hello kirtanman,there is no doubt about that the goal of any mantra is to expand our consciousness,this is something i remarked on my other post titled "mantra shakti miracle"in this post ,i just wanted to tell the world(if it could be possible)through this wonderful net(thanks ,yogani)some practical and attractive benefits from the recitation of this (as you know) powerful mantra.kirtanman im very pleased to tell you incase you dont know,that on youtube there are a lot of versions available of this great mantra and of many other mantras ,youtube is becoming a mantra school,if you can ,check out the one from shankar sahney, its awesome.enjoy 
Thanks, Omarkaya … and yes, I agree, fully, regarding YouTube and mantras; it’s beautiful, and a great blessing, for those who are interested in the full power, and correct pronunciation of the mantras … and/or powerful mantras enhanced by beautiful and enjoyable music.
It’s usually fairly easy, I find, to distinguish between “traditional and correct” mantra recitation, and those that are connected with enjoyable music.
Both types can be useful for practicing … correct mantras for the power and benefits which come directly from the mantra (the shakti); with the more musical arrangements (which are usually, but not always, a bit less correct/traditional) being more about the devotion (the bhakti).
For instance, I like this one, a lot; it’s not exceptionally traditionally correct, but the arrangement of the mantra, the music and the video are all very nice:
VIDEO: Mahamritunjaya Mantra, set to music.
And yes, the Shankar Sahney version is very nice.
If anyone wants to hear/learn the traditional mantra, in Vedic Sanskrit, here it is.
VIDEO: Traditional Mahamritunjaya.
(Please Note: Dr. Kumar recites one recitation of the mantra, followed by a brief, traditional propitiation mantra to Lord Shiva; the rest of the video is just recitations of the Mahamritunjaya … and so, it’s not a different mantra; once the propitiation portion is recited, it’s the identical mantra Omarkaya posted).
Also, please note: we’re roughly one month away from Mahashivaratri, the Great Night of Lord Shiva (February 12, 2010) … and so, {or SAUh, as the case may be } … if you {anyone} feels drawn to this mantra, “now’s the time”.
Lord Shiva is ultimately our true nature; infinite original subjective awareness.
As Kashmir Shaivism teaches: worship of Lord Shiva is Lord Shiva worshipping himself, who is himself, by the means which is also himself.
Lord Shiva is the worshipped; the worshipper and the temple; body, mind and spirit; subject, object and means of perception; the purifier, the purified and the means of purification … all of which are ultimately dissolved into this that is neither “mind, intellect, ego, nor memory; neither earth, air, fire, water, nor ether” {but, only} … “consciousness and bliss” … “taintless, immovable and completely pure … Shivo’ham … I AM … SHIVA.”
(Excerpts from the poem by Advaita Vedanta founder Adi Shankaracharya, composed in the 8th century, C.E.)
AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
Wholeheartedly,
Kirtanman
Hello kirtanman,although i appreciate very much your will to share,i feel obligate to tell you,that not only shankar sahnney mahamrityunjaya mantra version is absolutely right traditional sanskrit,but to inform you,that the kumar mahamrityunjayas version its partialy wrong pronounced,in mantra shastra is exposed the right pronunciation of every mantra,and its well known by any sanskrit academic and by experts of sanskrit,that some south traditions mistakes when they pronounce prachodayaAtee THIS IS WRONG,in sanskrit prachodayat is like the same word express nothing more and nothing less prachodayat so is not an exalted prachodayaAtee-WRONG its prachodayat-RIGHT? and with a short t and hardly uttered.i hope this information helps to understand the honest intenttion of my correction,however i will tell you that no bad effects can come from a wrong pronunciation of this mantra as its a universal good effects mantra and in this simple form which in reality is mrityunjaya mantra and not mahamrityunjaya mantra there are not risks,the authentic mahamrityunjaya is with mritsanjivini vidya (life restoring quality)and its composed with bija mantras,an example of the mahamrityunjaya mantra is;om hroum om joom om sah- om bhooh om bhuvah om swah-om tryambakam yajaamahe -sugandhim pushtivardhanam -urvaarukamiv bandhanaanmrityormuksheeya maAmritat-om swah om bhuvah om bhooh- om sah om joom om hroum-that will need exact right pronunciation because of the bija mantras contained,bija mantras are extremely powerful and can really have adverse effects when mispronounced.i hope this post helps to anyone envolved on mantra sadhana as a warning when they incorporate the use of bija mantras in their mantra sadhana.namaste om namah shivaya.
