Nataraja

{{Short description|Depiction of Shiva as Lord of the 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 = Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance<br>(c. 950–1000 CE) | texts = ''Amshumadagama'' <br> ''Uttarakamika agama'' | affiliation = Shiva | symbols = Ether (sky) | other_names = ''Adalvallan, Koothan, Sabesan, Ambalavanan''<ref>{{cite news | url=https://connectedindian.net/cultures-and-traditions/natarajar-02/ | title=கூத்தன் சபேசன் அம்பலவாணன் நடராஜன்Sagarva Bharath Foundation | newspaper=Sagarva Bharath Foundation | date=20 July 2020 | archive-date=14 October 2022 | access-date=9 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014144334/https://connectedindian.net/cultures-and-traditions/natarajar-02/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> }} {{Hinduism}} {{Saivism}}

'''Nataraja''' ({{Langx|sa|नटराज}}, {{IAST3|Naṭarāja}}; {{Langx|ta|நடராஜர்}}, ''Naṭarājar''),<!--citations and etymology in-text--> also known as '''Adalvallan''' ({{Langx|ta|ஆடல்வல்லான்|links=no|translit=Ādalvallāṉ|label=none}}),<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. | date=January 2018 |language=en}}</ref> is a depiction of Shiva, one of the main deities in Hinduism, as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called the tandava.<ref name=" Verma2011p19"/><ref name=natarajabrit>''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2015)</ref> The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the ''Tevaram'' and ''Thiruvasagam'' in Tamil and the ''Amshumadagama'' and ''Uttarakamika agama'' in Sanskrit and the Grantha texts. The dance ''murti'' is featured in all major Hindu temples 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 name="Anna Libera Dallapiccola 2007 28">{{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> as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.<ref name="David Smith 2003 1–2">{{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 name="Frank Burch Brown 2014 489–490">{{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> This form is also referred to as '''Kuththan''' ({{Langx |ta| கூத்தன்|translit=Kūththaṉ|label=none}}), '''Sabesan''' ({{Langx |ta| சபேசன்|translit=Sabēsaṉ|label=none}}), and '''Ambalavanan''' ({{Langx |ta| அம்பலவாணன்|translit=Ambalavāṇaṉ|label=none}}) in various Tamil texts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ValaiTamil |title=அம்பலவாணன், Ambalavanan, Boy Baby Name (Tamil Name), complete collection of boy baby name, girl baby name, tamil name |url=http://www.valaitamil.com/baby-names/ambalavanan-66.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=ValaiTamil}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=General Compendium-5 - GKToday |url=https://www.gktoday.in/topic/general-compendium-5_18/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.gktoday.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lord (or King) of Dance |url=https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/the-lord-or-king-of-dance |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.speakingtree.in}}</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. Tamil devotional texts such as the Tirumurai (The twelve books of Southern Shaivism) state that Nataraja is the form of Shiva in which he performs his functions of creation, destruction, preservation, and is also attributed with maya and the act of blessing his devotees. Thus, Nataraja is considered one of the highest forms of Shiva in Tamil Nadu, and the sculpture or the bronze idol of Nataraja is worshipped in almost all Shiva temples across Tamil Nadu.<ref name=rao227/> It typically shows Saiva 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 name="T. A. Gopinatha Rao 1997 236–238, 247–258">{{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 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 name="artic.edu">[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>Mahendravarman I in 6th century CE, which is known by Archeological Survey of India and Archeological Survey of Tamil Nadu as the oldest known Nataraja sculpture in India. The stone reliefs at the Ellora Caves and the Badami Caves, by around the 6th century, are also among the oldest Nataraja sculptures in India.<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> Ancient Tamil songs during the Bhakti movement written by the four Shaivite saints of Sambandar, Appar, Manikkavacakar, and Sundarar, popularly known as "Nalvar" (The four) extol Nataraja and describes the Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram as the home of Nataraja as the main deity, dating Nataraja worship way before the 7th century CE. Around the 8th to 10th century, statues emerged in Tamil Nadu in its mature and best-known expression in Chola bronzes, of various heights typically less than four feet,<ref name=rao227/> some over.<ref name=jharle309/> Nataraja reliefs have been found in many parts of South East Asia such as Angkor Wat and in Bali, Cambodia, and Central Asia.<ref name=panthey1987/><ref name="Banerjee 1969 73–80">{{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 name="Mahadev Chakravarti 1986 178 with footnotes">{{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 the dance'' or ''King of the 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 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905155327/http://soulmyths.com/shivanataraja.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-05 |url-status=live |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'' and as ''Narteśvara'' (also written Nateshwar) or ''Nṛityeśvara'', with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance". However, Nataraja and Nateshwar represent different forms of Shiva.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 September 2019 |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 |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> ''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''” ({{Langx |ta| சபேசன்}}) which splits as “''Sabayil adum eesan''” ({{Langx |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 at Chidambaram (Tillai).<ref name=":0" /> The dance of Shiva in Chidambaram forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. Koothan({{Langx |ta| கூத்தன்|translit=Kūththaṉ|label=ta}}), Sabesan({{Langx |ta| சபேசன்|translit=Sabēsaṉ|label=ta}}), Ambalavanan ({{Langx |ta| அம்பலவாணன்|translit=Ambalavāṇaṉ|label=ta}}) are other common names of Nataraja in Tamil texts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-20 |title=கூத்தன் சபேசன் அம்பலவாணன் நடராஜன்SAGARVA BHARATH FOUNDATION |url=https://connectedindian.net/cultures-and-traditions/natarajar-02/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=SAGARVA BHARATH FOUNDATION |language=en-US |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014144334/https://connectedindian.net/cultures-and-traditions/natarajar-02/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=:: TVU :: |url=https://www.tamilvu.org/slet/l5F31/l5F31pd1.jsp?bookid=128&sec=11&pno=4696 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.tamilvu.org}}</ref>

