As far as I know with my little knowledge on Sankrut, the meaning of the sloka is
""Like the ripe cucumber detaching from the plant on its own, may we be liberated from the vicious circle of births, deaths & detachments without pain ""
My doubt is when there are numerous riped fruits and flowers are detached naturally from the respective plants, why only "cucumber"" has been shown as an example in this sloka ???
Is there any special meaning to this ????
May I know the views of our learned members on this ?????
2010-02-19T09:13:58Z
@@@Edit:- I am overwhelmed with the rsponse to this question not by the answers I received through Y/A but also thro' e-mails from so many unknown friends particularly from U.K.,Japan and U.S.A.like Prof.W.C.Woods, etc. I thank them for their interest in Hinduism.
Anonymous2010-02-15T19:29:48Z
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Excellent question. i am glad in participating with this question. Your doubt is when there are numerous riped fruits and flowers are detached naturally from the respective plants, why only "cucumber"" has been shown as an example in this sloka and is there any special meaning for this ? Yes, without any special attachments, how can a veg takes pleace in a highest mantra ? we can see the greatness of cucumber now..
This is the meaning to your question....Urvarukamiva Bhandanan Even as the cucumber is released from the vine MrityorMukshiya 'Mamritat May we be released from the cycle of Life and Death......
....It is the above that i have been contemplating the most....the Cucumber and Vine metaphor... what a beautiful image of Enlightenment and Ascension...what an acceptance of the divine purpose of Maya-Devi, this Earth and Nature in general... Our incubator system, this world...as larval Devas...when we ripen and attain spiritual maturity, the vine lets go...we are released....we don't have to kill or fight the vine...it is our support system. This manifest universe of life and death is not the enemy of the soul...it is the vine in which we are entangled but on which we depend until our Self-Realisation signals the release and we, like the cucumber, become independant....containing the Seeds of new worlds...new vines.... What an acceptance of Mukti or Liberation as a natural evolutionary process rather than a war of Spirit against Matter...
In this sloka, The God Rudran has been saluted and respected for his natural, kind look on bhakthas (devotees). and prayed from the fear of death. It has been shown an example '' like the cucumber from its stalk and requested to show the way of salvation.
your question is surrounding only the ''cucumber'' and why this is having a special stutus in this sloka and shown as example.
To understand the example clearly, i give hereunder the description of the veg. Then only, we can understand the sloka.
The cucumber is native vegetable to India, and evidence indicates that it has been cultivated in western Asia for 3,000 years. From India it spread to other world. Cucumbers are a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A. It also contains calcium and potassium and the green color indicates it is a great source of chlorophyll which is a valuable phytonutrient.
When the hot days of summer call for cooling relief, wise beauties call on cucumber for the coolest ways to nourish and tone skin that may be stressed from exposure to sun and heat. it is a best medicine for kidney troubles. cucumber is the perfect treat for summer skin: Reduce that heat-induced greasy feeling, soothe itchiness, tighten pores, reduce eye puffiness, and make us refresh.
Before my explanation, please follow this mantra..
'' My soul goes towards you, And my mind always meditates on you, And then chant of Trayambaka Mantra ''
why to chant this '' Trayambaka mantra '' ? Because, '' Trayambaka Mantra also known as Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is a verse of the Yajurveda. It is in Rudram and it is as follows: Tryambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushti-vardhanam | Urvaarukam iva bandhanaan mrityor muksheeya maamritaat ''
what is it known ? Read it ? '' Mahamrityunjaya mantra '' .. i feel it no need to explain about this mahamrityunjaya mantra.
Now back to cucumber..
The blessed Lord said: With ‘Tryambaka’ in sloka-metre Worship the Conqueror of Death; It is laid down that the single letter.
Why say ‘like cucumber fruit … let me find freedom’ ? As the cucumber is fast held by the stalk, so is (man) bound fast, and he is released from death, the bondage of transmigration; he becomes free. A simple logic word have mountain level details and explanation.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Nakula was the son of king Pandu and queen Madri. He and his twin brother Sahadeva are in the image of the Ashwini Gods. He was one of the five Pandavas whose story is told in the Mahabharata - the youngest two. According to the legend, the twins have ability to speak with animals. Nakula is described as extremely fair and attractive. ... why i say this and what connection this information help the question ? some pearls scattered here and there like the above and cucumber but if one found a peal and brings us is a great matter.