the explanation given for the case of prachodayat,is valid to understand that the pronunciation of mahamrityunjaya mantra it should be maAmritat and not maAmritaAte.namaste om namah shivaya.
Hi Omarkaya,
I wasn’t saying that there was anything wrong with Sahney’s recitation of the Mahamritunjaya at all … it’s truly awesome.
I just meant that for direct “reciting only”, for someone who is unfamiliar with mantra recitation, that it might be a bit easier for someone to become familiar with the mantra when it is spoken/chanted, rather than sung, as in Sahney’s version; that’s all.
I’m not comparing, or saying any one version is better than another; I’m actually doing my best to support your original post.
You mentioned the mantra; I felt providing some audio alternatives might be good.
You mentioned Sahney’s version, and said that YouTube is becoming a “mantra school” … and I said “I agree … and here are some more examples”.
Yes, you are absolutely correct about this.
Please understand: for most of us who are not native Indian language speakers catching some of those nuances from an audio standpoint doesn’t come too naturally.
I actually noticed that the ending sounded a little strange, but the rest of his recitation sounded so precise, I presumed it was correct.
However, when I looked at the devanagari, I saw that you are exactly correct:
Not only is the final t the tavarga t, is has a clear virama (for anyone who doesn’t know, this is the mark indicating that the sound just stops, no slight “a”, no aspiration; “no nothin’”).
Thanks for this.
Most non-Indian language speakers have a very tough time with correct pronunciation of longer mantras (as opposed to five syllables or less), such as the Gayatri or the Mahamritunjaya.
As you (Omarkaya) probably know, it is not only about the produced sound, but about the position of the tongue, and where, in the mouth/throat a given sound is articulated.
The good news is: in Sanskrit/Devanagari, there is only one possible sound, and one correct pronunciation position for the throat/mouth and tongue, for each letter/syllable.
It takes a little practice, but it’s not that difficult … and once you get it down … if you have correct physical pronunciation, the correct sound will be produced.
There are all kinds of resources online, which teach correct pronunciation of Sanskrit.
I’ve found that reciting the Mahamritunjaya correctly beautifully opens crown, and helps keep awareness resting in self//true nature, literally (the positions of tongue, throat and mouth when pronouncing the mantra correctly create this energetic feeling).
It also lights up//opens up the head, in a very similar manner to khechari mudra (most of the throat/mouth and tongue positions keep/direct energy back {back of mouth; in the throat}, and up (tip of tongue is often in the palatal {curled back} or cerebral {straight up} position.
And Omarkaya … I realize you may know most or all of this; I’m just sharing this information for anyone else reading, who may not be.
AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
Wholeheartedly,
Kirtanman
Thanks kirtanman,i absolutely agree with you, mantra sadhana is a lovely magical art,it is an outstanding science,from all the mystical tools of yoga ,this is what has seduced me the most,the science of sound its still to be discovered for modern science,its actually hard to recognize how backwards we are still, even on modern era,these ancient rishis had the supramental spiritual power to connect with the divine in such way that is hard to imagine.when you realize the power of a mantra ,you can understand that a deity is behind it. you start believing.
Hari Om,
How long does it take to see the full effect of Mahamrityunjaya mantra chanted during Mahashivratri. I did not use any rosary, but chanted for almost 3 hours.