==Depiction== 300px|(Shiva) Nataraja (Lord of the Dance)|right

The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,<ref name="panthey1987" /> with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts.<ref name="rao227" /> 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>

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'' ({{langx|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 name="T. A. Gopinatha Rao 1997 236–238, 247–258" /> 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 or Muyalaka<ref name="natarajabrit" />) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.<ref name="rao227" /><ref name="artic.edu" /> 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 name="Anna Libera Dallapiccola 2007 28" /> in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.<ref name="David Smith 2003 1–2" /><ref name="Frank Burch Brown 2014 489–490" />

==Symbolism== thumb|An 1820 painting of Nataraja in a temple chariot. The dance of Nataraja is revealed in a story mentioned in the ''Koyil Puranam''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Coomaraswamy |first=Ananda Kentish |url=http://archive.org/details/danceofsivafourt01coomuoft |title=The dance of Siva; fourteen Indian essays |date=1918 |publisher=New York Sunwise Turn |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |pages=57–58, 65}}</ref> The symbolism has been interpreted in classical Indian Shaiva Siddhanta texts such as ''Unmai Vilakkam'', ''Mummani Kovai'', ''Tirukuttu Darshana'' and ''Tiruvatavurar Puranam'', dating from the 12th century CE (Chola empire) and later, 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'' (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 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|language=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.

* His headdress often features a human skull (symbol of mortality), a crescent moon and a flower identified as that of the entheogenic 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. * thumb|Detail of Chola bronze|218x218pxThe 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 of creation and time. * The upper left hand contains ''Agni'' or fire, which signifies destruction. * A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, while his hand is in the ''abhaya mudra'' gesture as a sign to not fear * 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 Guṇas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. * The dwarf underneath his foot is the demon ''Apasmara purusha'' or Muyalaka, who symbolizes ignorance which Nataraja destroys. * 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:Shiva Nataraja (BM).JPG|thumb|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>|273x273px]]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}}

==Interpretation == Coomaraswamy summarizes the significance of Shiva's entire dance as an image of his rhythmic or musical play which is the source of all movement within the universe, represented by the arch surrounding Shiva. Secondly, the purpose of his dance is to release the souls of all men from illusion. And third, the place of the dance, Chidambaram, which is portrayed as the center of the universe, is actually within the heart.<ref name=":0" />

