Svecchāmṛtyu (Sanskrit:स्वेच्छामृत्यु,lit. 'self-willed death'), also calledIcchāmṛtyu (Sanskrit:इच्छामृत्यु,lit. 'willed-death') is aSanskrit concept inHinduism meaning "self-willed death". InHindu ancient history, a number of beings gain the boon of svecchāmṛtyu in reward for their actions, allowing them to choose their time and manner of death.
In theMahabharata, KingShantanu is stated to have granted the boon of svecchāmṛtyu to his sonBhishma for his selflessness, allowing him to choose the time and manner of his own death.[1]
Indra is stated to have grantedHanuman svecchāmṛtyu in acknowledgement of the deity's resilience after surviving the attack of histhunderbolt.[2]
TheSvadhishthana Chakra is the abode of the tattva apas; one conquers death with the awakening of this chakra.[3] As one of the twenty-sixsiddhis that form part ofKundalini yoga, icchāmṛtyu siddhi gives the yogi the power to die at will.[4] According toAurobindo, the sadhaka ofIntegral yoga aims at complete liberation from all attacks of illness, and the power to prolong life at will – icchāmṛtyu.[5]
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According to popular belief, in the course of his visit toAmarnath cave, SwamiVivekananda is regarded to have had the vision ofShiva in the cave and was blessed with the boon of death-at-will (iccha-mrityu).[6] He had predicted that he would not live forty years, he did not.
Acquaintances of Mahatma Sisir Kumar and Pandit Dinabandhu Vedantaratna also attest to the fact that they have willed their own death.[7]
Chapter 6 S.No.28, 35
