Mahashivaratri

In Hindu calendar, Krishna Chaturdashi (14^th day of the Dark Moon) of every lunar month is designated as Shivaratri, and the night of Krishna Trayodashi (13^th day of the Dark Moon) of Phalguna is celebrated as Mahashivaratri, the most sacred night of the union of Shiva (Purusha) and Shakti (Prakriti) that created the universe and all life. On this auspicious occasion, many Hindus keep a fast, and all-night vigil of meditation and prayer.

Shiva and Nandi saved the devas by annihilating the asuras on a trayodashi, and devotees hope to attain relief from their problems by observing Pradosh vrat and worshipping Shiva on this special day. Thus, both trayodashi and chaturdashi are sacred days for Shiva's worship.

Shiva Stotras

Some stotras are long (Shivsahasranama), some short (Mahamrutyunjaya, Shiva Panchakshara); some relatively simple (Chandrashekhara Ashtakam, Rudrashtakam, Karpuragauram Karunavataram), and some rather complex (Shiva Tandava).

My favourite singers of these stotras are Pandit Jasraj, Uma Mohan, Madhavi Madhukar Jha, Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Paudwal, and Rameshbhai Oza.

I quote a memorable stanza from Shiva Manasa Puja by Adi Shankaracharya:

 

आत्मा त्वं गिरिजा मतिः सहचराः प्राणाः शरीरं गृहं

पूजा ते विषयोपभोगरचना निद्रा समाधिस्थितिः ।

सञ्चारः पदयोः प्रदक्षिणविधिः स्तोत्राणि सर्वा गिरो

यद्यत्कर्म करोमि तत्तदखिलं शम्भो तवाराधनम्

 

My Translation

YOU are my soul, O Lord; Girija my intellect;

Your attendants my pranas; my body your temple;

All my deeds constitute my obeisance to You;

Sleep is my state of samadhi;

Each step I take is to circumambulate You;

Each word I speak is a prayer to You;

Whatever I do in this world, O Shambhu,

Is my humble worship to YOU.

Shiva Tandava Stotra

This stotra is believed to have been composed by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. The lyrics, with deft use of alliteration and onomatopoeia, convey the fierce energy of Tandava dance.

(Source: Wikipedia -Shiva Nataraj Sculpture, Tamil Nadu Museum)

This stotra mentions two percussion instruments and creates the distinctive sound of those instruments through poetic devices:

For Damaru:

डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयं

Ddamadd-Ddamadd-Ddamadd-Ddaman-Ninaadavadd-Ddamar-Vayam

For Mridangam:

धिमिद्धिमिद्धिमिध्वनन्मृदङ्गतुङ्गमङ्गल_

ध्वनिक्रमप्रवर्तितप्रचण्डताण्डवः शिवः

Dhimid-Dhimid-Dhimidhvanan-Mrdangga-Tungga-Manggala_

Dhvani-Krama-Pravartita-Pracanndda-Taannddavah Shivah

I love the excellent rendition of this stotra by Shankar Mahadevan for which the link is  https://youtu.be/S980-z1qx3g?si=F3CmzrPalgQWewnJ .

Tandava

A popular performance in classical dances of India, Tandava is the cosmic dance of Shiva, characterised by vigorous, brisk movements and accompanied by robust music. While this dance has two broad forms – Ananda Tandava to convey Shiva’s celestial joy, and Rudra or Raudra Tandava to signal his fiery aspect; other notable forms are: Tripura Tandava (Shiva’s celebratory dance after he killed Tripurasura), Sandhya Tandava (when all major deities including Vishnu and Brahma offer obeisance to Shiva), Samhara Tandava, Kali (Kalika) Tandava, Uma Tandava, Gauri Tandava, and Krishna Tandava (Krishna’s ecstatic dance on Kaliya’s hood). Tandava dance by Uma/Gauri is graceful and is also known as Lasya. 

Shiva’s Musicians

Who are Shiva’s musicians? In his iconic image as Nataraj, the King of Dance, Shiva holds the Damaru in his right upper hand and plays it while absorbed in Tandava, the cosmic dance of creation, preservation, and destruction. He is, thus, his own musician.

