Ananda natanam, the cosmic dance of Shiva

Nataraja (The God of Dance) ,Tamil: கூத்தன் [Kooththan] is the dancing posture of the Hindu god Shiva, who performs his divine dance as a part of his activities of creation and destruction. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic Nataraja is most often depicted through a statue. The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in a aureole of flames, lifting his left leg (and in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing over a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance. An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin aurea, "golden" is the radiance of luminous cloud which in Paintings of sacred personages It is a well known scultptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture^[1]. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in the famous temple at Chidambaram. Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Chidambaram Temple ( Tamil: சிதம்பரம் கோயில் is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the heart of

Properties of the Nataraja form

Nataraja, Lord Shiva as the Cosmic Dancer representing the rhythmic movement of the entire cosmos. Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva

• The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass that is called a ḍamaru in Sanskrit. ^[2][3][4] It is called Udukkai in Tamil . Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. A mudrā ( Sanskrit: मुद्रा lit "seal" is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. ^[5] It symbolizes sound originating Creation.
• The upper left hand contains Agni or fire, which signifies destruction. The opposing concepts in the upper hands show the counterpoise of creation and destruction.
• The second right hand shows the Abhaya mudra (meaning fearlessness in Sanskrit), bestowing protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma. A mudrā ( Sanskrit: मुद्रा lit "seal" is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical The Sanskrit term ( Devanāgarī: धर्म Pali transliteration dhamma) is an Indian spiritual and religious
• The second left hand points towards the raised foot which signifies upliftment and salvation.
• The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara, which symbolises Shiva's victory over ignorance.
• As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and resolved. Tāndava or Tāndava nṛtya, the divine art form is a dance performed by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Shiva's long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a knot, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course or destroying them utterly.
• The surrounding flames represent the manifest Universe. The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy
• The snake swirling around his waist is kundalini, the Shakti or divine force thought to reside within everything. Kundalini (kuṇḍalinī sa कुण्डलिनी Sanskrit, literally "coiled" Shakti, meaning sacred force, power, or energy, is the Hindu concept or personification of the divine feminine aspect sometimes referred
• The stoic face of Shiva represents his neutrality, thus being in balance.

Importance to Bharatanatyam

See also: Bharatanatyam

Nataraja - classical Indian dance pose

Within Lord Shiva's dancing manifestation is represented not only all of time and space, but also the primal creative force that is beyond the circle of illusion that mortals live within, all movement and vibration of the universe, and the stillness beyond all existence. Bharatanatyam (பரதநாட்டியம்is a classical Dance form originating in Tamil Nadu, SpaceTime is a patent-pending three dimensional graphical user interface that allows end users to search their content such as Google Google Images Yahoo! YouTube eBay Amazon and RSS The entire form of Nataraja can be seen to mirror the Hindu sacred syllable Aum, thus implying that Lord Shiva's dance of Destruction and Creation is contained within the existential principle of the Divine Sound. Aum (also Om) ॐ is a mystical or sacred Syllable in the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions

The image of the Lord as the Cosmic Dancer is shown at the Chidambaram temple, an unusual fact as Shiva is depicted in an anthropomorphic form rather than in the typical non-anthropomorphic form of the linga. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chidambaram is a Municipality and taluk ( Tehsil) headquarters in the Cuddalore district Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects

Origin

Bronze Chola Statue depicting Shiva dancing as Nataraja. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City,

The visual image of Nataraja achieved canonical form in the bronzes cast under the Chola dynasty in the tenth century AD, and then continued to be reproduced in metal, stone and other substances right up to the present times. Canonical is an Adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the Greek word kanon, "rule" (perhaps originally from The Chola Nataraja is often said to be the supreme statement of Hindu art. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical

One of the many legends on the conception of Shiva as Nataraja is this one: In a dense forest in South India, there dwelt multitudes of heretical sages. A rishi (ṛṣi denotes a Vedic poet by whom Vedic hymns were composed or according to post-Vedic tradition a "sage" to whom they were "originally revealed" (Ṛṣis Thither proceeded Shiva to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful woman. For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific The sages were at first led to violent dispute amongst themselves, but their anger was soon directed against Shiva, and they endeavored to destroy him by means of incantations. An incantation or incantations are the words spoken during a Ritual, either a Hymn or Prayer invoking or praising a Deity, or in magic A fierce tiger was created in sacrificial fires, and rushed upon him; but smiling gently, he seized it and, with the nail of his little finger, stripped off its skin, and wrapped it about himself like a silken cloth. Undiscouraged by failure, the sages renewed their offerings, and produced a monstrous serpent, which however Shiva seized and wreathed about his neck like a garland. Then he began to dance; but a last monster in the shape of a malignant dwarf rushed upon him. Upon him the God pressed the tip of his foot, and broke the creature’s back, so that it writhed upon the ground; and so, his last foe prostrate, Shiva resumed the dance.

To understand the concept of Nataraja we have to understand the idea of dance itself. Like yoga, dance is used to induce trance, ecstasy and the experience of the divine. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the An altered state of consciousness, (ASC also named altered state of mind is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking Beta wave state Religious ecstasy is an Altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems — In India, consequently, dance has flourished side by side with the austerities of meditation (as fasting, absolute introversion etc. Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all Food, Drink, or both for a period of time The trait of Extraversion-Introversion is a central dimension of human personality. ). Shiva, therefore, the arch-yogi of the Gods, is necessarily also the Lord of the dance. A yogi ( Sanskrit, feminine root Yogini) is a term for a male practitioner of various forms of the path of Yoga, maintaining Dancing is seen as an art in which the artist and the art s/he creates are one the same, thought to evoke the oneness of God and Creation. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity.

Shiva Nataraja was first represented thus in a beautiful series of South Indian bronzes dating from the tenth and twelfth centuries A. D. In these images, Nataraja dances with his right foot supported by a crouching figure and his left foot elegantly raised. A mirrored posture, where his right foot is raised, represents Moksha. In Indian religions, Moksha ( Sanskrit: sa मोक्ष mokṣa) or Mukti ( Sanskrit: sa मुक्ति literally "release"

A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the crescent moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arch of flames. This dance is called the Dance of Bliss, anandatandava.

Notes

1. ^ Shiva as Nataraja - Dance and Destruction In Indian Art.
2. ^ Michaels, p. 218.
3. ^ For definition and shape, see: Apte, p. 461.
4. ^ For the damaru drum as one of the attributes of Shiva in his dancing representation see: Jansen, p. A damaru is a small two-headed drum shaped like an Hourglass. 44.
5. ^ Jansen, p. 25.

References

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.   (Fourth revised and enlarged edition).
• Jansen, Eva Rudy (1993). The Book of Hindu Imagery. Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications BV. ISBN 90-74597-07-6.  
• Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08953-1.  

External links

• An excellent review of Nataraja symbolism.
• about History and location of Nataraja Temple Cidhambaram.