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Shiva, The Nataraja

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 Shiva, The Nataraja

Article of the Month - September 2016

An image or an aspect of Shiva’s person

The question ‘Is Shiva’s manifestation as Nataraja an
aspect of Shiva’s person or just one of the types of his
image in art or worship tradition’ has always haunted
the minds of thinkers. As for art critics they have
invariably confined themselves to his various
manifestations as reveal in his iconographic forms –
image-type, and there ends their quest. Contrarily
metaphysicians and theologians perceived his form
as it manifested in the Upanishads and Puranas.
They perceived him as representing one of the ‘Tri-
murti’ – three forms or functional aspects of God,
namely, creation, preservation and dissolution, that is,
bringing the cosmos into existence, sustaining it and
finally withdrawing it. Lord Shiva was seen as
representing the last of these three aspects, that is,
dissolution. Prajapati, or Brahma, and Vishnu were
seen as representing other two aspects, creation and preservation. In some contexts the Rig-
Veda mentioned Prajapati and Brahma as two independent gods but sometimes also as two
names of the Creator. Hence, they were often seen as representing one and the same
functional aspect of God.

Shiva in Vedic literature

The Shiva-related worship tradition showed two trends. Under one,

Shiva was seen as ‘ling’ – his aniconic manifestation;

and, under the other, he was seen and worshipped with a very
wide range of imagery Nataraja being one of such forms.
He was seen as Sadashiva, One beyond time and beyond
‘kalpa’ – the scheduled tenure of the Creation, that is, time
that spanned everything – manifest or unmanifest, was not
Shiva’s measuring scale.

In Indian cosmological tabulation Shiva's life-span is double of Vishnu, and Vishnu's, double of
Brahma. Thus, in one kalpa Brahma emerges twice, Vishnu’s tenure ends with every kalpa;
Shiva has tenure beyond kalpa.

The underlying mystic vein effectively working in the Shaivite worship cult
saw Shiva as seed – the root of all things and all beings, male or female, and
this gave to his visual image, both in art as well as to enshrine a sanctum a
new image form known as Ardhanarishvara – half male and half female. The
mystics contended that it was after Shiva split that there came forth both life
and matter – ‘pran’ and ‘bhuta’. The Rig-Veda proclaimed in one of the
Suktas ‘he (the Rig-Veda does not link this ‘he’ with Shiva but generalizes it)
is as much male, as the female’. The ‘Advaita’ philosophy also contends that
the entire Creation is just the extension of One.

All forms of dance initiated

Expressive of two basic tendencies of mind – wrathfulness and delight

to include amour and enjoyment of beauty, dance was later classified
as ‘tandava’ and ‘lasya; that is, what revealed wrath was classified as
‘tandava’, and that which revealed delight, also amour, ‘lasya’,
‘tandava’ revealing destructive mood, and ‘lasya’, creative.
Theologians contend that dance is Shiva’s instrument for both, to
create and to dissolve. They hold that his body wrathfully whirled as in
dance when he destroyed Tripura – the cluster of three cities
sheltering three demon brothers.
 They also contend that immenseness of his ire was absolute
when in it the entire universe dissolved. Thus, immensity of wrath
determined the class of ‘tandava’, if it was the dance of
dissolution or the dance that destroyed an individual or some
particular object. Shiva resorted to a dance form similar to
'anandatandava' also when destroying elephant demon Gaya,
demon Andhaka and when accomplishing Trailokyavijaya –
victory of three worlds.

In similar vein metaphysicians hold that universe, his manifestation, creation and dissolution,
wherever occurring, occur in him. If a leaf falls and decomposes, it is he who decays, and if a
new shoot bursts, it is he who re-emerges. It is he who effects creation as also dissolution and
is yet above both.

Thus, unlike a conceptual deity-image for sanctum an image of

Shiva engaged in dance, despite that it also involves a lot of
symbolism and is highly artistic, portrays an essential aspect of his
being. Dance illustrates one of the ever-first cosmic acts with which
Shiva seems to have tamed violent motion and separated from it
rhythm, moves that communicated emotions and states of mind –
human mind and the cosmic, and disciplined and defined pace.
Cosmos emerged with roaring horizons, tempestuous winds,
turbulent oceans, rocking mountains and moving earths. Shiva
arrested their unruliness into his limbs and noises into the beats of
his drum.

His feet re-cast the unruly skies and violent waters, and all their cries and commotion. Thus,
unruly sounds were set to syllabic discipline, and cosmic disorder, having been reduced to
measured pace, was transformed into ordered movement. A man of stage from his body
gestures and movements he revealed, and perhaps guided how to reveal, different emotions
and states of mind. He danced in delight as also to destroy. Thus in his case neither a dance-
image nor any is an artistic manipulation or just an image for sanctum. Each of his images
represents one of his aspects, an aspect of mind but more truly that of the flesh.
Dimensions of tandava and lasya manifesting in Shiva

Shaivite thought – metaphysical as well as devotional,

abounds in numerous myths of dance performed by Shiva
and his consort Devi in her various manifestations.

Unlike Vishnu who resorted to dance for accomplishing a

contemplated objective, Shiva has been conceived more or less as a
regular dancer performing for accomplishing an objective as also for
pure aesthetic delight. The tradition hence reveres him, besides as
'Adi-nratya-guru' – the originator and the first teacher of dance, also as
Natesh or Nataraja – the king of dance.

