Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Hindu God Shiva depicted as Lord of Dance}} {{Redirect|Nateshwar|Archaeological ruins in Bangladesh|Nateshwar Deul}} {{EngvarB|date=March 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox deity | type = Hindu | deity_of = Lord of the Dance | image = Shiva as the Lord of Dance LACMA edit.jpg | caption = A 10th century [[Chola dynasty]] bronze sculpture of [[Shiva]], the Lord of the Dance at the [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] | texts = ''Anshumadbhed agama'' <br> ''Uttarakamika agama'' | affiliation = [[Shiva]]<br> | symbols = [[Agni]] }} {{Saivism}} '''Nataraja''' ({{Lang-sa|नटराज|Naṭarāja}})<!--citations and etymology in-text--> ({{Lang-ta | நடராஜர்}})<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rajarajan|first=R. K. K.|title=If this is Citambaram-Nataraja, then where is Tillai-Kūttaṉ? An Introspective Reading of Tēvāram Hymns|url=https://www.academia.edu/37222485|journal=In Pedarapu Chenna Reddy, ed. History, Culture and Archaeological Studies Recent Trends, Commemoration Volume to Prof. M.L.K. Murthy, Vol. II, Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation, Pp. 613-634, PLS. 54.1-6. |language=en}}</ref> is a depiction of the [[Hindu deities|Hindu god]] [[Shiva]] as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called [[Tandava]].<ref name=" Verma2011p19"/><ref name=natarajabrit>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' (2015)</ref> The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the ''Anshumadbhed agama'' and ''Uttarakamika agama'', the dance [[murti]] featured in all major [[Hindu temple]]s of [[Shaivism]],<ref name=rao223/> and is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture,<ref name=narayanan208/><ref>{{cite book |author=Anna Libera Dallapiccola |title=Indian Art in Detail |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JR1rj6wxlo8C |year=2007 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-02691-9|page=28}}</ref> in particular as one of the finest illustrations of [[Hindu art]].<ref>{{cite book |author=David Smith |title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&pg=PA1 |year=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-52865-8 |pages=1–2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Frank Burch Brown |title=The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkvSAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA489 |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517667-4 |pages=489–490}}</ref> The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,<ref name=panthey1987>{{cite book |author=Saroj Panthey |title=Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUBXNueBQo0C |year=1987|publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-016-1 |pages=59–60, 88}}</ref> with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts.<ref name=rao227/> It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' poses, holding various symbols<ref name=rao227/> which vary with historic period and region,<ref name=" Verma2011p19"/><ref>{{cite book |author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |author-link=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7mP3kDzGuoC |year=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0877-5 |pages=236–238, 247–258}}</ref> trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf ([[Apasmara|Apasmara or Muyalaka]]<ref name=natarajabrit/>) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.<ref name=rao227>{{cite book |author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7mP3kDzGuoC |year=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0877-5 |pages=223–229, 237}}</ref><ref>[http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/24548 Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), Chola period, c. 10th/11th century] [[The Art Institute of Chicago]], United States</ref> The classical form of the depiction appears in stone [[relief]]s, as at the [[Ellora Caves]] and the [[Badami Caves]], by around the 6th century.<ref name=harlep126/><ref name=verma2012p150>{{cite book|author=Archana Verma|title=Temple Imagery from Early Mediaeval Peninsular India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOc9RG6MSzgC |year=2012|publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-1-4094-3029-2|pages=150–151}}</ref> Around the 10th century, it emerged in [[Tamil Nadu]] in its mature and best-known expression in [[Chola bronze]]s, of various heights typically less than four feet,<ref name=rao227/> some over.<ref name=jharle309/> Nataraja reliefs are found in historic settings in many parts of [[South East Asia]] such as [[Ankor Wat]] and in [[Bali]], [[Cambodia]], and central Asia.