नटराज नटराज नर्तन सुन्दर नटराज | शिवराज शिवराज शिवकामी प्रिय शिवराज ||
Nataraja (Nataraja Nataraja)
Nataraja Nataraja Nartana Sundara Nataraja | Shivaraja Shivaraja Shivakami Priya Shivaraja ||
Listen & Chant Along
Listen & chant along — performed by Jai Uttal
"Praise to Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic Lord of the Dance"
Meaning & Translation
Sanskrit
नटराज नटराज नर्तन सुन्दर नटराज | शिवराज शिवराज शिवकामी प्रिय शिवराज ||
Transliteration
Nataraja Nataraja Nartana Sundara Nataraja | Shivaraja Shivaraja Shivakami Priya Shivaraja ||
Pronunciation
nah-tah-RAH-jah — nar-tah-nah SOON-dah-rah; shee-vah-RAH-jah — shee-vah-KAH-mee PREE-yah; the rhythm drives forward in a steady dancing pulse
Deity / Quality Invoked
Shiva
Full Translation
This joyous chant celebrates Shiva in his form as Nataraja, King of Dancers, whose blissful dance creates, sustains, and dissolves the universe. The first line delights in the beauty of his dance; the second hails him as Shivaraja, the sovereign Shiva, beloved of the goddess Shivakami (Parvati). To sing it is to remember that the cosmos itself is a dance — and to join in.
Spiritual Significance
The image of Nataraja — dancing within a ring of flames, one foot raised in liberation, drum and fire in his hands — is among the most profound symbols in Hindu thought: the universe as rhythm, destruction as grace. This kirtan, popularized through the Sivananda lineage's chanting repertoire, turns that image into sound, and its driving call-and-response melody makes it a favorite for the ecstatic peak of a kirtan evening.
Cultural Context & History
Jai Uttal's exuberant "Nataraj" appears on Kirtan!: The Art and Practice of Ecstatic Chant, his classic double album of call-and-response chanting released on Sounds True. Jai — a pioneer of Western kirtan and student of Neem Karoli Baba — builds the chant from a gentle sway into a whirling celebration worthy of the dancing god himself.
For Leaders
Chords and structure for leading this chant on harmonium or guitar — transcribed from the linked recording. New to leading? Read our guide to leading kirtan →
Original key
Em
Tempo & feel
Driving dance groove (~117 bpm); Shiva-as-dancer energy
Chord Chart
Strumming & rhythm (4/4)
D = downstrum, U = upstrum, · = let it ring. dancing strum: light, quick, with a spring on the off-beat ups.
Call & response (identical)
Call & Response Structure
Two chords only: the lift to G on the back half of each line is the whole harmonic story — everything else is Em drive. The response mirrors the call exactly. Builds through tempo and voltage, never new chords.
Terms in the Glossary
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