Nataraja
Lord of the Dance
Shiva as the Lord of Dance LACMA edit.jpg
A 10th century Chola dynasty bronze sculpture of Shiva, the Lord of the Dance at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
AffiliationShiva
SymbolsAgni
TextsAnshumadbhed agama
Uttarakamika agama
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Nataraja (Sanskrit: नटराज, romanized: Naṭarāja) (Tamil: நடராஜர்)[1] is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava.[2][3] 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 temples of Shaivism,[4] and is a well-known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture,[5][6] in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.[7][8]

The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,[9] with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts.[10] It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Shastra poses, holding various symbols[10] which vary with historic period and region,[2][11] trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf (Apasmara or Muyalaka[3]) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.[10][12]

The classical form of the depiction appears in stone reliefs, as at the Ellora Caves and the Badami Caves, by around the 6th century.[13][14] 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,[10] some over.[15] Nataraja reliefs are found in historic settings in many parts of South East Asia such as Angkor Wat and in Bali, Cambodia, and central Asia.[9][16][17]

Etymology

Chola bronze, Tamil Nadu, 10th or 11th century.
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.[18][19] According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, the name is related to Shiva's fame as the "Lord of Dancers" or "King of Actors".[20]

The form is known as Nataraja in Tamil Nadu and as Narteśvara (also written Nateshwar[21]) or Nṛityeśvara in North India, with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance".[22] Narteśvara stems from Nṛtta same as Nata which means "act, drama, dance" and Ishvara meaning "lord".[23] Natesa (IAST: Naṭeśa) is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent.[24]

In Tamil, he is also known as “Sabesan” (Tamil: சபேசன்) which splits as “Sabayil aadum eesan” (Tamil: 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).[25] The dance of Shiva in Chidambaram forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja.

Depiction

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.[26]

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.[27]

The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts,[9] with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts.[10] 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 (Tamil: உடுக்கை).[10] His body, fingers, ankles, neck, face, head, ear lobes and dress are shown decorated with symbolic items, which vary with historic period and region.[2][28] 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[3]) who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.[10][29] The dynamism of the energetic dance is depicted with the whirling hair which spread out in thin strands as a fan behind his head.[30][31] The details in the Nataraja artwork have been variously interpreted by Indian scholars since the 12th century for its symbolic meaning and theological essence.[15][20] Nataraja is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture,[5][32] in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.[33][34]

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,[20] and include:[10][20][35]

Detail of Chola bronze
Detail of Chola bronze
6th/7th century Nataraja in Cave 1 of Badami cave temples
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.[40] 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.[41]

Meaning

Nataraja at Thanjavur Palace
Nataraja at Thanjavur Palace

Shiva's dance can be explained as:[42]

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".[43] The Nataraja iconography incorporates contrasting elements,[5] 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.[44] Furthermore, according to Carole and Pasquale, the deity not only tells of the eternal cycles of life (Jiva) from destruction to rebirth, but also a human being should conquer the spiritual ignorance and thrill in self-realization.[36]

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) including ether.[45] 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.[15][20] It is one of the widely studied and supreme illustrations of Hindu art from the medieval era.[46][47]

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 supream 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.[48]

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.[13][14] 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.[49] 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.[50] 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.[51]

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.[52][53] 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.[54]

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,[10] some over.[15] 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.[9][55][56] The oldest free-standing stone sculptures of Nataraja were built by Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi.[50] 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.[57]

The depiction was informed of cosmic or metaphysical connotations is also argued on the basis of the testimony of the hymns of Tamil saints.[58]

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.[59] Nataraja artwork have also been discovered in Gujarat, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.[60]

In the contemporary Hindu culture of Bali in Indonesia, Siwa (Shiva) Nataraja is the god who created dance.[61] 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.[62]

CERN

Modern statue gifted by India at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland
Modern statue gifted by India at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland

In 2004, a 2-m 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.[63] 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.[64]

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.[30]

