For anyone interested, here is the general breakdown of the Matyuijaya Mantra.


The Matyuijaya Mantra in translation:

OM. Tryambakam yajamahe

Sugandhim pushti-vardhanam

Urvarukamiva bandhanan

Mrityor mukshiya mamritat


OM ~This sound is said to be the underlying kernel of the manifest universe and vibrates eternally at the heart of creation. It signifies all-pervading consciousness. Although it is not found in the actual text of the hymn, it is added to the body of the mantra whenever the mantra is used for meditation practice.


tryambakam~ The prefix tri (pronounced with a short "i") means "three." When it is joined to ambakam, the letter "i" becomes "y", and the word reads tryambakam. Ambaka means "eye." Trymbakam is "three-eyed," an epithet for Shiva which alludes to a well-known story in which Parvati, Shiva's wife, playfully places her hands over his eyes. In consequence, the whole universe is thrown into blinding darkness. To save the universe, which in truth exists only in his eyes, Shiva opens a third eye at the center between his eyebrows, with which he sees both within and without.


The term three-eyed signifies the deep and pure consciousness of the universe that pervades and transcends time (past, present, future); perfectly manifests the powers of will, knowledge, and action; dwells as the witness within the three states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and sleeping); and embodies the powers of the fires of heaven (the sun, surya), skies (the moon, chandra), and earth (fire, agni). Shiva is every spiritual trinity and dwells everywhere. Some also say that the word amba found here means "mother." Shiva is manifested as the child of three mothers, the three great principles: mind, life force (prana), and matter.


yajamahe~ We worship, adore, honor, revere.


sugandhim Su ~means "good, sweet." Gandha is a fragrance. Shiva is the sweet fragrance, the joy (ananda), which permeates life.


pushti ~A well-nourished condition, thriving, prosperous, full, and complete.


vardhanam~ One who nourishes, strengthens, causes to increase (in health, wealth, well-being); who gladdens, exhilarates, and restores health; a good gardener.


urvarukam~ A cucumber-like plant that grows as a creeper in India. It produces a gourd that is attached to the vine by a strong, woody stem. The vine itself easily entangles other plants, attaching itself to them and becoming an obstacle for their growth. Thus, more generally, the word stands for disease, attachment, obstacles in life, and resulting depression.


iva ~Like, just as.

bandhanan ~Stem (of the gourd); but more generally, unhealthy attachment.

mrityor~ From death.

mukshiya~ Free us, liberate us.

ma ~Not


amritat~ Immortality, emancipation. (means to exist in full awareness in the divine source from which all-physical bodies - indeed all physical universe arise. It is a resurrection of awareness).


Translation:

OM. We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva. You are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, who nourishes us, restores our health, and causes us to thrive. As, in due time, the stem of the cucumber weakens, and the gourd if freed from the vine, so free us from attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality.

Bala, I think Vishnu Sahasranama is traditionally chanted at this point.

In Kundalini Yoga (Yogi Bhajan's lineage) they chant the word "Akal" when someone dies. Akal means deathless or timeless, to remind the soul of its true nature, so that it liberates the soul to cross to wherever it's going, and not get stuck in the astral plane or the electromagnetic field of the earth or something.