Trayambak Mantra is given in paragraph nos. 1-6, and it is ‘Trayambakam
Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti-vardhan Urwaaruk-miv Bandhanaan-mrityor-mukshi-
yeti Mamritaat’.
Lord Triyambak’s name appears in the following Upanishads—
(i) Atharva Veda’s Bhasma Jabal Upanishad, Canto 1, paragraph no. 6 which says
that his Mantra should be said when the worshipper applies the sacred Bhasma (ash
of the fire sacrifice) on his body from the toe to the head.
(ii) The Tripura Tapini Upanishad of the Atharva Veda tradition, Canto 4 is entirely
devoted to Lord Trayambak. It describes the meaning of this word and the Mantras
dedicated to Lord Trayambak in great detail. This Trayambak Mantra is given in
paragraph nos. 1-6, and it is ‘Trayambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti-vardhan
Urwaaruk-miv Bandhanaan-mrityor-mukshi-yeti Mamritaat’.],dm gjfga u cj xqu dksfVd nw"kuA
uj diky xt [kky C;ky fc"k Hkw"kuAA53AA
dg¡ jkmj xqu lhy l:i lqgkouA
dgk¡ veaxy cs"kq fcls"kq Hk;kouAA54AA
ēka'u harahiṁ na bara guna kōṭika dūṣana.
nara kapāla gaja khāla byāla biṣa bhūṣana. 53.
kaham̐ rā'ura guna sīla sarūpa suhāvana.
kahām̐ amaṅgala bēṣu bisēṣu bhayāvana. 54.
53-54. [The Batu continued--] ‘Har (Shiva) has not got even a single good character
worth mentioning. On the contrary, he has millions of (i.e. numerous, uncountable)
quirks, faults and shortcomings. He adorns himself with skulls around his neck by
way of a necklace, wears hide of elephants, is adorned by snakes which he prefers to
wrap around his body, and keeps poison in his throat.
[The serpents are wrapped around his body^1 , while the poison is stored in his
neck, rendering it blue-tinged. This form of Lord Shiva is known as ‘Neelkanth’^2 .]
(53)
On the one hand are your virtuous characters and matchless qualities as well
as your attractive beauty and charm, and on the other hand is his inauspicious
countenance and attire which are very fearful, horrible and terrifying. [Don’t you
realise that he is not suitable for you as a husband?] (54)
[Note—^1 The significance of the serpents wrapped around his body—The snakes that
are wrapped around Lord Shiva show that he is beyond the power of death and
poison.
These coiled serpents around his body indicate the fact that he constantly reminds
himself of imminent death, because serpents are very poisonous and symbolise
immediate death. They also remind him about the unholy and poisonous nature of the
gross world. This helps him to remain focused on his spiritual aim of self-realisation
instead of being attracted by the material charms of this material world of sense
objects and getting deluded by them.
The serpents also signify that Shiva is the Lord of death; he is death personified.
Since he is able to wrap the serpents around his body and they cannot harm him, it
indicates the fact that he has conquered death. That is why he is called ‘Mrityunjay’,
the conqueror of death.
Again, the coiled serpents represent the Kundalini, the coiled subtle cosmic
energy center at the base of the spine which when activated can entitle the spiritual
aspirant to experience a burst of stupendous spiritual energy which provides him a