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TheShiva Tandava Stotra(m) (Sanskrit:शिवताण्डवस्तोत्र,romanized: śiva-tāṇḍava-stotra) is aSanskrit religious hymn (stotra) dedicated to theHindu deityShiva, one of the principal gods in Hinduism and the supreme god inShaivism. Its authorship is traditionally attributed toRavana, the ruler ofLanka, considered a devotee of Shiva.[1][2]
In Sanskrit,tāṇḍava (nominative case:tāṇḍavam) means a frantic dance;[3]stotra (nominative case:stotram) means apanegyric,[4] or a hymn of praise. The entirecompound can be translated as "Hymn of praise of Shiva's dance".
Thestotra has 16 syllables per line of the quatrain, withlaghu (short syllable) andguru (long syllable) characters alternating; thepoetic meter isiambic octameter by definition. There are 17 quatrains in total.
Both the ninth and tenth quatrains of this hymn conclude with lists of Shiva's epithets as destroyer, even the destroyer of death itself.Alliteration andonomatopoeia create rolling waves of resounding beauty in this example of Hindu devotional poetry.[5]
In the final quatrain of the poem, 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 was an example, Ravana received great power from Shiva, as well as a celestial sword calledChandrahasa.[6][7][8]
TheUttara Kanda of theHindu epicRamayana records that the ten-headed, twenty-armed mighty King Ravana defeated and lootedAlaka – the city of his half-brother and god of wealthKubera, situated nearMount Kailash. After the victory, Ravana was returning to Lanka in thePushpaka Vimana (the flying chariot stolen from Kubera), when he spotted a beautiful place. However, the chariot could not fly over it. Ravana met Shiva's demigod-bull attendantNandi (Nandisha, Nandikeshvara) at the place and asked the reason behind his chariot's inability to pass over the place. Nandi informed Ravana thatShiva andParvati were enjoying their dalliance on the mountain, and that no one was allowed to pass. Ravana mocked Shiva and Nandi. Enraged by the insult to his master, Nandi cursed Ravana thatVanaras would destroy him. In turn, Ravana decided to uproot Kailash, infuriated by Nandi's curse, and his inability to proceed further. He put all his twenty arms under Kailash, and started lifting it. As Kailash began to shake, a terrified Parvati embraced Shiva. However, the omniscient Shiva realized that Ravana was behind the menace, and pressed the mountain into place with his big toe, trapping Ravana beneath it. Ravana gave a loud cry in pain. Advised by his ministers, Ravana sang hymns in praise of Shiva for a thousand years. Finally, Shiva not only forgave Ravana, but also granted him an invincible sword called theChandrahasa. Since Ravana cried, he was given the name "Ravana" – one who cried. The verses that Ravana sang were collected and became known as theShiva Tandava Stotra.[9]
Parts of the stotra was recreated as a song in the following Indian films:
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