Shiva Tandava Stotram

[dwai]

Quote

Shiva Tandava Stotram describes Shivas power and beauty. It was written by Ravana when he did the penance to please Shiva. This hymn concludes with lists of Shivas epithets as destroyer, even the destroyer of death itself. In the final stanza, after tiring of rampaging across the earth, Ravana asks "when will I be happy??" Because of the intensity of his prayers and ascetic meditation, of which this hymn is an example, Shiva granted him boons and power.!! 🌀🔱🌀

✨Shiva Tandava Strotam with meaning ~ ✨

Jatatavee gala jjala pravaha pavitha sthale,
Gale avalabhya lambithaam bhujanga thunga malikaam,
Dama ddama dama ddama ninnadava damarvayam,
Chakara chanda thandavam thanothu na shiva shivam. 1

From the forest of his matted lock, water flows and wets his neck,
On which hangs the greatest of snake like a garland,
And his drum incessantly plays damat, damat, damat, damat,
And Shiva is engaged in the very vigorous manly dance,
To bless and shower, prosperity on all of us.

Jata kataha sambhramabrama nillimpa nirjari,
Vilola veechi vallari viraja mana moordhani,
Dhaga dhaga daga jjwala lalata patta pavake,
Kishora Chandra shekare rathi prathi kshanam mama. 2

The celestial river agitatedly moving through his matted hair,
Which makes his head shine with those soft waves,
And his forehead shining like a brilliant fire-daga daga,
And the crescent of moon which is an ornament to his head,
Makes my mind love him each and every second.

Dara darendra nandini vilasa bhandhu bhandura,
Sphuradigantha santhathi pramodha mana manase,
Krupa kadaksha dhorani niruddha durdharapadi,
Kwachi digambare mano vinodhamethu vasthuni. 3

The consort of the ever sportive daughter of the mountain,
Whose mind rejoices at her side long glances,
With the stream of merciful look which removes hardships,
Makes my mind take pleasure in him who wears the directions as apparel.

Jada bhujanga pingala sphurath phana mani prabha,
Kadamba kumkuma drava praliptha digwadhu mukhe,
Madhandha sindhura sphurathwagu utthariya medhure,
Mano vinodhamadhbutham bibarthu bhootha bharthari. 4

He, with the shining lustrous gem on the hood 
Of the serpent entwining his matted locks,
He, who is with his bride whose face is decorated 
By the melting of red saffron Kumkum,
And He who wears on his shoulder the hide
Of the elephant which was blind with ferociousness,
Makes my mind happy and contented, 
In him who is the leader of Bhoothas*.
* can be taken to mean as souls or mythical beings guarding Kailasa.

Sahasra lochana prabhoothyasesha lekha shekhara,
Prasoona dhooli dhorani vidhu sarangri peedabhu,
Bhujangaraja Malaya nibhadha jada jhootaka,
Sriyai chiraya jayatham chakora bandhu shekhara. 5

May he whose foot stool is decorated 
By the ever flowing flower dust.
Falling the bent head of Indra and other Gods,
And may He, whose matted locks are tied by the king of serpents,
And may he, whose head is decorated 
By the crescent moon who a friend of Chakora*
Shower prosperity for ever on me.
* A mythical bird which lives by drinking moon light.

Lalata chathwara jwaladhanam jaya sphulingabha,
Nipeetha pancha sayagam saman nilimpanayakam,
Sudha mayookha lekhaya virajamana shekharam,
Maha kapali sampade, siro jadalamasthu na. 6

May he with the raging fire 
In his forehead, who burnt the God of love,
May He who is forever being saluted by king of devas,
And may he who has collected 
The cool ambrosia like crescent moon on his head,
And may he who wears the collection of skulls,
Bless us to create wealth for us.

