Shiva Tandava Stotram — Verse 6

Sanskrit

Transliteration

lalāṭa catvara jvalad dhanaṁjaya sphuliṅgabhā nipīta pañca sāyakam naman nilimpa nāyakam sudhāmayūkha lekhayā virājamāna śekharam mahākapāli sampade śiro jjaṭālamastunah

Word Meanings

lalāṭa—forehead; catvara—square/expanse; jvalat—blazing; dhanaṁjaya—fire; sphuliṅga—sparks; bhā—like; nipīta—drunk/consumed; pañca-sāyakam—the five arrows of Kama; naman—bowing; nilimpa—divine beings; nāyakam—leader; sudhā—nectar; mayūkha—rays; lekhayā—with the line of; virājamāna—resplendent; śekharam—crowned; mahā-kapāli—great skull-bearer; sampade—for wealth/blessings; śiraḥ—head; jaṭā—matted locks; alam—may be enough; astu—be; naḥ—for us.

Translation

May the matted locks on the head of the great skull-bearer Shiva be our prosperity — He before whom the leaders of the divine beings bow, who consumed Kama's five arrows with the blazing sparks of fire from His forehead-expanse, and who is crowned with the line of moonbeams.

Commentary

This verse refers to Shiva's famous destruction of Kama (Desire/Love). When Kama shot his five flower-arrows to disturb Shiva's meditation at the behest of the gods, Shiva opened His third eye and reduced Kama to ashes. Yet paradoxically, Shiva himself is the source of all desire in the universe. He destroys personified Desire to demonstrate that desire finds its resolution only in the absolute.