[Advaita-l] त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे

[girish girish]

There are two understandings:

1. We need protection from death.  The protection is compared to the one offered by the stem to the melon 
2. When it comes to उर्वारुकम् as a big disease, the meaning would be the big disease is causing death from which we need mukti - उर्वारुकमिव मृत्योः बंधनात्
 मुक्षीय  That would be the construction.


Namastripurasundaryai
   
 V Girish
 

--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 28/2/17, Ravi Kiran <ravikiranm108 at gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे
 To: "girish girish" <girishwe at yahoo.com>, "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 Cc: "advaitin at yahoogroups.com" <advaitin at yahoogroups.com>
 Date: Tuesday, 28 February, 2017, 7:21 PM
 
 //
 For what? उर्वारुकमिव
 बंधनात्
 मृत्योर्मुक्षीय – protection
 from death like the cucumber / melon protected by its
 stem
 
 // (मुक्षीय) माsमृतात्   and
 not from immortality
 
 // All
 of a sudden, why has cucumber / melon come in?  Are there
 no better 
 comparables? उर्वारुकम् has other
 meaning. उर्वा + अरुकम्. 
 उर्वा
  // means 
 big and अरुकम् means disease.  Now, this
 उर्वारुकम् is adjective to 
 मृत्यु.  A big disease called death is holding
 me – Oh Rudra! 
 // Please 
 protect me.  This is the inner meaning.
 
 Can this be elaborated /explained further
 with the analogy used ?
 
 
 
 Thanks
 
 
 On Tue, Feb 28, 2017 at
 3:40 PM, girish girish via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 wrote:
 
 
 ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे
 सुगंधिं
 पुष्टिवर्धनम् ||
 
 उर्वारुकमिव बंधनात्
 मृत्योर्मुक्षीय
 माsमृतात्||
 
 [From Rigveda]
 
 
 
 
 
 Vasistha Maharshi was the द्रष्ट (Person who
 first saw/heard this mantra) of this mantra.  So anyone who
 wishes to know anything about this mantra should first offer
 respects to him. – वसिष्ठ
 महर्षये नमः
 
 
 
 Meaning of the mantra:
 
 
 
 यजामहे - We pray
 
 Whom?-  त्र्यम्बकं (3 eyed ones),
 सुगंधिं (good scented) and
 पुष्टिवर्धनम् (who nourishes and
 gives full health and well being)
 
 For what? उर्वारुकमिव
 बंधनात्
 मृत्योर्मुक्षीय – protection
 from death like the cucumber / melon protected by its
 stem
 
 (मुक्षीय) माsमृतात्   and
 not from immortality
 
 
 
 
 
 Out of so many names of Rudra, why
 त्र्यम्बकं, सुगंधिं and
 पुष्टिवर्धनम् are only
 appearing?  Further, why only 3 names, it could have
 stopped at one or have had a couple of them more.   
  This, again, has significance.  The prayer is for
 protection from death.  Death is a trouble / problem.  We
 face three types of problems (ताप) –
 आधिभौतिक (from nature/ environment),
 आधिदैविक (from acts of god like floods,
 famine etc.,), आध्यात्मिक (from self). 
 Generally we tell ॐ शांतिः शांतिः
 शांतिः to get the rid of these three
 troubles.
 
 
 
 Now, these three names of Rudra are significant because each
 of the names represent that form of Rudra which has power to
 eliminate the respective trouble when remembered. 
 (मननात् त्रायते इति
 मंत्रं)
 
 
 
 1.      त्र्यम्बकं form of Rudra is
 prayed to overcome आधिदैविक problems – as
 in this form He as the supreme vision through three eyes
 (त्रीनि अंबकानि यस्य
 सः).  This means Rudra has अनंत
 दृष्टि – his vision can cut through time and
 space.  (सहस्राक्षः
 सहस्रपात् in पुरुष
 सूक्त; and सर्वतः चक्षुः
 in Vishnu Sahasranama).  He is the one and only witness –
 साक्षि (संयक् ईक्षण
 शक्ति – means always seeing).
 
