Why did Lord Shiva perform the Tandava dance?

According to Shivpuran, Lord Shiva, being a great connoisseur of tune and rhythm, was the originator of dance, hence he is called ‘Adi Nartak’ and ‘Nataraja’. There are many types of dance promoted by Nataraja Shiva, among which ‘Tandava’ (Tandava) is the most prominent. After marriage with Parvatiji, Shiva divided his body into two parts – one is Tandava and the other is Lasya. Tandava is the dance of Shiva – boisterous and attractive; Lasya is the dance of Parvatiji – delicate and graceful.
In relation to ‘Tandav’ dance, it is said that the dance performed by Lord Shiva in the evening in the company of various instruments like Dindim, Gomukh, Panav etc. after destroying the Yagya of Prajapati Daksh is called ‘Tandav’.

👉 It is said that Lord Shiva had performed Tandava with joy and dance even after Tripuradah.

👉 On the orders of Lord Shiva, his chief Gana ‘Tandu’ gave these dances to Bharatmuni for the use of acting. This dance, promoted by Tandu Muni, became popular by the name ‘Tandava’. There was no interest or emotion in Shiva’s joyous dance.
Tandava is the frenetic dance of Lord Shiva…
Lord Shiva became very mad while performing this ecstatic dance, which has been described by Shri Pushpadantacharya in ‘Shivamahimna Stotra’ –
Due to their extreme joy, their free dance had disturbed the sky, the directions had become choppy, the earth had started sinking. Particles of fire started coming out from the third eye of Lord Shiva. Therefore, fearing that the worlds would be burnt, he closed his vision and continued dancing without interruption. Due to the blow of his feet the earth was suddenly in trouble; The planets, constellations and stars of the sky got hurt by his rotating arm.Heaven became sad again and again due to the injury of the edges of his open and scattered locks, when he used to stomp his feet, even the upper hood of Sheshnag became restless due to his weight; But even at that time, Lord Shankar had the feeling of protecting the world.
Nandi prays to everyone to ensure that Lord Shiva’s Tandava dance goes on smoothly – ‘O Gods, Dikpatis, move away from here, clouds that rain water, leave the sky, Earth, go to the underworld, mountains, enter the lower part of the earth. Do it Brahmin, take your world somewhere far and higher; Because at the time of my master Lord Shankar’s dance, you all are in danger.
Considering it necessary to control Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati performed the Lasya dance. Tandava dance was emotionless and Lasya dance was full of passion and emotion. The creation expanded with the coordination of this Tandava and Lasya dance.
Seven types of Tandava dance have been described in Shaiva scriptures – Anandtandava (Lalittandava), Sandhyatandava, Kalikatandava, Tripuratandava, Gauritandava, Sanhartandava and Umatandava.
Sandhyatandav of Lord Shiva…
Lord Shiva never performs ‘Sandhyatandav’ alone. Nataraja Shiva dances daily in the evening only after making his better half Gauri sit on the jeweled throne during the dance.

It is mentioned in the scriptures that at the time of Sandhyatandav by Nataraja Shiva, Brahma gives the rhythm, Saraswati plays the veena, Indra plays the flute and Vishnu plays the mridangam, Lakshmi sings and all the gods watch the dance. In this dance, musical instruments like Mridang, Bheri, Patah, Bhand, Dindim, Panav, Dardur, Gomukh etc. are used.
When Lord Shiva offers a floral tribute to his presiding deity before dancing, the garland, thinking ‘There is no one more worthy of worship than him’, gets scattered by the hiss of the snakes in the form of bangles wrapped around Shiva’s hands and touches the feet of Lord Shiva. Is.

It is believed that Nataraja Shiva performed the Tandava dance for the first time on earth in the Chidambaram temple in the evening. The great poet Kalidas in his play ‘Meghdoot’ has mentioned the evening dance of Mahakal Shiva of Ujjaini.
Tandava is the auspicious dance of Lord Shiva.
The entire universe is the dance hall of Shiva. Shiva’s Tandav is for the welfare of the world, for the creation of the world, not for destruction. When the heat of sin in the world reaches its peak and the living beings start screaming in pain, then the dance of Lord Shankar is forced to take a catastrophic form. Their dance is fierce, but not void of Shiva’s essence. This dance of Lord Shankar is also done to protect the world because he is a benefactor. The sound of his feet causes the earth to produce food, water, fruits and flowers.
According to Panini, the fourteen sutras like ‘आ इ उ न…’ etc. which came out from the sound of his drum while Lord Shankar was dancing, were collected by the Sankadi sages and from that the Sanskrit language was born.

Shiva’s long locks always remain tied, but when the world is plagued by demonic powers, those locks open while performing Tandav for the salvation of the universe.
The vibrations that are visible in the world from atoms to the biggest powers are the result of their dance and sound. When the dance of Lord Shiva begins, the whole world becomes active and dynamic with the sound of his dance and when the dance stops, the entire living world becomes silent and immersed in spiritual bliss. The dance of Nataraja symbolizes the five divine activities of creation, existence, destruction, disappearance and grace.
This eternal and eternal dance of Lord Shiva is visible only to those creatures who have risen above the illusion.