We worship the Three-Eyed One, the fragrant, who makes all life flourish. As a ripe cucumber is freed from its vine, may I be freed from death — and not from immortality.
Tryambaka means “the one with three eyes” — or, in older readings, “the one with three mothers”. It is among the oldest names by which Rudra-Śiva is called.
The image at its heart is gentle: a ripe gourd does not tear from its vine, it simply lets go when it is ready. The prayer is not to escape life, but to be released from the fear of death when the time comes — ripe, not broken.
Hymn 7.59 of the Ṛgveda is addressed mostly to the Maruts; this closing verse turns to Tryambaka. Mandala 7 is traditionally associated with the seer Vasiṣṭha. Today it is usually chanted with “Oṃ” placed before it — the Oṃ is a later liturgical addition, not part of the Ṛgvedic verse.
located