In him revealed both faces of dance – 'lasya' as well as 'tandava', of which

all subsequent dance forms were offshoots. 'Lasya', the dance of aesthetic
delight revealed beauty, grace, love and all tender aspects of existence.
'Lasya' is the mode that defined many of Shiva's iconographic forms –
Kalyana-Sundara, Vrashavahana,

Yogeshvara,
 Katyavalambita,

Sukhasanamurti, Chinamudra, Anugrahamurti, and Chandrashekhara.

Vyakhyanamurti

Chinamudra, Anugrahamurti, and Chandrashekhara.

'Tandava' – more correctly 'ananda-tandava', was the dance of

absolute bliss, for after the Great Age had ended and dissolution
had become imperative, He – the Great Shiva, Who alone remained
to effect 're-birth' of life on the cosmos, danced in absolute bliss
over the head of dissolution. In visual arts dissolution has been
represented as Apasmarapurusha, the demon of forgetfulness and
darkness, which prevailed after dissolution. Sound, which vibrated
the space – the first of the five elements – the basic constituents of
creation, fire, the symbol of final conflagration as also of the re-birth
of energy – the main source of life, and gestures of re-assurance,
fearlessness, release and liberation, accompanied 'ananda-tandava'
as its organs. These aspects largely concretized also his image in
ananda-tandava as it manifested in art and worship tradition
especially in South where Shiva is widely worshipped as Nataraja.
In ananda-tandava imagery Shiva carried a damaru –
double drum suggestive of sound – an essential
component of ananda-tandava.

Ananda-tandava conceived Shiva’s image with flames of fire bursting

from one of his palms and as running through entire cosmos –
symbolized in Shaivite imagery in the form of a fire-arch.

Similarly, assurance, freedom from fear, release … are revealed in the gestures of Shiva’s
hands. It was in 'ananda-tandava' that the fivefold activity – creating, maintaining, veiling,
unveiling, and destroying, and the six celestial 'bhavas': 'shrishti' – creation; 'sanhara' –
dissolution; 'vidya' – knowledge; 'avidya' – ignorance; 'gati' – motion; and 'agati' – inertness,
revealed. 'Ananda-tandava', thus, encompassed the entire cosmos and its phenomenal
existence.

Informal image

In almost all manifestations Shiva’s images are informal though in a

dance form such aspect is best revealed. In a dance form the
impassioned Shiva is as a rule portrayed as passionately engaged in
it each body-part involving in its ecstasy. Unfurling locks of hair and
his snakes floating into space portray the dynamics of the act.
Usually he his right leg planted on the figure of Apasmarapurusha,
and the left, turned to the right and shot with sublime force into the
space.
 Shiva is usually a figure with normal two arms

though his images portraying him as engaged in dance are often

four-armed.

Besides the normal right and left hands held in ‘abhay’and ‘varad’, the upper right hand carries a
double-drum, and the upper left, a flame of fire. The term Nataraja, composed of’Nata’ and
’Raja’ literally means ’king’ of ’natas’. However, in its width the term ‘nata’, an ’acrobat’, means
stage-performer. Thus, Nataraja means king of stage-performers or dancers. Shiva danced to
destroy and to create or to delight, but containing unruly motion and to make it the instrument of
expressing ‘bhavas’, an impulse that required him to teach it to others, also made him the ever
first teacher – 'Adiguru' of dance.

Some other significant image forms of Shiva in dance

Later, Shiva was celebrated also as Nratya Dakshinamurti – one who is 'daksha' or expert in
dance and also as Natesh. Though the terms Natesh and Nratya Dakshinamurti had greater
breadth for these terms also included ‘lasya’, besides ‘tandava’, his form that the term Nataraja
denoted is largely rigidified, has a better defined iconography and in common perception is seen
as better representing Shiva in 'Ananda-tandava' – the dance of dissolution. Various forms of
Apasamarapurusha – as variously decoded by Shaivite thinkers, present also some variants of
this form. Though ruthlessly trampled under the feet in most cases the image of
Apasamarapurusha lies well contented as if awaiting the end of the dance and complete
dissolution of the cosmos for after the dissolution is absolute its reign – the reign of inertness,
begins. Sometimes Apasamarapurusha is thoughtfully inclined as if meditating on how it shall
act after dissolution has taken place, and sometimes carries a flower or some object assuring
that soon the process of re-creation shall begin.

This article by P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet

For Further Reference:

• Rigveda : (ed.) Vishvabandhu : Vishveshvananda Vedic Research Institute, Hoshiyarpur

• Shiva Purana, Gita Press, Gorakhpur
• Upanishad-anka, Gita Press, Gorakhpur
• Linga Purana : (ed.) J. L. Shashtri, Delhi
• Natyashashtra by Bharata Muni
• A Concise Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore
• Shivaramamurti : Nataraja in Art, Thought and Literature
• V. S. Agrawal : Shiva Mahadeva, The Great God : Varanasi
• Stella Kramrisch : The Presence Of Shiva : Delhi
• Devdutt Pattanaik : Shiva, an Introduction