Karala bhala pattika dhagadhaga jjwala,
Ddhanam jayahuthi krutha prachanda pancha sayage ,
Dharadharendra nandhini kuchagra chithrapathraka,
Prakalpanaika shilpini, trilochane rather mama. 7

May He in whose dreadful forehead, fire burns "Dhahaga", "Dhaga,"
May He who burnt the one with five arrows* as an offering to fire,
May He who is the only one who can write decorative lines,
On the tip of the breasts of the daughter of the mountain,
And May He with three eyes make mind enjoy in him.
* The God of love

Naveena megha mandali nirudha durdharath sphurath,
Kahoo niseedhi neethama prabhandha bandha kandhara,
Nilimpa nirjari darsthanothu kruthi sindhura,
Kala nidhana bandhura sriyam jagat durandhara. 8

May He whose black neck is as dark 
As several layers of new clouds,
Packed closely on the night of the new moon.
May He who wears the celestial river on his head,
May He who killed the Gajasura with an elephant head,
May He who is very handsome because of the crescent that he wears,
And may he who carries the entire burden of the world,
Bless us with all sorts of wealth .

Prafulla neela pankaja prapancha kalima prabha,
Valambhi kanda kanthali ruchi prabandha kandharam,
Smarschidham puraschidham bhavaschidham makhachidham,
Gajachidandakachidham tham anthakachidham bhaje. 9

I salute him, who shines with a black neck 
Similar to the well opened blue lotus,
On which all the temples depend for prayer,
And him who destroyed God of love, the three cities,
The worldly problems and yaga destroyers,
And him who destroyed elephant faced Asura and also God of death.,

Agarva sarva mangalaa kalaa kadamba manjari,
Rasa pravaha madhuri vijrumbha mana madhu vrtham,
Suranthakam, paranthakam, bhavanthakam, makhandakam,
Gajandhakandhakandakam thamanthakanthakam bhaje. 10

I salute him who is like the bee who drinks the sweetened honey,
That flows from the flower bunch of collection of arts of the Goddess,
And him who destroyed God of love, the three cities, 
The worldly problems and yaga destroyers,
And him who destroyed elephant faced Asura and also God of death.

Jayathwadhabra vibramadbujaamga maswasath,
Vinirgamath, kramasphurath, karala bhala havya vat,
Dhimi dhimi dhimi dhwanan mrudanga thunga mangala,
Dhwani karma pravarthitha prachanda thandawa shiva. 11

Victory to the great Shiva, who has the fire burning in his forehead,
Which is increased by the breath of the snake wandering in the sky,
And to Him who dances to the changing tunes and fierce sound,
Of Dhimi, dhimi, dhimi coming out the auspicious drum.

Drusha dwichi thra thalpayor bhujanga moukthika srajo,
Garishta rathna loshtayo suhrudhwi paksha pakshayo,
Trunara vinda chakshusho praja mahee mahendrayo,
Samapravarthika kadha sadashivam bhajamyaham. 12

When will I be able to worship that eternal shiva,
With a feeling of equanimity towards snake and a garland,
Towards great gems and dirt or friends and enemies,
Or Towards a blade of grass and lotus like eyes, 
Or emperor and ordinary men.

Kada nilampa nirjaree nikunja kotare vasan,
Vimuktha durmathee sada sirasthanjaleem vahan,
Vilola lola lochano lalama bhala lagnaka,
Shivethi manthamucharan kada sukhee bhavamyaham. 13

When will I live the life of pleasure, meditating on Shiva,
Sitting near a hollow place near the celestial river Ganga,
Releasing all my bad thoughts and with hands clasped above my head,
After releasing all passion for the pretty women with shifting eyes?

Imam hi nithya meva muktha muthamothamam sthavam,
Padan, smaran broovan naro vishudhimethi santhatham,
Hare Gurou subhakthimasu yathi nanyadha gatheem,
Vimohinam hi dehinaam sushakarasya chithanam. 14

This greater than the great prayer if read,
Remembered, or recited daily by man,
Will make him pure, eternal,
And he would get devotion to Shiva leading him to salvation,
For remembering Lord Shiva, is a sure method of removal of detachment.

Poojavasana samaye dasa vakhra geetham,
Ya shambhu poojana param padthi pradhoshe,
Thasya sthiraam radha gajendra thuranga yuktham,
Lakshmeem sadaiva sumukheem pradadathi shambu. 15

He who sings this song composed by the ten headed one,
At the end of every worship or,
Reads it after worship of Shiva on the Pradosha day,
Will get by the blessing of lord Shiva, chariots, elephants and horses,
As well as the affectionate sight of god of wealth.