Nataraja is celebrated in 108 poses of Bharatanatyam, with Sanskrit inscriptions from Natya Shastra, at the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.[2][4]

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.[65]

Gallery

In dance and yoga

In modern yoga as exercise, Natarajasana is a posture resembling Nataraja and named for him in the 20th century.[68] A similar pose appears in the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam.[69]

References

  1. ^ Rajarajan, R. K. K. (January 2018). "If this is Citambaram-Nataraja, then where is Tillai-Kūttaṉ? An Introspective Reading of Tēvāram Hymns". 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.
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  3. ^ a b c Encyclopædia Britannica (2015)
  4. ^ a b T. A. Gopinatha Rao (1997). Elements of Hindu Iconography. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 223–224. ISBN 978-81-208-0877-5.
  5. ^ a b c Gomathi Narayanan (1986), SHIVA NATARAJA AS A SYMBOL OF PARADOX, Journal of South Asian Literature, Vol. 21, No. 2, pages 208-216
  6. ^ Anna Libera Dallapiccola (2007). Indian Art in Detail. Harvard University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-674-02691-9.
  7. ^ David Smith (2003). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-521-52865-8.
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  9. ^ a b c d Saroj Panthey (1987). Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings. Mittal Publications. pp. 59–60, 88. ISBN 978-81-7099-016-1.
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  12. ^ Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), Chola period, c. 10th/11th century The Art Institute of Chicago, United States
  13. ^ a b c James C. Harle (1994). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. Yale University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
  14. ^ a b Archana Verma (2012). Temple Imagery from Early Mediaeval Peninsular India. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 150–151. ISBN 978-1-4094-3029-2.
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  17. ^ Mahadev Chakravarti (1986). The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through the Ages. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 178 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0053-3.
  18. ^ Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. (2013). The dance of Shiva. Rupa. p. 56. ISBN 978-8129120908.
  19. ^ Stromer, Richard. "Shiva Nataraja: A Study in Myth, Iconography, and the Meaning of a Sacred Symbol" (PDF). Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d e The Dance of Shiva, Ananda Coomaraswamy
  21. ^ "A journey to the past with dancing Shiva". The Daily Star. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2020. in an Old Dhaka temple ... a stone statue of Nateshwar, a depiction of dancing Shiva on the back of his bull-carrier Nandi
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  23. ^ Brunner-Lachaux, Hélène; Goodall, Dominic; Padoux, André (2007). Mélanges Tantriques À la Mémoire D'Hélène Brunner. Institut français de Pondichéry. p. 245. ISBN 978-2-85539-666-8.
  24. ^ Stella Kramrisch (1981). Manifestations of Shiva. Philadelphia Museum of Art. pp. 43–45. ISBN 0-87633-039-1.
  25. ^ Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Siva: Fourteen Indian Essays, (New York, The Sun wise Turn, 1918), p. 58. Internet Archive.
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  27. ^ Alice Boner (1990). Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 163–164, 257. ISBN 978-81-208-0705-1.
  28. ^ T. A. Gopinatha Rao (1997). Elements of Hindu Iconography. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 236–238, 247–258. ISBN 978-81-208-0877-5.
  29. ^ Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), Chola period, c. 10th/11th century The Art Institute of Chicago, United States
  30. ^ a b Ananda Coomaraswamy (1922), Saiva Sculptures: Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 118 (Apr., 1922), pages 18-19
  31. ^ Gomathi Narayanan (1986), SHIVA NATARAJA AS A SYMBOL OF PARADOX, Journal of South Asian Literature, Vol. 21, No. 2, page 215
  32. ^ Anna Libera Dallapiccola (2007). Indian Art in Detail. Harvard University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-674-02691-9.
  33. ^ David Smith (2003). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-521-52865-8.
  34. ^ Frank Burch Brown (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Arts. Oxford University Press. pp. 489–490. ISBN 978-0-19-517667-4.
