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Overview
Shiva Tandava Stotra (शिवताण्डवस्तोत्रम्) is a hymn of praise in the Hindu tradition that describes Shiva's power and beauty. It was sung by the demon-king Ravana. Both the fourth and fifth quatrains of his hymn conclude with lists of Shiva's epithets as destroyer, even the destroyer of death itself. Alliteration and onomatopoeia create roiling waves of resounding beauty in this example of Hindu devotional poetry.
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 from Shiva the boon of indestructibility by all powers on heaven and earth - except by a human being. Distaining the seeming weakness of humans, Ravana abducted the wife of Rama, Lord Vishnu incarnate. India's great epic, the Ramayana, tells the story of this abduction and of the battle between Lord Rama and Ravana which shook the universe.
Ravana
It is said that when he tired of rampaging across the earth, Ravana returned to Lord Shiva to request moksha, release from the bondage of endless rebirth. Shiva replied that he had granted Ravana the boon of indestructibility, and that Ravana must instead seek moksha from Lord Vishnu. In this version of Ravana's story, his battle with Rama can be interpreted as a pretext to attain death, and through death, liberation. Ravana's poignant cry in the final quatrain of poetry - "When will I be happy?" is echoed by modern man in his quest for earthly fulfillment and ultimate liberation from its bondage.
A compelling and complex personality, Ravana is for many Hindus a legendary hero, a scholar of immense intelligence and the devoted husband of one of India's traditional five perfect women, Mandodari. Exploring the modern psychological aspects of this story, choreographer Janaki Patrik links Ravana's passionate devotion to Lord Shiva to his fatal flaw - passionate attraction to Rama's wife Sita.
Poetic characteristics
The stotra is in the Aryageeti (आर्यागीति) style, a variant of the Arya (आर्या) style. There are 32 syllables per half shloka:
32 = 2+2, - , 2+2, --, 2+2, -, 2+2, --, 2+2, - -, 2+2, --, 2+2, -, 2+2,
The '-' are the duration of the pauses.'2+2' represent 2 syllables + 2 syllables in quick succession.
The next half of the shloka follows the same pattern.
External links
"Shiva Tandava Stotra"