This poem is an offering to Bhagwan Shankar on this most auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri. Throughout the poem references are made to the Mahima and the super-excellent attributes of The Sweet Lord.
COSMIC DANCER
Shiva, with a thousand resplendent names.
Cosmic Dancer, Nataraja of eternal fame.
From Thy celestial drum, OM, sound of creation.
Thy ring of fire, universal dissolution.
Thy uplifted hand and raised foot—
eternal protection, universal good.
Hair arranged in a coil of matted locks.
Adorned with the crescent moon and the Ganges,
ash–colored and in perpetual peace—
Thou are the treasure Thy votaries seek.
Shiva, Lord of mystics and yogis,
ever – fresh Thy eternal blissful body,
radiating knowledge, mystical melody.
Thy grace brings opulence beyond measure;
Thou art bereft of earthly shelter.
A garland of skulls, a serpent around Thy neck,
in the crematorium grounds so content.
Parvati’s spouse supreme in renunciation.
Easy indeed to win Thy benediction,
the Lord who weighs not our transgressions.
Shiva, paragon among the gods,
Mahadeo, gloriously unique, unsurpassed.
Thy benevolence eternally unmatched.
With power of yoga supreme,
drank the ocean of poison to redeem
the universe and all living beings.
Most awesome Thy power to subdue
the glorious Lord Whose neck is blue.
Who bore the weight of the mighty Ganga
descending to earth with stupendous power.
Lord of the masses, of beings incorporeal,
Kartikeya, Thy son, supreme among generals.
Gifted the divine Pasupata weapon to Arjuna,
famed hero of the Mahabharata.
Supremely effulgent Thy form.
Orchestrating the material manifestations,
endless ever-expanding universes and galaxies,
unimaginable energy of a supernova,
the cosmic rhythmic interplay of life and death,
yet remaining ever changeless—
peerless in all the worlds,
for Eternity.
By Haimnauth Cecil Ramkirath