Listen & Chant Along
Meaning & Translation
Sanskrit
नटराज नटराज नर्तन सुन्दर नटराज | शिवराज शिवराज शिवकामी प्रिय शिवराज ||
Transliteration
Nataraja Nataraja Nartana Sundara Nataraja | Shivaraja Shivaraja Shivakami Priya Shivaraja ||
Deity / Quality Invoked
Shiva
Word by Word
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
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.
Terms in the Glossary
Words from this page, explained in our A–Z reference.