Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram

शिव ताण्डव स्तोत्रम्

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Sanskrit Text

जटाटवीगलज्जलप्रवाहपावितस्थले गलेऽवलम्ब्य लम्बितां भुजङ्गतुङ्गमालिकाम्। डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयं चकार चण्डताण्डवं तनोतु नः शिवः शिवम्॥१॥ जटाकटाहसम्भ्रमभ्रमन्निलिम्पनिर्झरी विलोलवीचिवल्लरीविराजमानमूर्धनि। धगद्धगद्धगज्ज्वलल्ललाटपट्टपावके किशोरचन्द्रशेखरे रतिः प्रतिक्षणं मम॥२॥

Transliteration

jaṭāṭavīgalajjalapravāhapāvitasthale gale'valambya lambitāṃ bhujaṅgatuṅgamālikām| ḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamanninādavaḍḍamarvayaṃ cakāra caṇḍatāṇḍavaṃ tanotu naḥ śivaḥ śivam||1|| jaṭākaṭāhasambhramabhramannilimpanirjharī vilolavīcivallarīvirājamānamūrdhani| dhagaddhagaddhagajjvalallalāṭapaṭṭapāvake kiśoracandraśekhare ratiḥ pratikṣaṇaṃ mama||2||

Meaning (English)

The Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram is a 17-verse hymn in the Pañcacāmara meter, traditionally attributed to the asura-king Rāvaṇa. It describes Śiva's cosmic Tāṇḍava dance in dense alliterative Sanskrit — the rolling beat of the ḍamaru drum (damad-damad-damad-daman-ninādavaḍ-ḍamarvayaṃ), the swirl of the Gaṅgā in his matted locks, the crescent moon on his brow, the thundering of his tāṇḍava footfall. Rāvaṇa is said to have composed it under Mount Kailāsa after attempting to lift the mountain, so moved by Śiva's grace that the stotram's sound imitates the dance itself.

Meaning (Hindi)

रावण द्वारा रचित 17-श्लोकी स्तोत्र जो शिव के तांडव नृत्य की स्तुति करता है। पंचचामर छंद में, ध्वनिमय शब्दों से भरा हुआ — डमरू की आवाज, गंगा का प्रवाह, जटाओं का लहराना सब वर्णन में जीवंत हो उठते हैं।

Benefits

•Destruction of ego and afflictions
•Dispels fear
•Granted Rāvaṇa the boon of Candrahāsa sword
•Awakens spiritual power (śakti)
•Considered especially potent on Mahāśivarātri

Best Time

Pradoṣa kāla, Monday evening, Mahāśivarātri

Chant Count

21 times

Source

Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram (attributed to Rāvaṇa)

Scholarly Context

Origin & Textual Home

The Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram is traditionally attributed to the asura-king Rāvaṇa, composed under circumstances recorded in the Uttarakāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa. Pride moved Rāvaṇa to attempt lifting Mount Kailāsa, Śiva's abode; the mountain pressed his hand back down, and in his crushing pain Rāvaṇa composed this stotram as an act of contrition. The hymn's meter, Pañcacāmara (16 syllables per pāda in a specific iambic pattern), is rare and challenging, and its dense alliteration — particularly the onomatopoetic ḍamaḍ-ḍamaḍ-ḍamaḍ-ḍamat that renders the sound of Śiva's ḍamaru drum — makes it one of the most technically virtuosic Sanskrit hymns ever composed. Some scholars attribute the text to a later Śaiva tantric poet, using Rāvaṇa as a deliberate choice of authorial voice; the metrical sophistication exceeds what the epic attributes to its protagonists.

How to Chant

Traditional practice recites the 17 verses in a single sitting, taking 8-12 minutes depending on intended tempo. The hymn's sonic density makes mispronunciation painful even to the chanter's own ear, so it is often learned slowly, verse-by-verse over 17 days. Daily recitation is traditional for Śaiva ascetics; monthly recitation on Pradoṣa (13th lunar day) or Mahāśivarātri is standard for householders. The posture is usually sitting or standing before a Śiva-liṅga; some tantric lineages instruct recitation with eyes closed to internalize the rhythmic imagery.

Traditional Benefits

The stotram's most cited result is the Candrahāsa sword that Śiva granted Rāvaṇa after hearing the composition — a tangible boon in response to aesthetic virtuosity rather than moral rectitude. In contemporary practice the hymn is chanted for destruction of ego and afflictions, dispelling of deep-seated fears, and awakening of śakti. The cosmic-dance imagery is said to be physiologically affecting: the rhythmic alliteration can induce light trance states in habitual practitioners, and modern studies have noted its use by Kathak and Bharatanāṭyam dancers as a concentration aid during advanced taal work.

Deeper Meaning

The stotram is a masterwork of rasa theory — each verse activates a different aesthetic mood (raudra, adbhuta, bhayānaka) while describing Śiva in a single extended image. Verse 2's jaṭā-kaṭāha-sambhrama-bhraman-nilimpa-nirjharī describes the Gaṅgā swirling in Śiva's matted hair; verse 7's dhagad-dhagad-dhagaj-jvalal places agnī (fire) on his forehead, foreshadowing the destruction-of-Kāmadeva myth; verse 15 lands on Rāvaṇa's own wish — aśeṣa-loka-sadguṇāvataḥ — 'may my misdeeds be reduced by this dance.' Abhinavagupta's Dhvanyāloka-locana praises the stotram as the highest example of dhvani (suggested meaning), where the meter itself performs what the words describe.