Meaning:
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..1..
I bow down to Shiva, who is Rudra, who is the lord of all beasts, who has a blue neck, and who is the husband of Parvati; what can death do to me?
Nīlakaṇṭhaṁ kālamūrtiṁ kālajñaṁ kālanāśanaṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..2..
I bow down to Shiva, who is blue-necked, who takes the form of time, who knows past present and future, and who destroys death; what can death do to me?
Nīlakaṇṭhaṁ virūpakṣam nirmalaṁ nilayaprabhaṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..3..
I bow down to Shiva, who is blue-necked, who has three eyes , and who is the abode of light; what can death do to me?
Vāmadevaṁ mahādevaṁ lokanāthaṁ jagatguruṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..4..
I bow down to Shiva, who is benevolent, who is the greatest god, who is the master of the universe, and who is the teacher of the world; what can death do to me?
Devadevaṁ jagannāthaṁ deveśaṁ vṛṣabhadhvajaṁ.
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..5..
I bow down to Shiva, who is the god of gods, who is the lord of the universe, who is the ruler of gods, and whose flag bears the insignia of a bull; what can death do to me?
Gaṅgādharaṁ mahādevaṁ sarvābharaṇa-bhūṣitaṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..6..
I bow down to Shiva, who bears the Ganga, who is the great god, and who is bedecked with a variety of ornaments; what can death do to me?
Anāthaṁ paramānandaṁ kaivalyapada-gāminam .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..7..
I bow down to Shiva, who has no master, who is the supreme bliss, and who shows the path to salvation; what can death do to me?
Svargāpavarga-dātāraṁ sṛṣṭisthiti-vināśanaṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..8..
I bow down to Shiva, who gives heaven and salvation, and who creates, sustains, and destroys; what can death do to me?
Utpatti-sthitisaṁhāra-kartāram-īśvaraṁ gurum .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..9..
I bow down to Shiva, who creates, sustains, and destroys, who is the lord and who is the teacher; what can death do to me?
Mārkaṇḍeyakṛtaṁ stotraṁ yaḥ paṭhet śivasannidhau .
Tasya mṛtyubhayaṁ nāsti nāgneścorabhayaṁ kvacit ..10..
Whoever reads this hymn composed by Markandeya in the presence of Shiva will not fear death, fie, and thieves.
Śatāvṛttaṁ prakartavyaṁ saṅkate kaṣṭanaśanam .
Śucirbhūtvā paṭhet stotraṁ sarvasiddhi-pradāyakam ..11..
This hymn should be repeated a hundred times, as it removes difficulty during the time of distress. After becoming clean, one must read this hymn which gives all types of attainments.
Mṛtyuñjaya mahādeva trāhi māṁ śaraṇāgatam .
Janma-mṛtyu-jarārogaiḥ pīḍitaṁ karmabandhanaiḥ ..12..
O Slayer of death! O greatest among gods! Save me,who am tortured by the bonds of karma, from birth,death, old age and disease, as I have taken refuge in you.
Namaḥ śivāya sāmbāya haraye paramātmane .
Praṇataḥ-kleśa-nāśāya yogīnāṁ pataye namaḥ ..13..
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..7..
I bow down to Shiva, who has no master, who is the supreme bliss, and who shows the path to salvation; what can death do to me?
Svargāpavarga-dātāraṁ sṛṣṭisthiti-vināśanaṁ .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..8..
I bow down to Shiva, who gives heaven and salvation, and who creates, sustains, and destroys; what can death do to me?
Utpatti-sthitisaṁhāra-kartāram-īśvaraṁ gurum .
Namāmi śirasā devaṁ kiṁ no mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ..9..
I bow down to Shiva, who creates, sustains, and destroys, who is the lord and who is the teacher; what can death do to me?
Mārkaṇḍeyakṛtaṁ stotraṁ yaḥ paṭhet śivasannidhau .
Tasya mṛtyubhayaṁ nāsti nāgneścorabhayaṁ kvacit ..10..
Whoever reads this hymn composed by Markandeya in the presence of Shiva will not fear death, fie, and thieves.
Śatāvṛttaṁ prakartavyaṁ saṅkate kaṣṭanaśanam .
Śucirbhūtvā paṭhet stotraṁ sarvasiddhi-pradāyakam ..11..
This hymn should be repeated a hundred times, as it removes difficulty during the time of distress. After becoming clean, one must read this hymn which gives all types of attainments.
Mṛtyuñjaya mahādeva trāhi māṁ śaraṇāgatam .
Janma-mṛtyu-jarārogaiḥ pīḍitaṁ karmabandhanaiḥ ..12..
O Slayer of death! O greatest among gods! Save me,who am tortured by the bonds of karma, from birth,death, old age and disease, as I have taken refuge in you.
Namaḥ śivāya sāmbāya haraye paramātmane .
Praṇataḥ-kleśa-nāśāya yogīnāṁ pataye namaḥ ..13..
Salutations to Shiva, who is accompanied by Shakti, who is Vishnu, who is the supreme Soul, who destroys the pain of his devotees, and who is the master of all Yogis.
This hymn was composed by Sage Markandeya.
Notes
Markandeya was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Before his birth, Shiva asked his father Mrikandu if he wanted hundred long-lived sons who would be stupid, or one son who would earn a lot of fame and glory, but die at the age of sixteen. Mrikandu asked Shiva for the short-lived son.
The child was called Markandeya as he was the son of Mrikandu. He grew up to be a staunch devotee of Shiva.When he reached the age of sixteen, he noticed that his parents grew sadder day by day. After queries, his father reluctantly told him that he was fated to die at the age of sixteen. Markandeya was undaunted. He went to the seashore, built a Shivalinga out of the sand, and started worshipping it.
Yama, the god of death, noticed that the boy's time was up and sent his servants to fetch Markandeya. When the servants went to fetch him, he refused to go with them. After failing to take him, the servants told their master to look into the matter. Yama went to the spot and tried to drag Markandeya along with him. At once, Shiva, to protect his devotee, jumped out of the Linga and kicked Yama so hard that he fainted.
Shiva blessed Markandeya with immortality and told him that he need not have any fear of death, old age, and disease. He also instructed Yama not to come anywhere near his devotees. This episode earned Shiva the epithet 'The destroyer of death'.