Regards
Sharad Tyagi
Great information about Mrityunjaya Mantra. I have heard it and am familiar with it. I purchased the famous Gayathri mantra today and really enjoyed listening to it.
sharad there is no need of rosary to chant mantras,the only important thing is concentration and devotion ,is certainly more powerfull experience if you add pranayam to the mantra recitation practice,the effects of mahamrityunjaya should be experienced right after 108 recitations,but for that you should know how to recite a mantra,i mean mantra recitation without concentration and faith will not give you the desired results.the best hour to recite is shandya time.the mahamrityunjaya is one of the few mantras that have no bad effects and doesnt needs yama and niyama.its an allgood mantra.try to recite 108 recitations of the shiva gayatri mantra previous to the mahamrityunjaya mantra recitation,this is a guaranty of shivas blessings.
omarkaya,
I am from south India. I learned the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra as part of chanting Sri Rudram from the Yajur Veda.
I was taught to say “maAmritaAte”. I learned to chant Sri Rudram and some other Vedic Suktams (After coming to USA) , by Vedic Pandits from Southern Indian tradition. I thought the Vedas are still preserved and practiced in the original form on the South.
I would like to know why you are saying “maAmritaAte” is not right. Based on what? Can you provide some sources where I can check and verify?
Please don’t mistake my questions. I learned very few things to chant from Veda, and know the verbal meaning of some of the mantras by reading online about them. My knowledge ends right there and I have a very basic understanding of Sanskrit. At any cost, we are normally told to chant the way the guru teaches.
Regards,
Ram.
Swami Sunderanand pronounces Maha Mritunjaya mantra with “maAmritat”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy_U65rcmKU
This is how I chant it as well. When chanting loud I get goose bumps from this type of intonation. Intuitively it feels right but can’t really say whether this way is more effective than any other because I practice other mantras and other practices and its hard to isolate the effects. Maybe someone with astral vision can chip in…
hi rkishan,please allways do exactly what your guru dictates you.he surely have much more knowledge than me.bytheway knowing ho to recite the srirudram properly it requires great sanskrit skills so chapeau!!!
Hi omarkaya,
I will chant the way that my guru taught me. But, I am interested in knowing the difference in an academical way. There is nothing wrong in learning that the mantras are taught in different manner in different places, or to discuss the merits of each method. Even some of the great Shankaracharyas like the Swami Chandrasekerendra Sarawathi of Kachi peetham has acknowledged that there are regional differences in some of the mantras from the vedas.
About Sri Rudram, I consider myself to be still in the learning stage. I have some issues chanting Chamakam properly. It is extremely difficult to chant Chamakam properly in my opinion. Same sounds in different swaras in many places. I have some confidence in chanting the Namakam part. Since we do this many many times during Ekadasa rudam chanting etc. I was told that if one chants Sri Rudram properly, then there will be no anger in that person.
Anyway, at the end of the chanting, as students, we say this sloka, “Yadakshara padha brushtam…” and ask for forgiveness if there was any mistake in chanting during the learning phases.
Regards,
Ram.
I also have found this mantra to be very powerful and helpful.
Blessings!
hi rkshan,well because you are interested,i will tell you that the correct way of reciting prachodayat or maAmritat is the way its written,there is no need to invent a e at the end,but for whatever reasons even gurus pronounce it like this ,most of all in tamil nadu,they recite the last part longer but i cant tell you why it must be tradition,it happens with the gayatri mantra too,some from yajur veda tradition recites om bhuh bhuvah svaha,instead of om bhuh bhuvah swaha.pranam
Hi omarkaya, You already stated which is the correct way. I requested the information or source with which you came to the conclusion that this was the right way. If you have that, please share that.
You also stated, “some from yajur veda tradition recites om bhuh bhuvah svaha,instead of om bhuh bhuvah swaha.pranam”
You typed the same on both places. What is the other way?
Regards,
Ram.