<ref name=panthey1987/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Banerjee | first=P. | title=A Siva Icon from Piandjikent | journal=[[Artibus Asiae]] | volume=31 | issue=1 | year=1969 | pages=73–80 | doi=10.2307/3249451 | jstor=3249451 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mahadev Chakravarti|title=The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through the Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMFwMHH4HzMC |year=1986|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0053-3|page=178 with footnotes}}</ref> ==Etymology== [[File:Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja).jpg|thumb|left|[[Chola bronze]], [[Tamil Nadu]], 10th or 11th century.]] The word Nataraja is a [[Sanskrit]] term, from नट ''Nata'' meaning "act, drama, dance" and राज ''[[Raja]]'' meaning "king, lord"; it can be roughly translated as ''Lord of dance'' or ''King of dance''.<ref name="Coomaraswamy 2013">{{cite book |last1=Coomaraswamy |first1=Ananda K. |title=The dance of Shiva |year=2013 |publisher=Rupa |isbn=978-8129120908 |page=56}}</ref><ref name="king">{{cite web |last1=Stromer|first1=Richard |title=Shiva Nataraja: A Study in Myth, Iconography, and the Meaning of a Sacred Symbol |url=http://www.soulmyths.com/shivanataraja.pdf |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> According to [[Ananda Coomaraswamy]], the name is related to Shiva's fame as the "Lord of Dancers" or "King of Actors".<ref name=coomarados/> The form is known as ''Nataraja'' in [[Tamil Nadu]] and as ''Narteśvara'' (also written Nateshwar<ref>{{cite news |title=A journey to the past with dancing Shiva |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/journey-the-past-dancing-shiva-1805938 |access-date=8 November 2020 |work=The Daily Star |date=27 September 2019 |quote=in an Old Dhaka temple ... a stone statue of Nateshwar, a depiction of dancing Shiva on the back of his bull-carrier Nandi}}</ref>) or ''Nṛityeśvara'' in [[North India]], with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance".<ref name="Pal 1986">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa |url-access=registration |title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |last1=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |last2=Pal |first2=Pratapaditya |publisher=University of California Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0520064775 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa/page/34 34]–36, 138}}</ref> ''Narteśvara'' stems from ''Nṛtta'' same as ''Nata'' which means "act, drama, dance" and ''[[Ishvara]]'' meaning "lord".<ref name="Brunner 2007">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XHXAAAAMAAJ |title=Mélanges Tantriques À la Mémoire D'Hélène Brunner |first1=Hélène |last1=Brunner-Lachaux |first2=Dominic |last2=Goodall |first3=André |last3=Padoux |publisher=Institut français de Pondichéry |year=2007 |isbn=978-2-85539-666-8 |page=245}}</ref> ''Natesa'' (IAST: ''Naṭeśa'') is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch| title= Manifestations of Shiva|url=https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram|year =1981|publisher= Philadelphia Museum of Art| isbn= 0-87633-039-1| pages=[https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram/page/43 43–45]}}</ref> In Tamil, he is also known as “''Sabesan''” ({{Lang-ta | சபேசன்}}) which splits as “''Sabayil aadum eesan''” ({{Lang-ta | சபையில் ஆடும் ஈசன்}}) which means “The Lord who dances on the [[dais]]”. This form is present in most Shiva temples, and is the prime deity in the [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram|Nataraja Temple]] at [[Chidambaram]] (Tillai).<ref name="The Dance of Siva">[https://archive.org/details/danceofsivafourt01coomuoft Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, ''The Dance of Siva: Fourteen Indian Essays'', (New York, The Sun wise Turn, 1918), p. 58. Internet Archive.]</ref> The dance of Shiva in Chidambaram forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. ==Depiction== [[File:Shiva Nataraja(Lord of the Dance).webm|300px|right|(Shiva) Nataraja (Lord of the Dance)]] The two most common forms of Shiva's dance are the ''[[Lasya]]'' (the gentle form of dance), associated with the creation of the world, and the ''Ananda [[Tandava]]'' (dance of bliss, the vigorous form of dance), associated with the destruction of weary worldviews—weary perspectives and lifestyles. In essence, the [[Lasya]] and the [[Tandava]] are just two aspects of Shiva’s nature; for he destroys in order to create, tearing down to build again.<ref name="Elephanta: The Cave of Shiva">Carmel Berkson, Wendy Doniger, George Michell, ''Elephanta: The Cave of Shiva'', (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983). {{ISBN|0691040095}}</ref> According to Alice Boner, the historic Nataraja artworks found in different parts of India are set in geometric patterns and along symmetric lines, particularly the ''satkona'' mandala ([[hexagram]]) that in the Indian tradition means the interdependence and fusion of masculine and feminine principles.