Ravana Tandav Song from Ramayana: Credits, Meaning and the Shiva Tandava Stotram Behind It
Short answer: "Ravana Tandav" is the song from Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana in which Yash, as Ravana, dances in devotion to Lord Shiva. It was released on Dussehra, 20 October 2026. The official single credits A.R. Rahman for the music, Vishal Dadlani as the singer and Dr Kumar Vishwas for the lyrics. The song opens with two stanzas from the Shiva Tandava Stotram, a Sanskrit hymn that tradition says Ravana himself composed. The rest of the Hindi lyrics praise Ravana as a king who rules the three worlds. Below are the credits, where the song sits on the album, and what the old hymn behind it actually says.
Ravana Tandav credits at a glance
- Film: Ramayana (Part One), directed by Nitesh Tiwari, produced by Namit Malhotra
- On screen: Yash as Ravana
- Music: A.R. Rahman (the film's score is by Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman)
- Singer: Vishal Dadlani
- Lyrics: Dr Kumar Vishwas, built around opening verses of the Shiva Tandava Stotram
- Label: T-Series (Super Cassettes Industries)
- Released: 20 October 2026 (Dussehra) as a single, 3 minutes 14 seconds
- Film release: 5 November 2026 in India and worldwide, and 6 November in US theatres through Sony Pictures
One credit note: an NDTV report on the video names A.R. Ameen and Hiral Viradia as composers of the sequence. The streaming and label credits for the single list A.R. Rahman. We follow the official label credit here and will update this page if the film's final credits differ.
Listen: the official audio
Where the song sits on the Ramayana album
A day after the single, on 21 October 2026, T-Series released a five-track soundtrack EP. Three tracks are songs, and two are instrumental themes by Zimmer and Rahman:
- Jai Jai Ram: A.R. Rahman with Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh, lyrics by Kumar Vishwas (5:20)
- Ravana Tandav: A.R. Rahman with Vishal Dadlani, lyrics by Kumar Vishwas (3:14)
- Sita's Aspiration: A.R. Rahman with A.R. Ameen, Vaishali Samant, Rakshita Suresh and Antara Nandy, lyrics by Kumar Vishwas (2:42)
- Jai Jai Ram (Orchestral): Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman (3:02)
- Rama Theme: Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman (2:27)
Read as a set, the EP gives each side of the story its own sound. Rama gets the hymn-like "Jai Jai Ram" and a slow orchestral theme. Sita gets a layered vocal piece. Ravana gets heavy drums, Vishal Dadlani's forceful lead vocal and Sanskrit verse. This is also Hans Zimmer's first Indian film. Fans and reviewers have mentioned other tracks, such as "Jodi Jodi" and a "Vanvas" theme, that are not on this EP, so expect a fuller album closer to the release.
If you know Rahman mainly from his romantic melodies, "Ravana Tandav" is closer to his percussion-heavy, chant-driven side. Our A.R. Rahman artist page and the story behind "Tere Bina" show the softer end of the same composer.
What is the Shiva Tandava Stotram?
The Shiva Tandava Stotram (śiva-tāṇḍava-stotra) is a Sanskrit hymn of praise to Shiva. Tāṇḍava is Shiva's fierce, vigorous dance, linked with creation, preservation and destruction. Stotra means a hymn of praise. Put together, the title means roughly "a hymn praising Shiva's dance".
Its authorship is traditionally credited to Ravana, the king of Lanka, who in many tellings is Shiva's greatest devotee. No historical record confirms who wrote it, so the credit is best read as devotional tradition. The hymn is public domain and has been chanted for centuries, which is why film-makers can draw on it so freely.
Why it sounds like a drumbeat
The stotram is famous for its rhythm. Each line has 16 syllables, and short and long syllables alternate all the way through. In Sanskrit prosody this pattern is called panchachamara. Recited at speed, it gallops. The poet also packs in sound effects. The best-known line imitates Shiva's small hand drum, the damaru:
"Damad damad damaddama ninadavadamarvayam" (Shiva Tandava Stotram, verse 1, traditional; public domain)
In plain English, the first verse pictures Shiva with the river Ganga flowing from his matted hair and washing his neck, a serpent hanging around his neck like a garland, and his damaru sounding "damat damat" as he dances the Tandava. It ends with a prayer that he grant prosperity to all of us. A tune does not need to add much to a line like that. The words already are the beat, and "Ravana Tandav" leans on exactly that.