 2.      सुगंधिं form of Rudra is prayed to
 overcome आधिभौतिक problems – He is
 सु-गंधिं – the गंधं is interpreted
 as one of the पंचतन्मात्र s -
 शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस &
 गंध.  As per the उपलक्षक
 न्याय it is not only सुगंधिं, but
 applies to all as सु-शब्द,
 सु-स्पर्श, सु-रूप and
 सु-रस.  By praying so, the entire
 पंचभूतs do not constraint us.
 
 3.      पुष्टिवर्धनम् form of
 Rudra is prayed to overcome आध्यात्मिक
 problems – He is not only देह –
 पुष्टिवर्धनम् but also
 आत्म पुष्टिवर्धनम्.  What
 has happened is that the all prevailing आत्म has
 confined itself into a small mortal body and thinks that it
 is only that mere body (जीवात्म).  This is
 due to आवरण शक्ति of माय that this
 जीवात्म feels he is small.  Now, for him to
 realize that he is big – ब्रह्मन् –he
 needs lot of पुष्टि – Hence this form of Rudra
 is prayed for realization of one’s true form which is not
 the mere body as we think.
 
 
 
 
 
 So, to sum up, the prayer is addressed to Rudra in his three
 forms which would eliminate the three troubles
 (ताप).
 
 
 
 What is the purpose of prayer –
 मृत्योर्मुक्षीय to get away
 from the death.  How is it sought? 
 उर्वारुकमिव बंधनात् –
 like how the cucumber / melon is protected by its stem. 
 All of a sudden, why has cucumber / melon come in?  Are
 there no better comparables? उर्वारुकम्
 has other meaning. उर्वा + अरुकम्. 
 उर्वा means big and अरुकम् means
 disease.  Now, this उर्वारुकम् is
 adjective to मृत्यु.  A big disease called
 death is holding me – Oh Rudra! Please protect me.  This
 is the inner meaning.
 
 
 
 Is it possible to get protection from death?   Krishna in
 the Geetha says जातस्यहि धृवो
 मृत्युः meaning “everyone born has to
 die”.  Is it not in contradiction to the prayer in the
 above mantra?  What is the position now?  The extreme
 science has to be understood in a very methodical way. 
 Else, we are bound to fall in confusion.
 
 
 
 What Krishna said is “everyone born has to die” – So
 death is for person who takes birth.  What is birth – it
 is change of form, from one उपाधि (body) to
 another उपाधि (body).  So whose form is changed
 from one उपाधि to another उपाधि ? –
 The birth and death is to whom? – Now clarity emerges. 
 Birth and death is to body and not for the आत्म
 चैतन्य (soul) which resides in the body.  So if
 one thinks he is the mere body, he has birth and death.  If
 the same person thinks he is the very soul, he has no birth
 and so no death.
 
 
 
 Now we understand the last word of the mantra –
 माsमृतात् which means – Oh Rudra, do not
 push me from the state of अमृत (I am not mere body,
 I am the soul - आत्म चैतन्य).  This is
 what even Krishna said – if you take a birth you will
 die.  Effectively, death is nothing but a change.  What
 would change is the nature – प्रकृति.  If
 one recognizes the self as mere body, change is bound to be
 there.  The body takes birth, grows and dies.  But for the
 pure consciousness (आत्म चैतन्य) there
 is no question of such changes as it just exists in that
 body and only witnesses the changes साक्षि. 
 Now we can understand the significance of the name -
 त्र्यम्बकं in a better way.
 
 
 
 To sum up:  This is another supreme mantra which the
 Almighty has revealed through Vasistha Maharshi.  The
 prayer is to Rudra for protecting ones true self, being just
 a witness (the state of साक्षित्व).  Even
 though it is aimed to bestow the ultimate realization of
 one’s true self, it also helps to keep the उपाधि
 protected from the troubles (ताप).
 
 
 
 
 
 Namastripurasundaryai
 
 
 
 V Girish
 
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