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alice Boner|title=Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=doQLZ21CGScC |year=1990|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0705-1|pages=163–164, 257}}</ref> The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,<ref name=panthey1987>{{cite book |author=Saroj Panthey |title=Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUBXNueBQo0C |year=1987|publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-016-1 |pages=59–60, 88}}</ref> with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts.<ref name=rao227/> It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' poses, holding [[Agni]] (fire) in his left back hand, the front hand in ''gajahasta'' (elephant hand) or ''dandahasta'' (stick hand) [[mudra]], the front right hand with a wrapped snake that is in ''abhaya'' (fear not) mudra while pointing to a ''Sutra'' text, and the back hand holding a musical instrument, usually a ''[[Udukai]]'' ({{lang-ta|உடுக்கை}}).<ref name=rao227/> His body, fingers, ankles, neck, face, head, ear lobes and dress are shown decorated with symbolic items, which vary with historic period and region.<ref name="Verma2011p19"/><ref>{{cite book |author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |author-link=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7mP3kDzGuoC |year=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0877-5 |pages=236–238, 247–258}}</ref> He is surrounded by a ring of flames, standing on a lotus pedestal, lifting his left leg (or in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing / trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf ([[Apasmara|Apasmara or Muyalaka]]<ref name=natarajabrit/>) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.<ref name=rao227>{{cite book |author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7mP3kDzGuoC |year=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0877-5 |pages=223–229, 237}}</ref><ref>[http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/24548 Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), Chola period, c. 10th/11th century] [[The Art Institute of Chicago]], United States</ref> The dynamism of the energetic dance is depicted with the whirling hair which spread out in thin strands as a fan behind his head.<ref name=coomaraswamy18>[[Ananda Coomaraswamy]] (1922), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4169808 Saiva Sculptures: Recent Acquisitions], ''[[Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin]]'', Vol. 20, No. 118 (Apr., 1922), pages 18-19</ref><ref>Gomathi Narayanan (1986), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40874102 SHIVA NATARAJA AS A SYMBOL OF PARADOX], ''Journal of South Asian Literature'', Vol. 21, No. 2, page 215</ref> The details in the Nataraja artwork have been variously interpreted by Indian scholars since the 12th century for its symbolic meaning and theological essence.<ref name=jharle309/><ref name=coomarados/> Nataraja is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture,<ref name=narayanan208/><ref>{{cite book |author=Anna Libera Dallapiccola |title=Indian Art in Detail |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JR1rj6wxlo8C |year=2007 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-02691-9|page=28}}</ref> in particular as one of the finest illustrations of [[Hindu art]].<ref>{{cite book |author=David Smith |title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&pg=PA1 |year=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-52865-8 |pages=1–2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Frank Burch Brown |title=The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkvSAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA489 |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517667-4 |pages=489–490}}</ref> ==Symbolism== The symbolism has been interpreted in classical Indian texts such as ''Unmai Vilakkam'', ''Mummani Kovai'', ''Tirukuttu Darshana'' and ''Tiruvatavurar Puranam'', dating from the 12th century CE ([[Chola empire]]) and later,<ref name=coomarados/> and include:<ref name=rao227/><ref name=coomarados>[http://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil300/18.%20The%20Dance%20of%20Shiva.pdf The Dance of Shiva], Ananda Coomaraswamy</ref><ref>[https://www.worldhistory.org/article/831/ Shiva Nataraja, lord of the dance] Encyclopedia of Ancient History (2013)</ref> * He dances within a circular or cyclically closed arch of flames (''prabha mandala''), which symbolically represent the cosmic fire that in Hindu cosmology creates everything and consumes everything, in cyclic existence or cycle of life. The fire also represents the evils, dangers, heat, warmth, light and joys of daily life. The arch of fire emerges from two ''[[Makara (Hindu mythology)|makara]]'' (mythical water beasts) on each end. * He looks calm, even through the continuous chain of creation and destruction that maintains the universe, that shows the supreme tranquility of the [[Ātman_(Hinduism)|Atma]].