STOTRAS: Encyclopedia - Mrityunjaya Mantra
Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra is a Mantra that is a part of Taittiriya Upanishad. It can be quoted as (Language Sanskrit) "Om Tryambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam Urvaarukamiva Bandhanaat Mrityor Muksheeya Ma-Amritaat" It means that "Let us worship Shiva (the three-eyed One), who is sacred (fragrant) and who nourishes all beings.Just as the ripe cucumber is automatically released from its attachment to the creeper, may we be liberated from (total identification with) death (our mortal body and personality) so, we need not suffer to pluck the veg from the plant and if on a simple touch, it will come or even if not touch, it has the power to release itself and therefore, the cucumber is compared.
concluding this... '' May we be released from the worldly bondage like the fruit of a cucumber plant.” The specialty of the cucumber fruit is that it lies on the ground and gets detached from the creeper on its own after reaching maturity. In contrast a mango fruit comes down under the influence of gravity. In a similar manner there should be no push or pull into Samnyasa ''
please mr Bull, just think about our great rishis, elders, Gurus and how best they show examples simply, yes, very very simply for a greatest matters. But, if i fail to appreciate, it will be not good on my part. you did not bring an ordinary thing into the learned circle, but a greatest ''tatwa'' and '' tatwartham '', a reality, uncomparable and should be appreciated. Let you continue your good holy, religious way also and bring us glorious lessons and this will be a greatest service.
@ Edited...one answerer said this..'' With these cut and paste slokas and mantras you get cut and paste answers, nothing new to learn '' i don't know how long he is here and how many answers he gave or atleast did he know the pain of an answer. i wish to pointout him that the slokas are ancient one and we can not create a new sloka and we have to do cut and paste or from the memory. i done it from my memory. Do you want to create a new sloka or new Rudram or new Lalitha sahasranama ? Did he gone through the answers or not ? Did he read the answers ? i took 2 hours to answer this question. if i do cut and paste, i will finish within 10 minits. An answer is an answer which should cover all details and to fullfil, satisfy the requirements of the asker. please stop your just like that comments. just go through the answers and find. the essense. you are insulting all the learned, learning, and mind it, the words are knife. Even, in cut and paste answer, what wrong did he find? it is the asker's decision, and he will take care of all answers and decide. you are only one among the answerers and you have no right to comment on other answerers. if you are really a good answerer, please come and answer and show your talents. If you have no stuff to answer, don't critize or insult other answerers. If you don't know the answer, kindly accept as Tender agreed.. Whether TC is right or wrong, i don't know but she agreed that she did not give any answer. ya kaavarayinum naa kaakka. i will never get angry, but if you touch our ''self respect'' ? Learn more to behave well among the answer community. we sit before the computers, we put pending our works, and we care much to give an answer because to pass the knowledge to others and not aiming BA. we are competiting each other in a good way to show our talents and we treat all answer community as our friends. Do you know how much energy we are wasting for every answer ? you don't know because you don't know the pain of an answer.
What you have cited is called '' MAHAA MRITYUNJAYA STOTRAM OR MANTRAM.''
MAHANYAASAM, RUDRA NAMAKAM AND CHAMAKAM COMBINED LY IS CALLED RUDRAADYAAM.
NEXT COMING TO YOUR QUESTION WHY URVAA (CUCUMBER ) IS TAKEN HERE WHILE THERE ARE MANY FRUITS THAT NATURALLY FALL AFTER FULLY RIPE.
Friend the Cucumber is not a plant that grows upwards .It is a Creeper normally will be on the ground , and some times it is made to grow on roofs of Huts.
But 99% it , the Cucumber creeper normally spreads on ground as the Cucumber fruit grows to a very heavy fruit, and if it falls from a height it May hurt some one.
When the Cucumber fruit is fully ripe , it gets detached naturally and stays in position as if it seems un-detached .The gardener has to shake the fruit to see thFruitit has detached or not.
One more thing is at the place where the fruit was there, there is no mark even on the creeper to show that once there was a fruit there.
Every other fruit leaves a mark on the tree or Plant.
So It gets detached so beautifully, that there is no pain or mark of past existence to show.That is why it is taken as an example by maharshis.
So we pray for LIBERATION IS SUCH A NICE WAY THAT THERE IS NO PAIN OR AGONY ,WITHOUTT ANY MARKS (ATTACHMENT SIGNS).
If you see a cucumber plant really , then you will appreciate the Mantram.
The cucumber is a fruit that grows on a vine, and if you’ve ever grown them, you will know that they, like other similar fruits and gourds, will not fall away from the vine on their own. They will stay on the vine until they rot.
