The demon Dashanand, the king of Lanka and a devotee of Shiva, went to Mount Kailash, where Shiva and his consort Parvati reside forever. He intended to take Kailash with him to Lanka and put his hands under the mountain to lift it. Then Shiva moved the mountain with one little toe and crushed the fingers of Dashanand’s hands. Screaming in pain, Dashanand began to compose and sing his lamentation song, later known as Shiva Tandava Stortam. In this hymn, he praises Shiva in every possible way and describes his beauty. Shiva eventually forgave Dashanand and gave him a new name, Ravana (Howler). And also gave him the most destructive weapon in the world, according to Hindu mythology, the Chandrahas sword.
Hymn and its translation
Jata tavi galajjala pravaha pavitasthale
Galea valambya lambitam bhujanga tungamalikam ||
Damad damad damad dama ninada vadda marvayam
Chakara chand tandavam tanotu nah shivah shivam ||1
Wrapped around the neck with a necklace of snakes
Washed by a stream of the purest water falling from his tangled hair
Extracting from his drum the sound “damad-damad”
Shiva dances the frantic Tandava dance. May it bring us good!
Jata kata hasam bhrama bhrama nilimpa nirjhari
Vilolavi chivalarai viraja mana murdhani ||
Dhagadhagadha gajjvala lalata pattapavake
Kishora chandra shekhare ratih pratikshanam mama ||2
To him, whose divine head is crowned with a crescent
And whose tangled hair is washed by the streams of the waters of the heavenly river
To the one from whose forehead with the sound “dhagat-dhagat” flame erupts
My love is constantly directed to him!
Dhara dharendra nandini vilasa bandhu bandhura
Sphuradi ganta santati pramoda mana manase ||
Krupa kataksha dhorani nirudhadurdha rapadi
Kvachit digambare mano vinodametu vastuni ||3
May my mind be delighted with the contemplation of Shiva
Absorbed in the game with the daughter of the lord of the mountains
With a radiant halo that instills joy in the minds of his devotees
With a gracious gaze that destroys all hardships and hardships
Jata bhujanga pingala sphurat phana mani prabha
Kadamba kunkuma drava pralipta digva dhumukhe ||
Madandha sindhura sphura tvaguttari ya medure
Mano vinoda madbhutam bibhartu bhuta bhartari ||4
May my mind aspire in ecstatic reverence towards that
Whose neck, like a creeper, wraps around a snake decorated with a red stone
To the one whose face, anointed with the flowers of the kadamba tree, is visible everywhere
Whose body is covered with a shimmering shawl of the skin of a huge elephant
Sahasra lochana prabhritya shesha lekha shekhara
Prasuna dhulidhorani vidhu saranghri pithabhuh ||
Bhujanga raja malaya nibaddha jata jutaka
Shriyai chiraya jayatam chakora bandhu shekharah ||5
May he grant us long prosperity
In whose tangled hair, intertwined with a garland of snakes, the moon is like a crown
Whose feet are red from the pollen of flowers falling from the heads of the Gods, headed by the thousand-eyed Indra
Bowed before him in the greatest reverence
Lalata chatva rajvala dhanajn jaya sphu lingabha
Nipita pajncha sayakam naman nilimpa nayakam ||
Sudha mayukha lekhaya viraja mana shekharam
Maha kapali sampade shiro jata lamastu nah ||6
May we gain strength from Shiva’s tangled locks of hair
Who consumed the God of passion with fire burning on his forehead
Who is revered by all heavenly lords
The one whose face is adorned with the crescent of the moon
Karala bhala pattika dhagad dhagad dhagaj jvalat
Ddhanajn jaya huti kruta prachanda pajncha sayake ||
Dhara dharendra nandini kuchagra chitra patraka
Prakalpa naika shilpini trilochane ratir mama ||7
My love for the three-eyed incinerated Kama Dev, armed with five arrows
Fire bursting from his forehead with the sound “Dhagad, dhagat”
The only one of the artists who can depict beautiful patterns
On the chest of Parvati, daughter of the mountain king
Navina megha mandali niruddha durdha rasphurat
Kuhunishithi nitamah prabandha baddha kandharah ||
Nilimpa nirjhari dhara stanotu krutti sindhurah
Kala nidhana bandhurah shriyam jagad dhurandharah ||8
May Lord Shiva bless us
The one who bears the weight of this universe
He who enchants with the moon and who has the celestial river Ganges
Whose neck is as dark as the midnight of the new moon, covered in layers of clouds
Praphulla nila pankaja prapajncha kali maprabha
Valambi kantha kandali ruchi prabaddha kandharam ||
Smarachchidam purachchhidam bhavachchidam makhachchidam
Gajachchidandha kachidam tamamta kachchidam bhaje ||9
To him who spread his glory everywhere like a blue lotus
He who cuts off lust and eliminates the delusion of the mind
Who cuts off all worries and breaks the bonds of worldly life
He who conquered death, I bow
Akharva sarva manga la kala kadamba man jari
Rasa pravaha madhuri vijrum bhanama dhuvratam ||
Smarantakam purantakam bhavantakam makhantakam
Gajanta kandha kantakam tamanta kantakam bhaje ||10
Him around which bees fly because of the sweet scent of honey
From a beautiful bouquet of auspicious Kadamba flowers
To him, who incinerated Manmatha, the destroyer of Tripura
To him who defeated the god of death Yama, I bow
Jayatvada bhravibhrama bhramad bhujanga mashvasa
Dvi nirgamatkrama sphurat karala bhala havyavat ||
Dhimid dhimid dhimidhvanan mrudanga tunga mangala
Dhvani krama pravartita prachanda tandavah shivah ||11
Shiva, whose Tandava dance is in tune with the loud sound of Damaru
Drum emitting a benevolent sound “Dhimid – Dhimid”
He is the one who has a fiery fire in his forehead, burning because of the breath of the serpent
Wandering in swirling motions through the beautiful sky
Shrushadvi chitra talpayor bhujanga maukti kasrajo
Garishtha ratna loshthayoh suhrudvi paksha pakshayoh ||
Trushnara vinda chakshushoh praja mahi mahendrayoh
Sama pravrutikah kada sada shivam bhajamyaham ||12
When will I be able to worship Lord Shiva
Who looks equally calmly at people and emperors
On friends and foes, on the most precious stone and clod of dirt
On the snake and on the garland, and on all the various forms of this world
Kada nilimpa nirjhari nikunja kotare vasanh
Vimukta durmatihs sada shirah sthamanjalim vahan ||
Vimukta lola lochano lalama bhala lagnakah
Shiveti mantra muncharan sada sukhi bhavamyaham ||13
When will I find happiness living in a cave near the sacred Ganges
Free from evil thoughts, thanks to the contemplation of my God
Washing away impure thoughts by constantly chanting the Shiva mantra
With respectfully folded palms raised to the forehead
Imam hi nityameva mukta mutta mottamam stavam
Pathan smaran bruvannaro vishuddhi meti santatam ||
Hare gurav subhaktimashu yati nanyatha gatim
Vimohanam hi dehinam sushankarasya chintanam ||14
Everyone who reads, recites or sings this Stotra
Purified forever and gains devotion to the great Guru Shiva
There is no better path or refuge for devotion
Because the mere thought of Shiva removes delusion
Another version of the Shiva hymn Tandava Stotram, more modern, but at the same time simpler, which is closer in sound and harmony to the European musical tradition:
