Shiva Tandava Stotra

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Ravana sings the Shiva Tandava Stotra as he lifts Mount Kailash, the abode of Shiva.

The Shiva Tandava Stotra(m) (

romanized: śiva-tāṇḍava-stotra) is a Sanskrit religious hymn (stotra) dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, one of the principal gods in Hinduism and the supreme god in Shaivism. Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, considered a devotee of Shiva.[1][2]

Etymology

In Sanskrit, tāṇḍava (nominative case: tāṇḍavam) means a frantic dance;[3] stotra (nominative case: stotram) means a panegyric,[4] or a hymn of praise. The entire compound can be translated as "Hymn of praise of Shiva's dance".

Verse

The

poetic meter is iambic octameter by definition. There are 17 quatrains in total.[5]

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 and onomatopoeia create rolling waves of resounding beauty in this example of Hindu devotional poetry.[6]

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 called

Chandrahasa.[7][8][9]

Legend

The Uttara Kanda of the

Chandrahasa. Since Ravana cried, he was given the name "Ravana" – one who cried. The verses that Ravana sang were collected and became known as the Shiva Tandava Stotra.[10]

In popular culture

Parts of the stotra was recreated as a song in the following Indian films:

See also

References

  1. .
  2. .
  3. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2012-06-29). "Tandava, Tāṇḍava, Tamdava: 18 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  4. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2014-09-09). "Stotra: 18 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  5. ^ "Shivatandavastotra". Full text at Wikisource. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  6. ^ Ramachander, P. R. "Shiva Thandava Stotram". saivism.net. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. .
  8. . Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  9. ^ Social, Daily. "12 Of The Most Powerful Divine Weapons From Hindu Mythology". Daily Social. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Shiv Tandav Stotra". newstrend.news. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Maula Maula Lyrics – The Attacks of 26/11". Indicine. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Singing Baahubali's Shiv Stotram gave me goosebumps: Kailash Kher". Hindustan Times. July 31, 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2018.