Nataraja
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Nataraja (/n̪əʈəɾɑd͡ʒᵊ/ ,Template:Langx, Template:IAST3; Template:Langx, Naṭarājar), also known as Adalvallan (Template:Langx),<ref>Template:Cite journal</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">Template:Cite book</ref> as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.<ref name="David Smith 2003 1–2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Frank Burch Brown 2014 489–490">Template:Cite book</ref> This form is also referred to as Kuththan (Template:Langx), Sabesan (Template:Langx), and Ambalavanan (Template:Langx) in various Tamil texts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,<ref name=panthey1987>Template:Cite book</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 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 name="T. A. Gopinatha Rao 1997 236–238, 247–258">Template:Cite book</ref> trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf (Apasmara or Muyalaka<ref name=natarajabrit/>) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.<ref name=rao227>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="artic.edu">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 a pillar of rock cut temple at Seeyamangalam – Avanibhajana Pallaveshwaram Temple constructed by a Pallava King 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>Template:Cite book</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">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Mahadev Chakravarti 1986 178 with footnotes">Template:Cite book</ref>
EtymologyEdit
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">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="king">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</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>Template:Cite news</ref> Narteśvara stems from Nṛtta same as Nata which means "act, drama, dance" and Ishvara meaning "lord".<ref name="Brunner 2007">Template:Cite book</ref> Natesa (IAST: Naṭeśa) is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In Tamil, he is also known as “Sabesan” (Template:Langx) which splits as “Sabayil adum eesan” (Template:Langx) 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(Template:Langx), Sabesan(Template:Langx), Ambalavanan (Template:Langx) are other common names of Nataraja in Tamil texts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DepictionEdit
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). Template:ISBN</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>Template:Cite book</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 (Template:Langx).<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), Saiva Sculptures: Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 118 (Apr., 1922), pages 18-19</ref><ref>Gomathi Narayanan (1986), 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" />
SymbolismEdit
The dance of Nataraja is revealed in a story mentioned in the Koyil Puranam.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</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">The Dance of Shiva, Ananda Coomaraswamy</ref><ref>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">Template:Cite book</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.
- The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass that is called a Template:IAST in Sanskrit.<ref>Template:Cite book</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 Template:IAST (Sanskrit for "Template:IAST-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">Template:Cite book</ref>
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), 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.Template:Sfn
InterpretationEdit
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>Template:Cite book</ref> The Nataraja iconography incorporates contrasting elements,<ref name="narayanan208">Gomathi Narayanan (1986), 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>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Craven1976">Template:Cite book</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 'Or Unarve', rather than Sanskrit 'chit'." This may point to an "osmosis" of ideas in medieval India.Template:Sfn
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>Template:Cite journal</ref>
HistoryEdit
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; 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">Template:Cite book</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.Template:Sfn
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>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</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">Template:Cite book</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>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>Template:Cite book</ref> Nataraja artwork have also been discovered in Gujarat, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the contemporary Hindu culture of Bali in Indonesia, Siwa (Shiva) Nataraja is the god who created dance.<ref>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A special plaque next to the Shiva statue explains the metaphor of Shiva's cosmic dance with quotations from physicist Fritjof Capra:
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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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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">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=rao223>Template:Cite book</ref>
In dance and yogaEdit
In modern yoga as exercise, Natarajasana is a posture resembling Nataraja and named for him in the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A similar pose appears in the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam.<ref name="Bhavanani 2001">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Indian-dancer-nataraja.png
Nataraja pose in Bharatanatyam classical Indian dance
- Natarajasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg
Natarajasana in modern yoga as exercise
GalleryEdit
- Elephanta Island.jpg
A damaged 6th-century Nataraja, Elephanta Caves<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- 1 Dancing Shiva, Cave 21 at Ellora.jpg
6th-century Nataraja in Cave 21, Ellora Caves<ref name="harlep126">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Dancing Shiva at Kailasa temple, Cave 16 Ellora.jpg
8th-century Nataraja in 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
- 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
- Nataraja from Ambari, Guwahati excavation.jpg
Nataraja sculpture from Medieval Assam
- Madurai Meenakshi temple Nataraja.jpg
Shiva-Nataraja in the Thousand-Pillar-Hall of Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu
- Pattadakal si1479.jpg
Sukanasa with Shiva Nataraja in Pattadakal, Karnataka
- Prasat Sikhoraphum-pano-1.jpg
Khmer relief, 12th-century, Prasat Sikhoraphum in Surin, Thailand
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
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External linksEdit
- Śiva's Dance: Iconography and Dance Practice in South and Southeast Asia, Alessandra Iyer (2000), Music in Art
- Shiva Nataraja Iconography, Freer Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian
- Nataraja: India's Cycle of Fire, Stephen Pyne (1994)
- Chidambareswarar Nataraja Temple
- Nataraja Image Archive