Nataraja, The Lord of the Dance

Nataraja is a representation of the Hindu God Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation.

This is a sculpture made in bronze with Shiva dancing in an aureole of flames, lifting his leg and balancing over a demon or dwarf, Muyalaka, who symbolizes ignorance.

The following are the several characteristics this work of art.

•             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, aananda taandavam.

•             The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass that is called a ḍamaru in Sanskrit.  A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. It symbolizes sound originating creation or the beat of the drum is the passage of time.

•             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 or the fire of life.

•             The second right hand shows the Abhaya mudra (meaningfearlessness in Sanskrit), bestowing protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma.

•             The second left hand points towards the raised foot which signifies upliftment and liberation. It also points to the left foot with the sign of the elephant which leads the way through the jungle of ignorance.

•             The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara (Muyalaka, as known in Tamil), which symbolizes

Shiva's victory over ignorance. It also represents the passage of spirit from the divine into material.

•            As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and dissolved. 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 snake swirling around his waist is kundalini, the Shakti or divine force thought to reside within everything. This also parallels the cords of life worn by the Brahmins to represent the second rebirth.

•             The stoic face of Shiva represents his neutrality, thus being in balance.

At the upper left hand which contains Agni of fire made me recall an anime with a character named Agni who is a Brahmin who had renounced his old rebellious ways to serve Soma Asman Kadar, whom he deeply reveres.  He was names after the Hindi deity, Agni, a god of fire, who accepts sacrifices. 

I actually admire this sculpture because basically it was made in bronze and has a great symbolization back then. I am also amazed by the fact that in this one sculpture, there were a lot of characteristics and meanings behind almost every part of it. I’ve also read that one of the purpose of Nataraja’s dance is to release the souls of all men from the snare of illusion which I think is miraculous.