NATARAJA

(Sanskrit: Lord of Dance), the Hindu god Siva (Shiva) in his form as the cosmic dancer, represented in metal or stone in most Saiva temples of South India. In the most common type of images, which includes the magnificent Cola bronzes of the 10th11th century, Siva is shown with four arms and flying locks dancing on the figure of a dwarf, the Apasmarapurusa (a symbol of man's ignorance; purusa meaning man, and apasmara forgetfulness, or heedlessness). The back right hand of Siva holds the damaru (hourglass-shaped drum); the front right hand is in the abhaya-mudra (the fear-not gesture, made by holding the palm outward with fingers pointing up); the back left hand carries agni (fire) in a vessel or in the palm of the hand; and the front left hand is held across the chest in the gajahasta (elephant-trunk) pose, with wrist limp and fingers pointed downward toward the uplifted left foot. The locks of Siva's hair stand out in several strands and are interspersed with the figures of Ganga (the River Ganges personified as a goddess), flowers, a skull, and the crescent moon. His figure is encircled by a ring of flames, the prabhamandala. This form of dance, which is the most common representation of Nataraja, is called in the classic Sanskrit treatises on dance the bhujangatrasa (trembling of the snake). The significance of the Nataraja sculpture is said to be that Siva is shown as the source of all movement within the cosmos, represented by the arch of flames. The purpose of the dance is to release men from illusion, and the place where it is said to have been performed, Chidambaram, called the centre of the universe, is in reality within the heart. The gestures of the dance represent Siva's five activities ( pacakrtya): creation (symbolized by the drum), protection (by the fear-not pose of the hand), destruction (by the fire), embodiment (by the foot planted on the ground), and release (by the foot held aloft). Other dances of Siva seen in sculpture and painting are the wild tandava, which he performs on cremation grounds in the company of his consort Devi, and the evening dance performed on Mount Kailasa before the assembly of gods, some of whom accompany him on various instruments.