<ref name="erec_ed_gov">{{cite book|first1=Carole|last1=DeVito|first2=Pasquale|last2=DeVito|title= India - Mahabharata. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1994 (India)|year=1994|publisher= United States Educational Foundation in India|lang=en|page=5}}</ref> * His legs are bent, which suggests an energetic dance. His long, matted tresses, are shown to be loose and flying out in thin strands during the dance, spread into a fan behind his head, because of the wildness and ecstasy of the dance. * On his right side, meshed in with one of the flying strands of his hair near his forehead, is typically the river [[Ganges]] personified as a goddess, from the Hindu mythology where the danger of a mighty river is creatively tied to a calm river for the regeneration of life. [[File:Shiva Nataraja, Southern India, Tamil Nadu, Chola dynasty, detail, 900s-1100s with later alterations, cast bronze - Portland Art Museum - Portland, Oregon - DSC08479.jpg|thumb|Detail of Chola bronze]] * His headdress often features a human [[skull]] (symbol of mortality), a [[lunar phase|crescent moon]] and a flower identified as that of the [[entheogen]]ic plant ''[[Datura metel]]''. *Four-armed figures are most typical, but ten-armed forms are also found from various places and periods, for example the [[Badami Caves]] and [[Ankor Wat]]. * The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass that is called a ''{{IAST|[[ḍamaru]]}}'' in Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alice Boner|author2=Sadāśiva Rath Śarmā|title=Silpa Prakasa Medieval Orissan Sanskrit Text on Temple Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itQUAAAAIAAJ |year=1966|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=xxxvi, 144}}</ref><ref>For the [[damaru]] drum as one of the attributes of Shiva in his dancing representation see: Jansen, page 44.</ref> A specific hand gesture ([[mudra]]) called ''{{IAST|ḍamaru-hasta}}'' (Sanskrit for "{{IAST|ḍamaru}}-hand") is used to hold the drum.<ref>Jansen, page 25.</ref> It symbolizes rhythm and time. * The upper left hand contains ''[[Agni]]'' or fire, which signifies forces of creation and destruction. The opposing concepts show the counterpoise nature of life. * A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, while his palm shows the ''Abhaya'' mudra (meaning ''fearlessness'' in [[Sanskrit]]), suggesting not to fear nearby evil, as well as evil and ignorance surrounding the devotee as he or she follows the righteousness of ''[[dharma]]''. * The lower left hand is bent downwards at the wrist with the palm facing inward, we also note that this arm crosses Naṭarāja’s chest, concealing his heart from view. It represents tirodhāna, which means “occlusion, concealment.” * The face shows two eyes plus a slightly open third on the forehead, which symbolize the triune in [[Shaivism]]. The eyes represent the sun, the moon and the third has been interpreted as the inner eye, or symbol of knowledge (''jnana''), urging the viewer to seek the inner wisdom, self-realization. The three eyes alternatively symbolize an equilibrium of the three [[Guṇa]]s: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. * The dwarf upon whom Nataraja dances is the demon ''[[Apasmara]] purusha'' ([[Muyalaka]], as he is known in [[Tamil language|Tamil]]), and who symbolises the demonic evil and ignorance over which the sacred dance of Shiva gives victory. * The slightly smiling face of Shiva represents his calmness despite being immersed in the contrasting forces of universe and his energetic dance.<ref name=jharle309>{{cite book |author=James C. Harle |title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent |url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration |year=1994 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-06217-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/309 309]–310}}</ref> [[File:Temple troglodytique dédié à Shiva (Badami, Inde) (14146091479).jpg|thumb|6th/7th century Nataraja in Cave 1 of [[Badami cave temples]]]] Padma Kaimal questions some of these interpretations by referring to a 10th-century text and Nataraja icons, suggesting that the Nataraja statue may have symbolized different things to different people or in different contexts, such as Shiva being the lord of cremation or as an emblem of Chola dynasty.