Nataraja, ( Sanskrit: Lord of the Dance) the Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic

dancer, represented in metal or stone in most Shaiva temples of South India.

In the most common type of image, Shiva is shown with four arms and flying locks dancing on
the figure of a dwarf, Apasmara (a symbol of human ignorance; apasmara means
forgetfulness, or heedlessness). Shivas back right hand holds the damaru (hourglassshaped 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 his chest in
the gajahasta (elephant-trunk) pose, with wrist limp and fingers pointed downward toward the
uplifted left foot. The locks of Shivas hair stand out in several strands interspersed with the
figures of Ganga (the Ganges River personified as a goddess), flowers, a skull, and the
crescent moon. His figure is encircled by a ring of flames, the prabhamandala. In classic
Sanskrit treatises on dance, this form, the most common representation of Nataraja, is called
thebhujamgatrasa (trembling of the snake).
In the Nataraja sculpture, Shiva 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 humans from
illusion, and the place where it is said to have been performed, Chidambaram (an important
Shaiva centre in South India), called the centre of the universe, is in reality within the heart.
The gestures of the dance represent Shivas five activities (pancakritya): 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 Shiva 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.