Rigveda 7.59

ऋग्वेद 7.59

VedicUniversal

Sanskrit Text

१२ मैत्रावरुणिर्वसिष्ठ:। १-११ मरुत:, १२ रूद्र: ( मृत्युविमोचिनी ऋक् ) । प्रगाथ: = ( विषमा बृहती, समा सतोबृहती ), ७-८, ९-११ गायत्री, १२ अनुष्टुप् । यं त्राय॑ध्व इ॒दमि॑दं॒ देवा॑सो॒ यं च॒ नय॑थ। तस्मा॑ अग्ने॒ वरु॑ण॒ मित्रार्य॑म॒न्मरु॑त॒: शर्म॑ यच्छत ॥१॥ यु॒ष्माकं॑ देवा॒ अव॒साह॑नि प्रि॒य ई॑जा॒नस्त॑रति॒ द्विष॑: । प्र स क्षयं॑ तिरते॒ वि म॒हीरिषो॒ यो वो॒ वरा॑य॒ दाश॑ति ॥२॥ न॒हि व॑श्चर॒मं च॒न वसि॑ष्ठः परि॒मंस॑ते । अ॒स्माक॑म॒द्य म॑रुतः सु॒ते सचा॒ विश्वे॑ पिबत का॒मिन॑: ॥३॥ न॒हि व॑ ऊ॒तिः पृत॑नासु॒ मर्

Transliteration

12 maitrāvaruṇirvasiṣṭha:| 1-11 maruta:, 12 rūdra: ( mṛtyuvimocinī ṛk ) | pragātha: = ( viṣamā bṛhatī, samā satobṛhatī ), 7-8, 9-11 gāyatrī, 12 anuṣṭup | yaṃ trāya̭dhva i॒dami̭daṃ॒ devā̭so॒ yaṃ ca॒ naya̭tha| tasmā̭ agne॒ varṷṇa॒ mitrārya̭ma॒nmarṷta॒: śarma̭ yacchata ||1|| yu॒ṣmākaṃ̭ devā॒ ava॒sāha̭ni pri॒ya ī̭jā॒nasta̭rati॒ dviṣa̭: | pra sa kṣayaṃ̭ tirate॒ vi ma॒hīriṣo॒ yo vo॒ varā̭ya॒ dāśa̭ti ||2|| na॒hi va̭ścara॒maṃ ca॒na vasi̭ṣṭhaḥ pari॒maṃsa̭te | a॒smāka̭ma॒dya ma̭rutaḥ su॒te sacā॒ viśvḙ pibata kā॒mina̭: ||3|| na॒hi va̭ ū॒tiḥ pṛta̭nāsu॒ mar

Meaning (English)

Rigveda Mandala 7, Sukta 59. Sacred hymn from the oldest Veda.

Meaning (Hindi)

Rigveda Mandala 7, Sukta 59. Sacred hymn from the oldest Veda.

Benefits

•Ancient Vedic wisdom
•Cosmic knowledge
•Spiritual purification

Best Time

Any time

Chant Count

1 times

Source

Rigveda 7.59, Ch. 7, V. 59

Scholarly Context

Origin & Textual Home

This is the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra — also called the Tryambaka Mantra — from Rigveda 7.59.12, composed by Sage Vasiṣṭha in the seventh mandala. It addresses Rudra as Tryambaka, 'the three-eyed one,' who later consolidates into the classical Śiva. The verse is repeated in the Yajurveda (Taittirīya Saṃhitā 1.8.6.2) as part of the Rudrapraśna, establishing its place in the mainstream Vedic ritual corpus. The Śiva Purāṇa (Rudra Saṃhitā 2.15) credits this mantra with reviving Mārkaṇḍeya from imminent death, which established its traditional association with longevity and healing.

How to Chant

The mantra is traditionally chanted 108 times before sunrise using a rudrākṣa mala, with each recitation offered to a lit ghee lamp. Pronunciation of 'ṛ' in 'mṛtyoḥ' and 'uṛvārukam' is critical — the vocalic ṛ is a rolled consonant-vowel that modern speakers often mispronounce as 'ri.' Traditional rudra-abhiṣeka practice adds milk, water, honey, ghee, and curd poured over a Śiva-liṅga during recitation. The Mahāmṛtyuñjaya japa is considered most potent during the Pradoṣa kāla (the 1.5 hours before sunset) on a Triyodaśī (13th lunar day).

Traditional Benefits

The Liṅga Purāṇa classifies the mantra as a 'mṛtasañjīvanī' — a death-defeating formula — prescribed for gravely ill family members. The Āyurvedic tradition uses it in conjunction with rasāyana therapies for rejuvenation. In contemporary Hindu practice it is chanted for recovery from illness, before surgery, during a solar eclipse, and at the death anniversary of an ancestor. The metaphor in the closing line — 'as a cucumber is freed from its stem' — is notable for its agricultural imagery: liberation from death is imagined not as a violent rupture but as a ripe, natural detachment.

Deeper Meaning

Abhinavagupta's Parātriśikā-vivaraṇa treats the mantra as a vidyā — an embodied goddess of knowledge — and identifies its 32 syllables as a cosmological map. The three 'eyes' of Tryambaka in later Kashmir Śaiva tradition are jñāna-śakti, icchā-śakti, and kriyā-śakti (the powers of knowledge, will, and action). The mantra does not ask for eternal life but for freedom from akāla-mṛtyu — 'untimely death' — leaving natural death intact as part of the cosmic order. Śaṅkara in his bhāṣya distinguishes this from the amṛta (immortality) of the ātman, which no mantra needs to secure.