  35. ^ Shiva Nataraja, lord of the dance Encyclopedia of Ancient History (2013)
  36. ^ a b DeVito, Carole; DeVito, Pasquale (1994). India - Mahabharata. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1994 (India). United States Educational Foundation in India. p. 5.
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  38. ^ For the damaru drum as one of the attributes of Shiva in his dancing representation see: Jansen, page 44.
  39. ^ Jansen, page 25.
  40. ^ Padma Kaimal (1999), Shiva Nataraja: Shifting Meanings of an Icon, The Art Bulletin Volume 81, Issue 3, pages 390-419
  41. ^ Srinivasan 2004, pp. 432–450.
  42. ^ Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Śiva: Fourteen Indian Essays New York, The Sun wise Turn (1918), p. 58. Internet Archive.
  43. ^ James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 147, entry for Chidambaram. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
  44. ^ James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 464–466. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
  45. ^ Srinivasan 2004, p. 446.
  46. ^ David Smith (2003). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–4. ISBN 978-0-521-52865-8.
  47. ^ Roy C. Craven (1976). A concise history of Indian art. Praeger. pp. 144–147, 160–161. ISBN 978-0-275-22950-4.
  48. ^ Srinivasan 2004, pp. 447.
  49. ^ Rupendra Chattopadhya et al (2013), The Kingdom of the Saivacaryas, Berlin Indological Studies, volume 21, page 200; Archive[dead link]
  50. ^ a b Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 642. ISBN 9788131711200.
  51. ^ Srinivasan 2004, pp. 444–445.
  52. ^ 山本, 智教 (1971). "Catalogue of Antiquities from East Asia in the Museums of art in U. S. A. Europe and India (5)". 密教文化. 1971. doi:10.11168/jeb1947.1971.96_L74.
  53. ^ James C. Harle (1994). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. Yale University Press. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
  54. ^ Anne-Marie Gaston (1982). Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography. Oxford University Press. pp. 56, 47, 101. ISBN 9780195613544.
  55. ^ Banerjee, P. (1969). "A Siva Icon from Piandjikent". Artibus Asiae. 31 (1): 73–80. doi:10.2307/3249451. JSTOR 3249451.
  56. ^ Mahadev Chakravarti (1986). The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through the Ages. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 178 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0053-3.
  57. ^ Aghoraśivācārya; Richard H. Davis (2010). A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival. Oxford University Press. pp. 15–20, 24–25. ISBN 978-0-19-537852-8.
  58. ^ Sharada Srinivasan, "Shiva as 'cosmic dancer': on Pallava origins for the Nataraja bronze", World Archaeology (2004) 36(3), pages 432–450.
  59. ^ Anne-Marie Gaston (1982). Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography. Oxford University Press. pp. 130, 57. ISBN 9780195613544.
  60. ^ Anne-Marie Gaston (1982). Śiva in dance, myth, and iconography. Oxford University Press. pp. 48–50. ISBN 9780195613544.
  61. ^ Fredrik Eugene DeBoer; I Made Bandem (1995). Balinese Dance in Transition: Kaja and Kelod. Oxford University Press. pp. ii–iii. ISBN 978-967-65-3071-4.
  62. ^ Alessandra Iyer (1998). Prambanan: Sculpture and Dance in Ancient Java : a Study in Dance Iconography. White Lotus. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-974-8434-12-4.
  63. ^ "Faces and Places (page 3)". CERN Courier. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  64. ^ "Shiva's Cosmic Dance at CERN | Fritjof Capra". fritjofcapra.net. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  65. ^ Ian Crawford (December 2019). "Expanding worldviews: cosmic perspectives". Astronomy & Geophysics. Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press. 60 (6): 6.38. doi:10.1093/astrogeo/atz195.
  66. ^ James C. Harle (1994). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. Yale University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
  67. ^ British Museum Collection
  68. ^ Iyengar, B. K. S. (1979) [1966]. Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika. Thorsons. pp. 419–422. ISBN 978-1855381667.
  69. ^ Bhavanani, Ananda Balayogi; Bhavanani, Devasena (2001). "BHARATANATYAM AND YOGA". Archived from the original on 23 October 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2019. 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.

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