Similarly, without the moment of liberation, we too will remain attached to our ego, to this illusory world, until our bodies rot away and the seeds of our karma are planted again, to be born again into the cycle of rebirth. With this mantra we ask Lord Shiva to release us from this cycle, while still in this life.
Removing the cucumber when it is ripe is very easy – you can simply pluck it from the vine – in a similar way, with sadhana (focused practice with a goal in mind), we too may easily cross from unknowing into knowing. So we ask Lord Shiva to help us, to liberate us as easily as we harvest the simple gourd.
you have asked about SRI CHAKRA.as the name it self mentioning that the topest one in chakaras. that is SRI CHAKRA. ALTHOUGH ALL ARE VERY VERY GREAT BUT THIS IS THE ONE WHO HAS ALL AND EVERY THING OR YOU CAN SAY 'SAMPOORANA;.what ever the mantra you mentioned that is making us every body know that the complete absolute truth or SRI CHSKRA. ISin YANTRIK SADHANA IS WITH ALL CONAC AND THE DOUBT YOU ASK FOR IS NOT CONAS IS TEN DISHAAYEN(LIKE EAST /WEST/NORTH/SOUTH AND UP DOWN AND FOUR IN BETWEEN LIKE E/W.W/N N/S S/E ETC. so it is a SAMPOORAN BRAHMAN. THANKS.
what you have mentoined above is maha mrutyunjayamanthra a very very sacred manthra for all shaivites. Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (maha-mrityun-jaya) is one of the more potent of the ancient Sanskrit mantras. Maha mrityunjaya is a call for enlightenment and is a practice of purifying the karmas of the soul at a deep level. It is also said to be quite beneficial for mental, emotional, and physical health.
Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat
We Meditate on the Three-eyed reality Which permeates and nourishes all like a fragrance. May we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality, Even as the cucumber is severed from bondage to the creeper OR We worship the three-eyed Lord Shiva who is full of sweet fragrance and nourishes human beings. May he liberate me from bondage.
There are very few mantras that stand on par with Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra (also known as Mahamrityunjay Mantra, Rudra Mantra, Tryambakam Mantra or Maha Sanjivini Mantra). This mantra is said to have the power to remove all sufferings, ward off all evils, remove diseases and bestow the aspirant with health and energy. And it is said that when this mantra is it chanted with great devotion and serious contemplation it is said that the knowledge of this birth and death cycle is revealed to the aspirant. And thus it helps in overcoming the fear of death.
The literal translation of this name means Great Death-conquering Mantra. This mantra is from the Vedas. It is written in the Yajur Veda (3-60). This mantra worships a three-eyed deity commonly identified with Lord Shiva. It is also called Tryambakam Mantra or Mrita-Sanjivini mantra or Rudra Mantra. The reason for it being named Tryambakam Mantra is self explanatory because it worships a three-eyed deity. Similary, since the mantra observes Shiva in His fiery aspect of Rudra, it is also called Rudra Mantra.
The name Mrita-Sanjivini mantra has a story behind it. It is said that Sage Sukracharya accepted a challenge of Lord Indra and took up a rigorous penance of hanging upside down from a tree with his face being fanned with fumes of a fire direcly beneath his hanging body. And after Sukracharya did this for Vimsottari dasa period (twenty years), Lord Shiva appeared before him and give him this Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra to restore his physical condition. Hence the name Maha Sanjivini Mantra.
The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra can be chanted by anybody. It is important one understands the meaning of this mantra word for word before chanting it. That’s because by knowing the meaning, the aspirant can easily contemplate on the aspect of birth and death cycle.
regarding yuor question of cucumber , i go with sweet cucumber(pooshinikai) i think it was used because the same is an indian vegetable grown since rigveda time and an auspesious one, in the sense any subhakarya or santharpanas , the food includes sweet cucumber also/sweet cucumber was a must. in Andhrapradesh in brahmin marriage feasts sweet cucumber was being cumpulsarily used.
and most importantly cucumber is the only vegetable that gets detatched from the mother plant , after ripening , may be this is the reason it is used to indicate/show the detachment from life
usage of cucumber word:An exact translation of the Vedic mantras is next to impossible, so we rely on the interpretations from spiritual, sacrificial, physiological, and sociological perspectives, provided by venerable Swamis and Yogis over the centuries. Understanding the words is important to make the repetitions meaningful, so here are two word-by-word translations of the Sanskrit.