Shloka 39
ज्योतिर्लिङ्गमाहात्म्य-प्रस्तावना तथा सोमनाथ-प्रसङ्गः
Prologue to the Glory and Origin of the Jyotirliṅgas; Somnātha Episode Begins
चन्द्रेण च तपस्तप्तं पण्मासं च निरंतरम् । मृत्युंजयेन मंत्रेण पूजितो वृषभध्वजः
candreṇa ca tapastaptaṃ paṇmāsaṃ ca niraṃtaram | mṛtyuṃjayena maṃtreṇa pūjito vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ
Chandra too performed austerities continuously for six months, and worshipped Vṛṣabhadhvaja—Lord Śiva whose banner bears the bull—by the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Somanātha
Sthala Purana: Chandra undertakes sustained tapas at Prabhāsa and worships Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja) with the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra, forming the core Somnātha-kṣetra legend of lunar restoration through Śiva’s grace.
Significance: Especially sought for relief from disease, fear of death, and ‘Chandra-doṣa’; supports longevity and mental steadiness through Mṛtyuñjaya upāsanā.
Mantra: (implied) oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt ||
Type: mahamrityunjaya
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that sustained tapas (disciplined austerity) joined with mantra-worship draws Śiva’s grace; the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra embodies Śiva as the liberator who overcomes fear and the bondage of death.
Śiva is praised here in a personal, saguna form—Vṛṣabhadhvaja—approached through devotional worship and mantra; such upāsanā commonly centers on the Śiva-liṅga as the accessible focus of reverence in the Purāṇic tradition.
Regular Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra-japa with uninterrupted discipline (nirantara), supported by tapas and pūjā—ideally with purity, focus, and steady daily practice.