<ref>Padma Kaimal (1999), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3051349 Shiva Nataraja: Shifting Meanings of an Icon], The Art Bulletin Volume 81, Issue 3, pages 390-419</ref> In contrast, Sharada Srinivasan questions the link to Chola, and has presented archaeological evidence suggesting that Nataraja bronzes and dancing Shiva artwork in South India was a [[Pallava]] innovation, tracing back to 7th to 9th-centuries, and its symbolism should be pushed back by a few centuries.{{sfn|Srinivasan|2004|pp=432-450}} ==Meaning== [[File:Nataraja The Lord of Dance from Thanjavur Palace.jpg|thumb|upright|Nataraja at Thanjavur Palace]] Shiva's dance can be explained as:<ref name="The Dance of Śiva">[https://archive.org/details/danceofsivafourt01coomuoft Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, ''The Dance of Śiva: Fourteen Indian Essays'' New York, The Sun wise Turn (1918), p. 58. Internet Archive.]</ref> * First, it is seen as the image of his rhythmic or musical play which is the source of all movement within the universe. This is represented by the circular or elliptical frame surrounding Shiva. * Secondly, the purpose of his dance is to release the souls of all men from the snare of illusion. * Lastly, the place of the dance, [[Chidambaram]], which is portrayed as the center of the universe, is actually within the heart. Nataraja, states James Lochtefeld, symbolizes "the connection between religion and the arts", and it represents Shiva as the lord of dance, encompassing all "creation, destruction and all things in between".<ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA147|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8|pages=147, entry for Chidambaram}}</ref> The Nataraja iconography incorporates contrasting elements,<ref name=narayanan208>Gomathi Narayanan (1986), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40874102 SHIVA NATARAJA AS A SYMBOL OF PARADOX], Journal of South Asian Literature, Vol. 21, No. 2, pages 208-216</ref> a fearless celebration of the joys of dance while being surrounded by fire, untouched by forces of ignorance and evil, signifying a spirituality that transcends all [[dvaita|duality]].<ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/464 464]–466}}</ref> Furthermore, according to Carole and Pasquale, the [[Hindu_deities|deity]] not only tells of the eternal cycles of life ([[Jiva]]) from [[Saṃsāra|destruction to rebirth]], but also a human being should conquer the spiritual ignorance and thrill in [[Samadhi|self-realization]].<ref name="erec_ed_gov" /> In the hymn of [[Manikkavacakar]]'s [[Thiruvasagam]], he testifies that at [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram]] had, by the pre-[[Chola]] period, an abstract or 'cosmic' symbolism linked to [[Pancha Bhoota|five elements (Pancha Bhoota)]] including ether.{{sfn|Srinivasan|2004|p=446}} Nataraja is a significant visual interpretation of [[Brahman]] and a dance posture of Shiva. The details in the Nataraja artwork have attracted commentaries and secondary literature such as poems detailing its theological significance.<ref name=jharle309/><ref name=coomarados/> It is one of the widely studied and supreme illustrations of [[Hindu]] art from the medieval era.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Smith|title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&pg=PA1|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52865-8|pages=1–4}}</ref><ref name="Craven1976">{{cite book|author=Roy C. Craven|title=A concise history of Indian art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FqQVAQAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-275-22950-4|pages=144–147, 160–161}}</ref> Srinivasan notes that Nataraja is described as [[Satcitananda]] or "Being, Consciousness and Bliss" in the [[Shaiva Siddhanta]] text ''Kunchitangrim Bhaje'', resembling the Advaita doctrine, or "abstract monism," of [[Adi Shankara]], "which holds the individual Self ([[Jiva| Jīvātman]]) and supream Self ([[Paramatman|Paramātmā]]) to be one," while "an earlier hymn to Nataraja by Manikkavachakar identifies him with the unitary supreme consciousness, by using Tamil word '''Or Unarve''', rather than [[Sanskrit]] '''Chit'''." This may point to an "osmosis" of ideas in medieval India.{{sfn|Srinivasan|2004|pp=447}} ==History== {{See also|Pancha Sabhai}} Stone reliefs depicting the classical form of Nataraja are found in numerous cave temples of India, such as at the [[Ellora Caves]] (Maharashtra), the [[Elephanta Caves]], and the [[Badami Caves]] (Karnataka), by around the 6th century.<ref name=harlep126/><ref name=verma2012p150>{{cite book|author=Archana Verma|title=Temple Imagery from Early Mediaeval Peninsular India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOc9RG6MSzgC |year=2012|publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-1-4094-3029-2|pages=150–151}}</ref> One of the earliest known Nataraja artworks has been found in the archaeological site at Asanapat village in [[Odisha]], which includes an inscription, and is dated to about the 6th century CE.