Mahamrityunjaya Jaap (Online Puja)

About this puja

The Mahamrityunjaya mantra is one of the oldest prayers in the Hindu tradition. It appears in the Rig Veda (7.59.12) and again in the Yajur Veda, and it is addressed to Tryambaka, the three-eyed Rudra, whom Shaiva tradition knows as Shiva. The verse asks to be released from the grip of death the way a ripe cucumber falls from its stem, and to be given long life and well-being. Families commission a jaap (repeated recitation) of this mantra when someone is seriously ill, before or after surgery, during a difficult planetary period, on a birthday for an elderly parent, or simply for the protection of the household.

We arrange the jaap in two places. In Varanasi, the Mrityunjay Mahadev temple in the Daranagar locality is dedicated to Shiva as the one who conquers death, and its well is believed to hold healing water that devotees sprinkle on themselves after the path. Kashi itself is held to be Shiva’s own city, which is why so many families choose it for a prayer about life and health. In Ujjain, the jaap is done near Mahakaleshwar, the south-facing Jyotirlinga whose name means the Lord of Time and Death. Tell us which place you prefer; if you have no preference we suggest Varanasi, where our priest team is larger.

How the online puja works: you share the names of the people the jaap is for, their gotra and the intention. Our priest takes sankalp in those names at the start, the mantra is recited in the agreed count, and the jaap closes with a havan (fire offering) and aarti. You receive a short video of the sankalp and the closing, or a live link if you would like to watch, and the prasad with the sankalp sheet is sent to your Indian address by courier.

Who performs it

The jaap is done by Vedic priests from Varanasi and Ujjain whom we have worked with for years. They are local priests associated with the temples and ghats of these cities; they are not temple employees, and we do not claim that this service is run by or on behalf of any temple. Where you want a ritual booked through a temple’s own official portal, we will tell you so plainly and help you with that instead.

Good to know before you book

• The jaap is usually counted in multiples of the mala: smaller counts (such as 1,100 or 11,000) can be done by one priest in a single sitting; larger counts such as sawa lakh (1,25,000) take a group of priests several days. Tell us your wish and we will suggest a count that fits your purpose and budget.
• The havan and aarti at the end are done at the priest’s puja place or a ghat-side mandap, not inside the sanctum of any major temple. Inside-sanctum rituals at Kashi Vishwanath or Mahakaleshwar are only available through those temples’ own official booking channels.
• This jaap can be done at any time of year. Mondays, Pradosh, Mahashivratri and the month of Shravan are traditionally favoured for Shiva worship, but for an illness do not wait for a special day; the priests will begin as soon as a sitting can be arranged.
• We need the full name and gotra of each person the jaap is for. If you do not know your gotra, say so and the priest will use the traditional substitute (Kashyap gotra).
• Prasad (usually bhasma or vibhuti, a rudraksha or a protective thread, and dry prasad) is couriered within India. For addresses outside India we can send only items that customs allow, at extra cost, and courier times abroad vary widely.
• This is a prayer, not a medical treatment. Please continue any treatment your doctors have advised.