James Lochtefeld states that Nataraja 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 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, Carole and Pasquale note that the deity showcases the eternal cycle of life (Jiva) from death to rebirth, and how a human being should conquer spiritual ignorance and attain 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 five elements (Pancha Bhoota). 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 (Jīvātman) and supreme Self (Paramātmā) to be one, while "an earlier hymn to Nataraja by Manikkavachakar ... identifies him with the unitary supreme consciousness, by using Tamil word '<nowiki/>''Or Unarve''<nowiki/>', rather than Sanskrit '''chit''<nowiki/>'." This may point to an "osmosis" of ideas in medieval India.{{sfn|Srinivasan|2004|pp=447}}

According to Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science at University of London, the cosmic dance of Shiva as Nataraja represents particle physics, entropy and the dissolution of the universe.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ian Crawford |date=December 2019 |title=Expanding worldviews: cosmic perspectives |url=https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article-abstract/60/6/6.36/5625006 |journal=Astronomy & Geophysics |publisher=Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press |volume=60 |issue=6 |page=6.38 |doi=10.1093/astrogeo/atz195|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==History== {{See also|Pancha Sabhai}} [[File:Asanpat Nataraj (cropped).jpg|thumb|295x295px|Asanpata Nataraja with Naga King Satrubhanja (261AD) Inscription at Keonjhar district of Odisha 3rd Century AD]] 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" /> 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; [https://www.academia.edu/es/7571943/ Archive]</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 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 Chidambaram during the Pallava period with underlying philosophical concepts of cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, which is also found in 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 bronzes, of various heights typically less than four feet.<ref name="rao227" /><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 name="Banerjee 1969 73–80" /><ref name="Mahadev Chakravarti 1986 178 with footnotes" /> The oldest free-standing stone sculptures of Nataraja were built by 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 metaphysical connotations is also argued on the basis of the testimony of the hymns of 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, 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>

In 2004, a 2 meter 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 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>

==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 |title=Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika |publisher=Thorsons |year=1979 |isbn=978-1855381667 |pages=419–422 |orig-year=1966}}</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 |date=2001 |title=BHARATANATYAM AND YOGA |url=http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |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 |access-date=26 January 2019 |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.}}</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>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="150"> File:Temple troglodytique dédié à Shiva (Badami, Inde) (14146091479).jpg|6th/7th century Nataraja in Cave 1 of Badami cave temples 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> File: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> File:Dancing Shiva at Kailasa temple, Cave 16 Ellora.jpg|8th-century Nataraja in Kailasa temple (Cave 16), Ellora Caves File:WLA lacma Madhya Pradesh Shiva as the Lord of Dance ca 800 (cropped).jpg|Ithyphallic 8th-century sandstone Nataraja from Madhya Pradesh File: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 File:Nataraja from Ambari, Guwahati excavation.jpg|Nataraja sculpture from Medieval Assam File:Madurai Meenakshi temple Nataraja.jpg|Shiva-Nataraja in the Thousand-Pillar-Hall of Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu File:Pattadakal si1479.jpg|Sukanasa with Shiva Nataraja in Pattadakal, Karnataka File:Prasat Sikhoraphum-pano-1.jpg|Khmer relief, 12th-century, Prasat Sikhoraphum in Surin, Thailand File:Shiva's statue at CERN engaging in the Nataraja dance.jpg|Modern statue gifted by India at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * {{Cite book |last=Coomaraswamy |first=Ananda |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 |last1=Nanda |first1=Vivek |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 |last=Sivaramamurti |first=C. |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 |last=Smith |first=David |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 journal |last=Srinivasan |first=Sharada |year=2004 |title=Shiva as 'Cosmic Dancer': On Pallava Origins for the Nataraja Bronze |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/1468936042000282726821 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=36 |issue=3: The Archaeology of Hinduism |pages=432–450 |doi=10.1080/1468936042000282726821 |s2cid=26503807}}

==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]

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