<ref>Rupendra Chattopadhya et al (2013), ''The Kingdom of the Saivacaryas'', Berlin Indological Studies, volume 21, page 200; [http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/34129437/Chattopadhyay-Ray-Majumder_2013_BIS_21_db.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1475259377&Signature=hwZ4LI7DVHndL9pOKOGYlfGiVJQ%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_Kingdom_of_the_Saivacaryas.pdf Archive]{{dead link|date=July 2017}}</ref> The Asanapat inscription also mentions a Shiva temple in the Saivacaryas kingdom. Literary evidences shows that the bronze representation of Shiva's ananda-[[tandava]] appeared first in the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] period between 7th century and mid-9th centuries CE.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131711200|pages=642|language=en}}</ref> Nataraja was worshipped at [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram|Chidambaram]] during the [[Pallava_dynasty|Pallava period]] with underlying philosophical concepts of cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, which is also found in [[Tamil_language|Tamil]] saint [[Manikkavacakar]]'s [[Thiruvasagam]].{{sfn|Srinivasan|2004|pp=444-445}} Archaeological discoveries have yielded a red Nataraja sandstone statue, from 9th to 10th century from [[Ujjain]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], now held at the Gwalior Archaeological Museum.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://doi.org/10.11168/jeb1947.1971.96_L74|doi=10.11168/jeb1947.1971.96_L74|year=1971|volume=1971|last1=山本|first1=智教|title=Catalogue of Antiquities from East Asia in the Museums of art in U. S. A. Europe and India (5)|journal=密教文化}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/156 156]–157}}</ref> Similarly, Nataraja artwork has been found in archaeological sites in the Himalayan region such as [[Kashmir]], albeit in with somewhat different dance pose and iconography, such as just two arms or with eight arms.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Gaston|title=Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMLu94PYIkoC|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=56, 47, 101|isbn=9780195613544}}</ref> Around the 10th century, it emerged in [[Tamil Nadu]] in its mature and best-known expression in [[Chola bronze]]s, of various heights typically less than four feet,<ref name=rao227/> some over.<ref name=jharle309/> Nataraja reliefs are found in historic settings in many parts of [[South East Asia]] such as [[Ankor Wat]], and in [[Bali]], [[Cambodia]], and central Asia.<ref name=panthey1987/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Banerjee | first=P. | title=A Siva Icon from Piandjikent | journal=[[Artibus Asiae]] | volume=31 | issue=1 | year=1969 | pages=73–80 | doi=10.2307/3249451 | jstor=3249451 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mahadev Chakravarti|title=The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through the Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMFwMHH4HzMC |year=1986|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0053-3|page=178 with footnotes}}</ref> The oldest free-standing stone sculptures of Nataraja were built by [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] queen [[Sembiyan Mahadevi]].<ref name=":1" /> Nataraja gained special significance and became a symbol of royalty in [[Tamil Nadu]]. The dancing Shiva became a part of Chola era processions and religious festivals, a practice that continued thereafter.<ref name="Davis2010p18">{{cite book|author1=Aghoraśivācārya|author2=Richard H. Davis|title=A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruAfDP0OZyEC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-537852-8|pages=15–20, 24–25}}</ref> The depiction was informed of cosmic or [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] connotations is also argued on the basis of the testimony of the hymns of [[Tamil people|Tamil]] saints.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242523462_Shiva_as_%27cosmic_dancer%27_On_Pallava_origins_for_the_Nataraja_bronze Sharada Srinivasan, "Shiva as 'cosmic dancer': on Pallava origins for the Nataraja bronze"], ''World Archaeology'' (2004) 36(3), pages 432–450.</ref> In medieval era artworks and texts on dancing Shiva found in [[Nepal]], [[Assam]] and [[Bengal]], he is sometimes shown as dancing on his ''[[vahana]]'' (animal vehicle) [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], the bull; further, he is regionally known as ''Narteshvara''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Gaston|title=Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMLu94PYIkoC|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=130, 57|isbn=9780195613544}}</ref> Nataraja artwork have also been discovered in [[Gujarat]], [[Kerala]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Gaston|title=Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMLu94PYIkoC|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=48–50|isbn=9780195613544}}</ref> In the contemporary Hindu culture of [[Bali]] in Indonesia, Siwa (Shiva) Nataraja is the god who created dance.