The legend: how Ravana got his name
The song makes more sense once you know the story that tradition attaches to the hymn. In the Uttara Kanda, the last book of the Valmiki Ramayana, Ravana is flying home to Lanka after defeating his half-brother Kubera. His aerial chariot, the Pushpaka, will not fly over Mount Kailash. Shiva's attendant Nandi tells him that no one may pass. Ravana mocks him and then tries to lift the whole mountain with his twenty arms.
Shiva simply presses the mountain down with his big toe and traps Ravana's arms beneath it. Ravana lets out a terrible cry. On his ministers' advice, he spends a long time singing Shiva's praises until Shiva relents, frees him and gives him the sword Chandrahasa. Because of that cry (from the root ru, to roar or cry out), he is called Ravana. Later tradition holds that the verses he sang became the Shiva Tandava Stotram.
That is the tension the film's song is built on. Ravana is the epic's villain, and he is also a learned, deeply devoted worshipper. The opening Sanskrit verses show his devotion. Kumar Vishwas's Hindi lines then turn to his pride and power over heaven, earth and the underworld (Swarga, Bhuloka and Patala), as NDTV's summary of the lyrics puts it.
How the film uses it
The video runs about one minute 55 seconds. It shows Yash as an ascetic Ravana with matted hair, ash on his forehead and rudraksha ornaments, dancing to drums before the stotram comes in. It was released for Dussehra, the festival that marks Rama's victory over Ravana. Releasing Ravana's big devotional moment on that day was a deliberate choice, and it worked. NDTV reported more than six million YouTube views within days.
Online reaction has been split in a familiar way. Many viewers praised the energy of the sequence and Yash's screen presence. Others compared the music with Rahman's 1990s work and felt it was more functional than memorable. Both views fit a track that works as a piece of the film's score more than as a stand-alone song.
Not the first film to borrow the hymn
Indian cinema has set parts of the Shiva Tandava Stotram to music many times. Examples include the Telugu film Bhookailas (1958), built around Ravana's devotion to Shiva, the Malayalam films Nandanam and Thandavam (both 2002), the Hindi films Singham (2011) and Dharam Sankat Mein (2015), and Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). What is new in Ramayana is the framing. Here the hymn is sung by the character it is attributed to, in the epic it comes from, rather than borrowed as a festival or action cue.
For a wider map of film music across languages, see our guide to Bollywood music and our introduction to South Indian film music.
Frequently asked questions
Who sang Ravana Tandav in Ramayana?
Vishal Dadlani sings the Hindi version. The official single credits A.R. Rahman for the music and Dr Kumar Vishwas for the lyrics.
Is Ravana Tandav the same as the Shiva Tandava Stotram?
No. The film song quotes the opening stanzas of the Sanskrit stotram and then continues with new Hindi lyrics about Ravana written by Kumar Vishwas. The stotram itself is a much longer traditional hymn.
Did Ravana really write the Shiva Tandava Stotram?
Tradition attributes it to him, and the Kailash legend in the Ramayana's Uttara Kanda explains why. There is no historical record of the author, so the attribution is best read as devotional tradition.
When does Ramayana release?
Ramayana Part One is scheduled for 5 November 2026 in India and worldwide, and 6 November 2026 in US theatres through Sony Pictures.
For another story about a famous Indian song and the text behind it, read who wrote Vande Mataram.
Sources
- NDTV: What the Shiva Stotram in Ravana Tandav really means (October 2026)
- NDTV: Ramayana song Tandav, reactions and credits (October 2026)
- Film Music Reporter: Ramayana soundtrack EP released (21 October 2026)
- Apple Music: Ravana Tandav (From "Ramayana") single credits
- Bollywood Hungama: Ramayana release date
- Shiva Tandava Stotra, Wikipedia (metre, legend and film uses)