Lord Śiva is glorified as Mṛtyuñjaya or the conqueror of death . It is said that Lord Yama ( the lord of death ) trembles in fear at the mere mention of Lord Śiva’s name . The story of Markandeya illustrates this . When Markandeya was born , he was fated to die at the age of sixteen . Even his parents lost hope that their son could be saved . Markandeya became an ardent devotee of Lord Śiva and dedicated his entire life to the worship of the Lord . When Markandeya turned sixteen , Lord Yama came to take his life . Markandeya ran to the temple and embraced the śivalinga . Yama’s noose (paasa-kairu) caught both Markandeya and the linga . Lord Śiva furiously emerged from the śivalinga , kicked off Lord Yama and freed Markandeya from death .
Lord Yama or Mṛtyuḥ represents our innate fear . Death is our greatest fear because we do not want to lose things that are dear to us (family , material wealth , etc.) . The whole problem is that we are look at ourselves as lacking and incomplete which creates a sense of insecurity . Thus , we seek security by going after worldly pursuits – dharma , artha and kama .
Lord Śiva is the giver of atma-jñana (self-knowledge) . The Lord removes the ignorance that blindfolds us from the fact that we are already complete . There is nothing to become or search for outside myself . All worldly pleasures are of temporary nature and losing them is inevitable since anything that begins will have to come to an end . So , why grieve and feel sorrow about it ? Understanding this , one grows out of the fear of death and the freedom from this fear is immortality .
The blessings of Lord Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya is invoked by chanting the Maha Mṛtyuñjaya Mantra . It is a highly efficacious prayer found in the Sri Rudram . Traditionally , the mantra is chanted for longevity and also for those in deathbed or suffering from illness . The mantra is also a prayer of a mumukṣu who seeks the Lord’s grace to become a mature person , able to see the fact that “ I am purnaḥ (complete) . ”
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