Shiva Tandava Stotram — Verse 11

Sanskrit

Transliteration

jayatvadabhra vibhrama bhramad bhujaṅgamaśvasa dvinirgamat kramasphurat karāla bhāla havyavāṭ dhimid dhimid dhimidhvanan mṛdaṅga tuṅga maṅgala dhvani krama pravartita pracaṇḍa tāṇḍavaḥ śivaḥ

Word Meanings

jayatu—may He be victorious; adabhra—extensive/great; vibhrama—wandering; bhramat—moving; bhujaṅgama—serpents; śvasa—breath; dvinirgamat—exiting; krama—in sequence; sphurat—blazing; karāla—terrible; bhāla—forehead; havyavāṭ—fire; dhimid dhimid—sound of mṛdaṅga; mṛdaṅga—drum; tuṅga—great/high; maṅgala—auspicious; dhvani—sound; krama—sequence; pravartita—set in motion; pracaṇḍa—fierce; tāṇḍavaḥ—Tandava dance; śivaḥ—Shiva.

Translation

May Shiva be victorious — whose terrible forehead-fire blazes with the breath of the great serpents writhing in extensive coils — who performs the fierce Tandava dance set in motion by the auspicious sequence of the great mṛdaṅga's resounding 'dhimid dhimid dhimi' beats.

Commentary

The mṛdaṅga (clay drum) is the instrument of Shiva's Tandava. The rhythmic syllables 'dhimid dhimid dhimi' mimic the actual drum pattern. This verse is unique in making the sound of the dance explicit and audible in the poetry itself — the poem becomes the music of Shiva's dance.