Nataraja (literally, The King of Dance) is the dancing posture of Lord Shiva, the aspect of God as the Destroyer in Hinduism.

• The upper right hand holds the Drum (called Udukkai in Tamil and Dhamarukha in Hindi), which symbolizes sound originating Creation.
• The upper left hand contains Agni or the fire, which signifies Destruction. The opposing concepts in the upper hands show the counterpoise of creation and destruction.
• The second right hand shows Abhaya (fear not in Sanskrit), bestowing protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma.
• The second left points towards the raised left foot which signifies Upliftment and Salvation. The hand also looks like the trunk of Ganesha, the obstacle remover, a symbol of strength.
• The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara that symbolises the ignorance that all dichotomies are false, which is defeated by the dance of Shiva.
• As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, which is the dance in which the universe is created, maintaned, and resolved. Shiva's long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a kind of pyramid, 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, humans' inherent soul impelling force resident in everyone.--Shakti.

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.

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.

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-anthromorphic form of the linga.

Origin

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. The Chola Nataraja is often said to be the supreme statement of Hindu art.

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. 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.

To understand the concept of Nataraja we have to understand the idea of dance itself. Like yoga, dance induces trance, ecstasy and the experience of the divine (see Sufi whirling). In India, consequently, dance has flourished side by side with the austerities of meditation (as fasting, absolute introversion etc.). Shiva, therefore, the arch-yogi of the gods, is necessarily also the Lord of the dance. Dancing is an art in which artist and the art he creates are one the same, evoking the oneness of God and Creation.

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 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.

See also

• ^* An excellent review of Nataraja symbolism.
• about History and location of Nataraja Temple Cidhambaram.
• Shiva as Nataraja - Dance and Destruction In Indian Art by Sri Nitin Kumar.
• Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Aspects of Shiva | Dance | Tamil deities