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Fredrik Eugene DeBoer |author2=I Made Bandem |title=Balinese Dance in Transition: Kaja and Kelod |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-vfAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-967-65-3071-4 |pages=ii–iii}}</ref> Siwa and his dance as Nataraja was also celebrated in the art of Java Indonesia when Hinduism thrived there, while in Cambodia he was referred to as ''Nrittesvara''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alessandra Iyer |title=Prambanan: Sculpture and Dance in Ancient Java : a Study in Dance Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfTVAAAAMAAJ |year=1998 |publisher=White Lotus|isbn=978-974-8434-12-4|pages=69–70}}</ref> ==CERN== [[File:Shiva's_statue_at_CERN_engaging_in_the_Nataraja_dance.jpg|thumb|right|Modern statue gifted by India at [[CERN]] in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]]]] In 2004, a 2m statue of the dancing Shiva was unveiled at [[CERN]], the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in [[Geneva]]. The statue, symbolizing Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given to CERN by the Indian government to celebrate the research center's long association with India.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29122/3 |title=Faces and Places (page 3) |website=CERN Courier |access-date=2017-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180606115929/http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29122/3 |archive-date=6 June 2018 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> A special plaque next to the Shiva statue explains the metaphor of Shiva's cosmic dance with quotations from [[physicist]] [[Fritjof Capra]]: <blockquote>Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fritjofcapra.net/shivas-cosmic-dance-at-cern/ |title=Shiva's Cosmic Dance at CERN {{!}} Fritjof Capra |website=fritjofcapra.net |access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref></blockquote> Though named "Nataraja bronzes" in Western literature, the Chola Nataraja artworks are mostly in copper, and a few are in brass, typically cast by the ''cire-perdue'' ([[lost-wax casting]]) process.<ref name=coomaraswamy18/> Nataraja is celebrated in 108 poses of [[Bharatanatyam]], with Sanskrit inscriptions from ''[[Natya Shastra]]'', at the [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram|Nataraja temple]] in [[Chidambaram]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India.<ref name="Verma2011p19">{{cite book |author=Archana Verma |title=Performance and Culture: Narrative, Image and Enactment in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iAArBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-2832-1 |pages=19–26}}</ref><ref name=rao223>{{cite book |author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao |title=Elements of Hindu Iconography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7mP3kDzGuoC |year=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0877-5 |pages=223–224}}</ref> According to [[Ian_Crawford_(astrobiologist)|Ian Crawford]], professor of [[planetary science]] at [[Birkbeck,_University_of_London|University of London]], the cosmic dance of Shiva as Nataraja represents [[particle physics]], [[entropy]] and the dissolution of the universe.<ref>{{cite journal|journal= Astronomy & Geophysics|publisher=[[Royal Astronomical Society]], [[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/astrogeo/atz195|date=December 2019|author=[[Ian Crawford (astrobiologist)|Ian Crawford]]|volume=60|issue=6|page=6.38|title= Expanding worldviews: cosmic perspectives |url=https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article-abstract/60/6/6.36/5625006}}</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery> File:Asanpata Nataraj with Inscription.jpg|Asanpata Nataraj with Naga King [[Satrubhanja]] (261AD) Inscription at Keonjhar district of Odisha 3rd Century AD File:Elephanta Island.jpg|A damaged 6th-century Nataraja, [[Elephanta Caves]]<ref>{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/123 123]}}</ref> 1 Dancing Shiva, Cave 21 at Ellora.jpg|6th-century Nataraja in Cave 21, Ellora Caves<ref name=harlep126>{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/126 126]}}</ref> Dancing Shiva at Kailasa temple, Cave 16 Ellora.jpg|8th-century Nataraja in [[Kailasa temple, Ellora|Kailasa temple]] (Cave 16), Ellora Caves WLA lacma Madhya Pradesh Shiva as the Lord of Dance ca 800 (cropped).jpg|[[Ithyphallic]] 8th-century sandstone Nataraja from