Ithi Ravana krutham,
Shiva thandava stotram, 
Sampoornam,

Thus ends the prayer of the dancing Shiva,
Composed by Ravana. 

One of Lord Shiva’s greatest devotees was Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, who was the main antagonist in The Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama (avatar of Lord Vishnu).

 

Ravana was a Brahmin and a great scholar and very knowledgeable in the Hindu scriptures . He has even moved Lord Shiva with his prayers and austerities to bless him with boons. However the biggest flaw in Ravana was his massive ego (represented by his 10 heads). 

 

It goes to show that works of such power and beauty and transcendence can come from a demon like Ravana too. 

 

Here’s a nice version of it —

 

 

Edited February 14, 2018 by dwai
Added video

[s1va]

The verses show the great devotion Ravana had for Lord Shiva.  He is considered one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva, along with Nandi, etc.  I learn from Ravana's story that intellectual knowledge, however great it is, of not much use.  Without surrender, true humility and devotion in the heart, it may be hard to cross over the attachments, desires and lust.  As per scriptural knowledge, it can be very helpful or harmful depending on the person that uses them and how they apply them.  Just like a knife that can cut the vegetable, can also cut the finger, if a person does not know how to handle it.  Can't blame the knife in this instance. 

 

Ravana's main problem as described in Ramayana was lust.  I just briefly mentioned his story yesterday in another thread right here.  Ravana & Kumbakarna are supposed to be the incarnation of Jaya and Vijaya (due to a curse), who are the door guards and greatest devotees of Lord Vishnu.  Yes, lust stems out of one's ego.  Anyway, another vital lesson I have personally learned is, it is easy for me to point finger or notice such egoic acts on others.  What I need to personally work on for my progress, eludes me many times!  In truth such judgements never helped me, so I try not to judge anyone, including Ravana   There are also others who are considered as demons, but were greatest devotees, some even considered worthy of worship, such as Prahlada.   The lesson here for me is things such as lust can derail even some of the greatest and learned devotees of Lord.  Interestingly, Ravana & Kumbakarna both get Moksha or liberation in Ramayana.

Edited February 14, 2018 by s1va

[dwai]

1 hour ago, s1va said:

The verses show the great devotion Ravana had for Lord Shiva.  He is considered one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva, along with Nandi, etc.  I learn from Ravana's story that intellectual knowledge, however great it is, of not much use.  Without surrender, true humility and devotion in the heart, it may be hard to cross over the attachments, desires and lust.  As per scriptural knowledge, it can be very helpful or harmful depending on the person that uses them and how they apply them.  Just like a knife that can cut the vegetable, can also cut the finger, if a person does not know how to handle it.  Can't blame the knife in this instance. 

 

Ravana's main problem as described in Ramayana was lust.  I just briefly mentioned his story yesterday in another thread right here.  Ravana & Kumbakarna are supposed to be the incarnation of Jaya and Vijaya (due to a curse), who are the door guards and greatest devotees of Lord Vishnu.  Yes, lust stems out of one's ego.  Anyway, another vital lesson I have personally learned is, it is easy for me to point finger or notice such egoic acts on others.  What I need to personally work on for my progress, eludes me many times!  In truth such judgements never helped me, so I try not to judge anyone, including Ravana   There are also others who are considered as demons, but were greatest devotees, some even considered worthy of worship, such as Prahlada.   The lesson here for me is things such as lust can derail even some of the greatest and learned devotees of Lord.  Interestingly, Ravana & Kumbakarna both get Moksha or liberation in Ramayana.

Excellent points bro. I agree completely.

[s1va]

12 minutes ago, dwai said:

Excellent points bro. I agree completely.

 

Timing of the post is also really good   Maha Shivaratri festival is celebrated yesterday and today this year (Feb 13 & 14).  Considered to be a very conducive time/day to think and meditate on Lord Shiva.