Jatatavigalajjala pravaha pavitasthale
Galeavalam bya lam bitam bhujangatungamalikam
Damad damad damad dama nina davad amarvayam
Chakara chand tandavam tano tu nah shivah shivam
With his neck consecrated by the flow of water that flows from his hair,
And on his neck a snake, which is hung like a garland,
And the Damaru drum that emits the sound “Damat Damat Damat Damat”,
Lord Shiva did the auspicious dance of Tandava. May he give prosperity to all of us.
SHIVA THE LORD OF DANCE
The Shiva Tandava stotram, from which the introductory verse was taken, was composed by a great devotee of the Lord Shiva. The story goes as such: Having conquered his brother Kuber, the son of the Great Rishi Visharva, was flying in his aircraft and came to the Himalayas. He could travel no further because despite his efforts he could not pass Kailash.
Visharva’s son was a powerful asura and in his arrogance got to the base Kailash and with all his strength succeeded in lifting the mountain.
Roused from his rest and state of meditation Lord Shiva decided to crush the asura’s arrogance. The lord moved his big toe. Kailash fell pushing the asura deep into patala (the netherworld). The asura cried out in agony (RAAV), shaking the three worlds and earning him the name Ravan.
Ravan pleaded and prayed to the lord for forgiveness over 14 days. Finally Ravan composed the rhythmic Shiva Tandava Stotram to pay homage to Mahadev, the Lord of the Tandava dance. Pleased by his devotion and glorification of Her Lord, Mother Parvati urged Lord Shiva to release Ravan who forever remained Lord Shiva’s devotee.
What is this Tandava dance of Lord Shiva?
The ancient sages of Sanathan Dharma or Hinduism, in their wisdom knew, that concepts of creation, divinity and Power, were difficult for the average individual to grasp and thus these profound concepts were given identities and characteristics for mankind to better understand such things.
If clocks and watches were removed time would be difficult to identify and would probably depend entirely on the passage of the sun and moon across the heavens.
Clocks allow us to put a face on time to make sense of it, similarly the various representations of God allow us to better understand the divine and profound concepts and the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with God based on attributes that best resonate with us.
Hinduism has an expansive plethora of deities exceeding thousands in number. If one were to look up Hinduism on the internet or in an encyclopedia you would undoubtedly find mention of the three principal deities: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.
Shiva the destroyer is not to be confused with some maniacal force on a destructive rampage for no reason. If we take creation to be cyclical, as all life is, then what has a beginning must have an end. That end is followed by a new beginning.
This cycle of beginning and end is all part of Lord Shiva’s dances which symbolise the the rhythmic flow of all energy. This divine energy has five key components, creation, preservation, destruction, illusion and emancipation. Among the many names and forms of Lord Shiva are Nataraja, King of the art of dancing and Nrityapriya, Lover of Dance.
Mahadev performs His Tandava dances constantly. While performing the Rudra Tandava – the dance of destruction, Shankara is surrounded by fire and creates violent thunderstorms across the cosmos.
His matted locks lash out as he moves, shattering the suns, moons and planets.
Mother Ganga, representing the fount of all water resides in the Lord’s jatta spreading forth Her waters as tsunamis washing over the galaxies.
His forehead is marked with ash, His three eyes open. The third eye, representing omniscience, insight and enlightenment sees everything and from it sprouts the raging fires which surround Him.
A garland of skulls declares Him as the Master of Death. Snakes slither over his arms, legs and hair – as symbols of egoism which the Lord is invulnerable to.
Shiva is Thrishula Dhari, the wielder of the mighty trishul or trident. The trident symbolises the Mahadev is the Lord of the three gunas; sattva, rajas and tamas, the three states of existence; creation, maintenance and destruction, of time; past, present and future, the three worlds; earth, heaven and hell, will, action and wisdom.
The Lord holds, in one of His hands, the hourglass shaped dumroo which represents the masculine and feminine balance in all creation. His lower hand urges us to be fearless.
With one leg raised in motion, He is above the trappings of maya or illusion. His other foot balances atop the demon symbolising His stamping out of ignorance and unearthing the truth.
The Lord also performs the Ananda Tandava, the dance of bliss which brings about the creation of the universe following its total destruction.
While these dances may seem to be something alluding to an apocalyptic event somewhere in the distant future it is it truth happening constantly throughout the universe and in each and every one of us. Shiva’s dance is the energy that exists in every atom as it passes from one state to another. And like the Lord that energy never dies but passes through phases or Rudra Tandava and Ananda Tandava.
Swami Vivekananda wrote:
Lo, the God is dancing
— Shiva the all-destroyer and Lord of creation,
The Master of Yoga and the wielder of Pinâka. (Trident.)
His flaming locks have filled the sky,
Seven worlds play the rhythm
As the trembling earth sways almost to dissolution,
Lo, the Great God Shiva is dancing.
Fritjof Capra, in his book ‘The Tao of Physics’ paid due tribute to the Hindu view of matter and established its linkage with modern physics with empirical research in 1972. He observed the linkage between the ancient Vedic mythology, religious symbolism, art and modern physics: “Every subatomic particle not only does an energy dance, but is also an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction…without end…For the modern Physicists, then, Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter.”
Capra concluded: “Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.”
In 2004 a two metre-tall statue of Nataraja was unveiled at CERN – Geneva, by The European Centre for Research in Particle Physics who believe that Nataraja represents the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, and also depicts the dynamics of subatomic particles, the basis of creation of the universe that is being researched by physicists around the world.
The Lord of Dance is moving to his own beat and rhythm across the universe and in each of us. This understanding makes the Maha Mantra: OM NAMAH SHIVAYA all the more apt. On the surface it simply means I bow to Shiva the deity. But delve deeper, Om Namah Shivaya, I recognise the divinity within myself.
At the end of every prayer/satsang we pray:
Om Purnam-Adah Purnam-Idam Purnaat-Purnam-Udacyate |
Purnasya Purnam-Aadaaya Purnam-Eva-Avashissyate
Om, that universal soul is perfect, this individual soul is perfect.
From the perfect is the perfect born.
Taking the perfect from the perfect, the perfect alone remains.
Sri Adishankara penned it best in the Nirvana Shatakam:
I am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego, nor the reflections of inner self. I am not the five senses. I am beyond that. I am not the ether, nor the earth, nor the fire, nor the wind. I am indeed, That eternal knowledge and bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness.
I am all pervasive. I am without any attributes, and without any form. I have neither attachment to the world, nor to liberation. I have no wishes for anything because I am everything, everywhere, every time, always in equilibrium. I am indeed, That eternal knowledge and bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness.
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham
Om Namah Shivaya!
REFERENCES:
Pinnacle of Bliss: on Lord Nataraja’s cosmic dance: https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/lord-natarajas-cosmic-dance/article22302227.ece
16/02/2020
Who is the Dwarf in the Cosmic Dance of Shiva?
https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/who-is-the-dwarf-in-the-cosmic-dance-of-shiva.asp
16/02/2020
Cosmic dance of Shiva
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cosmic-dance-of-Shiva/articleshow/10485316.cms
16/02/2020
What is Tandava and what is its significance?
16/02/2020
Shiva – The God of Destruction
https://www.sivasakti.com/tantra/other-hindu-deities/shiva-the-god-of-destruction/
16/02/2020
Follow Me Down a Rabbit Hole 