Madhya Pradesh File:Pattadakal si1479.jpg|[[Sukanasa]] with Shiva Nataraja in [[Pattadakal]], Karnataka Shiva Nataraja (BM).JPG|The oldest known Tamil bronze Nataraja, 800 AD, [[British Museum]]<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1969-1216-1 British Museum Collection]</ref> Prasat Sikhoraphum-pano-1.jpg|[[Khmer sculpture|Khmer]] relief, 12th-century, [[Ankor Wat]] Madurai Meenakshi temple Nataraja.jpg|Shiva-Nataraja in the [[Meenakshi#Hall of Thousand Pillars|Thousand-Pillar-Hall]] of [[Meenakshi Temple]] in Madurai, Tamil Nadu Dasabuja rishaba thandava moorthy.jpg|In the Shiva temple of [[Melakadambur]] is a rare Pala image that shows the ten-armed Nataraja dancing on his bull, Nandi </gallery> ==In dance and yoga== In modern [[yoga as exercise]], [[Natarajasana]] is a posture resembling Nataraja and named for him in the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book | last=Iyengar | first=B. K. S. |author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar | year=1979 | orig-year=1966 | title=[[Light on Yoga|Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika]] | publisher=Thorsons |isbn=978-1855381667 |pages=419–422}}</ref> A similar pose appears in the classical Indian dance form [[Bharatanatyam]].<ref name="Bhavanani 2001">{{cite web |last1=Bhavanani |first1=Ananda Balayogi |last2=Bhavanani |first2=Devasena |title=BHARATANATYAM AND YOGA |url=http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |date=2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023215608/http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |archive-date=23 October 2006 |quote=He also points out that these [Bharatanatyam dance] stances are very similar to Yoga Asanas, and in the Gopuram walls at Chidambaram, at least twenty different classical Yoga Asanas are depicted by the dancers, including Dhanurasana, Chakrasana, Vrikshasana, Natarajasana, Trivikramasana, Ananda Tandavasana, Padmasana, Siddhasana, Kaka Asana, Vrishchikasana and others. |access-date=26 January 2019 }}</ref> <gallery> File:Indian-dancer-nataraja.png|Nataraja pose in [[Bharatanatyam]] classical Indian dance File:Natarajasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg|[[Natarajasana]] in modern [[yoga as exercise]] </gallery> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book |author=Ananda Coomaraswamy|title=The Dance of Śiva: Fourteen Indian Essays|publisher=Sunwise Turn|url=https://archive.org/details/danceivafourtee00coomgoog|year=1957 |oclc= 2155403 }} * {{cite book |last=Jansen |first=Eva Rudy|title=The Book of Hindu Imagery|year=1993 |publisher=Binkey Kok Publications BV |location=Havelte, Holland |isbn=90-74597-07-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iASyoae8cMC }} * {{cite book|author1=Vivek Nanda|author2=George Michell|title=Chidambaram: Home of Nataraja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jurVAAAAMAAJ |year=2004| publisher=Marg Publications|isbn=978-81-85026-64-0|oclc= 56598256}} * {{cite book|author=C Sivaramamurti|title=Nataraja in Art, Thought, and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4qDzAAAACAAJ| year=1974| publisher=National Museum|isbn=978-81-230-0092-3|oclc= 1501803}} * {{cite book| author=David Smith|title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&pg=PA2|year= 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52865-8}} * {{cite book|first=Sharada|last=Srinivasan|title=World Archaeology|chapter=Shiva as 'cosmic dancer': On Pallava origins for the Nataraja bronze|doi=10.1080/1468936042000282726821|volume=36|year=2004|issue=3|pages=432–450|publisher=The Journal of Modern Craft|s2cid=26503807|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/1468936042000282726821}} ==External links== {{Sister project links | wikt=no | q=no| b=no | n=no |s=no | v=no | voy=no | species=no |d=y| display=Nataraja}} * [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41818357 Śiva's Dance: Iconography and Dance Practice in South and Southeast Asia], Alessandra Iyer (2000), Music in Art * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160721231802/https://www.asia.si.edu/explore/indianart/downloads/iconography_shiva.pdf Shiva Nataraja Iconography], Freer Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian * [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3984707 Nataraja: India's Cycle of Fire], Stephen Pyne (1994) * [http://www.greenmesg.org/temples_chennai/c/choolai_chidambareswarar_temple.php Chidambareswarar Nataraja Temple] * [https://i-nataraja.tumblr.com Nataraja Image Archive] {{Shaivism}} {{Dance in India}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Forms of Shiva]] [[Category:Hindu dance traditions]] [[Category:Tamil deities]] [[Category:Indian art]] [[Category:Indian sculpture]] [[Category:Hindu iconography]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:Shiva in art]]'