Shiva As Nataraja - The Lord of Dance
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"Because You love the Burning -ground, I
have made a Burning-ground of my heart - That You, Dark One, hunter of
the Burning-ground, May dance Your eternal dance."
~ Bengali Hymn~
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The significance of the
Nataraja (Nataraj)
sculpture is said to be that
Shiva is shown as the source of all
movement within the cosmos, represented by the arch of flames. The
purpose of the dance is to release men from illusion of the idea of
the "self" and of the physical world. The cosmic dance was performed
in Chidambaram in South India, called the center of the universe by
some Hindus. The gestures of the dance represent
Shiva's five activities, creation
(symbolized by the drum), protection (by the "fear not" hand
gesture), destruction (by the fire), embodiment (by the foot planted
on the ground), and release (by the foot held aloft).
As
Nataraja (Sanskrit:
Lord of Dance)
Shiva represents apocalypse and
creation as he dances away the illusory world of Maya
transforming it into power and enlightenment.
Click here to see
all Lotus Sculpture's Statues of Lord Nataraja |
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The symbolism of
Siva
Nataraja
is religion, art and science merged as one. In God's endless dance of
creation, preservation, destruction and paired graces is hidden a deep
understanding of our universe. Aum Namah Sivaya. Bhashya
Nataraja, the King of Dance,
has four arms. The upper right hand holds the drum from which creation
issues forth. The lower right hand is raised in blessing,
betokening preservation. The upper left hand holds a flame, which
is destruction, the dissolution of form. The right leg,
representing obscuring grace, stands upon Apasmarapurusha, a soul
temporarily earth-bound by its own sloth, confusion and forgetfulness.
The uplifted left leg is revealing grace, which releases the mature soul
from bondage. The lower left hand gestures toward that holy foot
in assurance that
Siva's
grace is the refuge for everyone, the way to liberation. The
circle of fire represents the cosmos and especially consciousness.
The all-devouring form looming above is Mahakala, "Great Time."
The cobra around
Nataraja's
waist is kundalini shakti, the soul-impelling cosmic power resident
within all.
Nataraja's
dance is not just a symbol. It is taking place within each of us,
at the atomic level, this very moment. The Agamas proclaim, "The
birth of the world, its maintenance, its destruction, the soul's
obscuration and liberation are the five acts of His dance." Aum Namah
Sivaya.
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The Symbolism
of the Nataraja Pose |
"quot;O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred
drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and
innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and
unconscious order of thy creation. All these worlds are transformed by
Thy hand bearing fire. Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives
an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils
of causality. It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to
those that approach Thee. These
Five-Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork.."
~ Chidambara Mummani Kovai~
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The
Nataraja dances within the universe of
illusion. The locks of his hair stand out in many strands as he whirls
around in his dancing frenzy. His locks are decked with a crescent moon,
a skull, and are interspersed with the sacred river Ganges.
Shiva's unkempt hair, a symbol of a
rejection of society, shows him to be an ascetic. This
contrasts with his role as a grhastha, or householder, with
his wife and family.
Click here to see
all Lotus Sculpture's Statues of Lord Nataraja
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| The fiery
ring surrounding
Shiva,
prahabhamandala, represents the universe with all its illusion,
suffering and pain. The outer edge is fire the inner edge the
waters of the oceans. Many
Nataraja statues have multiple levels
of fire and water. |
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The goddess of
the Ganges is here shown nesting in
Shiva's dreadlocks. The river Ganges
that flows in
Nataraja's hair originally flowed in
heaven. When the heavenly Ganges was needed on earth, she was unwilling to
fall to earth because she realized that her fall from heaven would be too
much for the earth to withstand.
Shiva as
Nataraja agreed to break the violent power
of the sacred Ganga's fall by catching her in his tangled hair, breaking the
fall with his hair on its way to the Himalayas and Northern India. |
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The crescent moon in
his matted hair keeps Kama, the god of nightly love, alive. Through
the waxing and the waning of the moon
Shiva creates different seasons and
rejuvenates life.
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Nataraja wears a snake coiled
around his upper arms and neck symbolizing the power he has over
the most deadly of creatures. Snakes are also used to symbolize
the Hindu dogma of reincarnation. Their natural process of
molting or shedding their skin is symbolic of the human souls
transmigration of bodies from one life to another.
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In the back right hand Shiva often holds an hour glass shaped drum
or damaru. The drum represents the rhythmic sound to
which
Nataraja dances and ceaselessly
recreates the universe.
The front right hand is in the abhaya-mudra (the "fear not"
gesture, made by holding the palm outward with fingers pointing
up).
Click here to see
all Lotus Sculpture's Statues of Lord Nataraja
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The
back left hand carries agni (fire) in a vessel or in his hand.
The flames represent the destructive energy with which
Nataraja dances at the end of
each cosmic age, cleansing sins and removing illusion.
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His
uplifted left foot, grants eternal bliss to those who approach
him. The other foot treads firmly upon the dwarf of ignorance,
allowing the birth of knowledge.
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