Tattva

The image of Lord Shiva in the dancing posture, as Nataraja, is one of the most recognizable symbols of Hindu art in the world. If images brought particular words to the mind of the viewer, then this would convey only two words: “terrible beauty”.

This form was first developed in southern India by artisans in the 9th-10th century A.D. (880-1279 CE) during the Chola period. The Chola form is now canonical and is widely regarded to be the supreme example of Hindu art. The best example is to be found in the temple at Chidambaram, unusual in itself due to the fact that Shiva is depicted in this anthropomorphic form rather than the more common lingam form found in other temples. Through the centuries, it has been depicted in numerous forms, ranging from common bronze to the precious ashtadhatu (eight metal alloy of copper, tin, lead, antimony, zinc, iron, gold and silver).

Symbolism:

The Nataraja form has a number of symbols, each of which has its own significance:

1. Nataraja’s upper right hand holds the Drum (Dhamarukha or Damaru in Hindi and Udukkai in Tamil), an instrument of sound and therefore of Creation. The hourglass shape of the drum also signifies the vital male-female principle without which creation is impossible.

2. His upper left hand contains fire (Agni), which signifies destruction and cleansing. The way both creation and destruction are held in the dance pose signifies that ultimately Shiva is responsible for the balance.

3. The second (lower) right hand, raised in a gesture of benediction, signifies fearlessness (Abhaya), bestowing freedom from evil and ignorance on the devotee and follower of righteousness (Dharma).

4. The second left hand points towards the raised left foot, signifying Upliftment and Salvation (Moksha). It is also said to symbolize the trunk of Ganesha and thus a symbol of strength, removal of obstacles (Vighna-vinashak) and an tool for discrimination between good and evil.

5. Nataraja dances with His right foot on a dwarf, said to depict the demon Apasmara Purusha, or the personification of the dichotomy of illusion and ignorance, over which Nataraja triumphs.

6. The snake around His waist symbolizes the kundalini shakti, the inherent life force present yet dormant in every human being. Here, it is awakened, symbolizing that the power of an awakened kundalini is capable of “moving planets”.

7. The circle of flames around Him symbolize the endless cycle of birth and death in the universe.

8. The snakes that uncoil from His head simultaneously represent the loss of egotism and the destroyers of heavenly bodies, into which they collide during Nataraja’s celestial dance of destruction (Tandava).

9. Nataraja’s third eye symbolizes His omniscience, insight and enlightenment.

10. He wears a skull on his head to symbolize his conquest over death.

11. The Godess Ganga, the supreme symbol of all that is holy and sanctified, rests among His matted locks.

12. The whole idol rests on a lotus pedestal, symbol of the creative forces of the universe.

13. In rare cases, the Nataraja form is found in a mirrored from, where the right foot is raised. This particular form symbolizes Moksha.

The dance form itself is called Tandava, or more accurately, Anandatandava, or “Dance of Bliss”. It symbolizes the cosmic cycle of birth and death. It encompasses the reality beyond the illusion inhabited by mortals, and contains the movement and vibration of the universe as well as the stillness beyond it. The image itself in paradoxical in the temper it conveys: the inner peace of Shiva conflicting with the outer dynamicism and movement. The dance captures all five of Shiva’s activities: Shrishti (creation), Sthiti (preservation), Samhara (destruction), Tirobhava (illusion) and Anugraha (emancipation). The pose itself is a representation of the sacred (and primeval) syllable Aum.

Legend:

One of the many legends concerning the rise of Nataraja is as follows: In a dense forest in South India, there dwelt multitudes of heretical sages. Thither proceeded Shiva to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful woman. 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. 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.

The choice of a dance form is not accidental: dance traditionally was attributed to lead to a trancelike state, where divine ecstasy and self-realization would occur. It was therefore an important part of the austerities of meditation. Shiva, as the supreme yogi, would therefore be represented in this most exalted from of the dance.

Science:

Fritzof Capra writes in The Tao of Physics, “…every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but is also an energy dance (in itself); a pulsating process of creation and destruction…without end…for the modern physicists, then Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena”. In homage to this philosophy, CERN has consecrated a two-metre-tall Nataraja statue outside the Large Hadron Collider complex at its facility in Geneva.

Take a moment to consider the implications: a thousand-year-old depiction of creation and destruction is placed outside a building where annihilations of subatomic particles are done on a regular basis in order to find new pieces of matter! Hinduism had shown the world so long ago that science and religion are essential and complementary to each other. It looks like the West is trying to catch up-again!

Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa031002a.htm

Siddhartha Sinha is an undergrad student at the Bio-engineering department of the University of Washington. He can be reached at siddo23@gmail.com

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 5:25 am and is filed under Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.