Shiva Tandava Stotram — Verse 10

Sanskrit

Transliteration

akharva sarvamaṅgalā kalā kadamba mañjarī rasa pravāha mādhurī vijṛmbhaṇā madhuvratam smarāntakaṁ purāntakaṁ bhavāntakaṁ makhāntakaṁ gajāntakāndhakāntakaṁ tam antakāntakaṁ bhaje

Word Meanings

akharva—perfect/full; sarva-maṅgalā—all-auspicious; kalā—art forms; kadamba—kadamba flowers; mañjarī—cluster; rasa—essence/sweetness; pravāha—flow; mādhurī—sweetness; vijṛmbhaṇā—blooming; madhu-vratam—devoted to honey (bees); smarāntakam—ender of Smara; purāntakam—ender of the three cities; bhavāntakam—ender of worldly existence; makhāntakam—ender of the sacrifice; gajāntakam—ender of the elephant-demon; andhakāntakam—ender of Andhaka; tam—Him; antakāntakam—ender of Antaka (Death); bhaje—I worship.

Translation

I worship Him — the bee devoted to the flowing sweetness of the cluster of all-auspicious arts — the Ender of Kama, Ender of the three cities, Ender of worldly existence, Ender of Daksha's sacrifice, Ender of the elephant-demon, Ender of Andhaka, Ender of Death itself.

Commentary

This verse closely parallels verse 9 but uses 'anta' (ender) instead of 'cchid' (destroyer), emphasizing that Shiva does not destroy things arbitrarily but brings them to their natural completion. He is 'antakāntaka' — the ender of Death — not because He is immortal in the way beings are, but because He is the consciousness in which the concept of death itself dissolves.