Nandi and Ganesha are Shiva’s chief accompanying musicians. According to one myth, Nandi played the mridangam in sync with Shiva’s Damaru beats. Another myth mentions that Shiva’s Tandava dance was wild and frenzied, and the Damaru beats were incoherent and incomprehensible; Ganesha played the mridangam to organise and interpret these sounds and created Tala Vidya, the science of music, which makes him the Guru of Music.

Which are Shiva’s most favourite musical instruments? Damaru, the hour-glass shaped instrument which can be played with one hand; and mridangam, played with both hands. Both ancient Indian musical instruments are percussion instruments, and still in use.

The music of mridangam, also known as deva vadyam or divine instrument, is considered auspicious. Mridangam joins together two Sanskrit words - mrit (clay) and angam (limb). In the past, the instrument was made of clay, but is now made of wood of the jackfruit tree. Ghatam, a percussion instrument used in Carnatic music, is still made of clay.

Pakhavaj is used in Hindustani music, and the word is derived from Sanskrit pakshavadya, meaning a percussion instrument played on its sides.

Musical Instruments of India

How many musical instruments does India have? There might be an encyclopaedia with a comprehensive list, but his blogger is not aware of it. However, a credible portal provides a list of 278 musical instruments along with pictures.[i]

Bharat Muni in his Natya Shastra (200 BC – 200 AD) provided a four-fold classification of musical instruments:

·      Avanaad Vadya – Membranophones or Percussion instruments

·      Ghan Vadya – Autophones/Idiophones or solid instruments

·      Sushir Vadya – Aerophones or Wind instruments

·      Tat Vadya – Chordophones or Stringed instruments

European classification of musical instruments to Membranophones, Idiophones, Aerophones, and Chordophones is based on Bharat Muni’s classification.

Journey to Mount Kailash

Recently, I came across an amazing video in which Ustad Zakir Hussain produces the sounds of Damaru and Shankh through his tabla strokes. The humble maestro offered it as a tribute to Lord Shiva, the God of Music and Dance.

Before playing, he said a few introductory words: Lord Shiva played the Damaru at Mount Kailash, Ganesha heard the exquisite sound, and set it to music or Tala through his favourite pakhavaj. All music originates from Damaru, and Ganesha is the Deva who taught humans music. We are humble disciples of those Great Masters.

Then he requested the audience to imagine the primordial scene at Mount Kailash where Lord Shiva played the Damaru, and his ganas blew the conches.

‘I will attempt to create that divine ambience through my tabla strokes. My performance is an offering, a seva, a puja,’ he said.

Zakir Hussain gave such exquisite performances on many occasions, and several videos are available in You Tube. Two links are given at End Notes.[ii]

Both instruments - Damaru and Shankh – have great significance in Hindu mythology. Damaru represents the primal sound AUM, believed to be associated with creation, preservation, and destruction of the Universe. The sounds of Shankh herald all auspicious events. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna blew the Panchajanya to declare the Kurukshetra war open, and the other Maharathis blew their respective conches – Arjuna (Devadatta), Bhima (Paundra), Yudhishthir (Anantavijaya), Nakula (Sughosha), and Sahadeva (Mani pushpaka). It was the great war to annihilate all evil, and hence auspicious.

Postscript

Shiva Tandava Stotra: Hindi

A reader shared with me Shiva Tandava Stotra translated into Hindi by Aalok Shrivastav and rendered by Ashutosh Rana. Excellent translation and great rendition.

Link:

https://youtu.be/NymJqtzVB7U?si=2ArawEQDA-QXk5u7

Raga Shankara

A lovely video on Raga Shankara with introduction by Ustad Vilayat Khan, and sung by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Ustad Rashid Khan.
Link:
https://youtu.be/QAdQkk7OGcY?si=hDc3xVc-YZhsb3DW

Resources

1.      Shankaracharya.org

2.      Shlokam.org

3.      Greenmesg.org

4.      Stotraratnavali, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

5.      Wikipedia

---

[i] https://indianculture.gov.in/musical-instruments

 

[ii] https://youtu.be/aNymtuhWoYM?si=Vwp66lJBxVk2mbvV & https://youtu.be/qpLVlH_jGwk?si=-XTZa6dbcQgX8o0R