Fascinating Aspects of the Dancing Shiva-Nataraja

Hinduism is the oldest religion found  from the time of advent of humanity on earth. It is researched by many scholars that this religion is about 6000 years old. It was found that Hinduism has its earliest prints from Indus valley (now Pakistan). Hinduism is a belief where vedas have been the base of creation and preservation.

Hinduism believes in Trimurti (Trimurte of Gods) as eternal gods.The Trimurti has three Gods who are responsible for creation, maintenance and destruction of the world. The cosmic function of creation lies in the hands of God Brahma (God of creation).The  function of preserving the life forces and keeping the law and order of world intact lies in the hands of lord Vishnu (God of maintenance).The last role of destruction lies in the hands of Lord Shiva (God of destruction). Shiva’s role is to destroy the world in order to recreate it. Lord Shiva represents a versatile  personification of different  energies and skills. He is worshipped in many forms. One can easily spot his Lingam avatar in each and every Hindu temple of the world. He is admired for his role as dutiful husband and  responsible father.He is worshipped as adiyogi ( father of yoga).He is worshipped for his Nataraj avatar too. He is also worshipped as  Bhairav (follower of Devi). He is the destroyer to recreate and abstain from materialistic world. At the same time, he is a family person and hedonist. He is known as Adiyogi( god of yoga) and Nataraj.

Nataraj means god of Nat(Lord of dance and king of dramatic arts). In India, you can find Lord Nataraj statue in every dance and acting institution. He is worshipped before every performance.

In North India, he is called Nrityeswar.

Read also: 5 Most Prominent Temples of Lord Shiva on Earth (statuestudio.com)

Why did Shiva become Nataraja?

According to the Puran, there was a demon named Apsaram who used to disturb peace and harmony of the world. Lord Shiva took Nataraj avatar to suppress him and teach the value of panchariya to the world.

Nataraja is one of the few divine interpretations of God that has not changed with passage of time. He is also called Swayambhu which means he has not been born from the human body.He  was made automatically.

As per Shiv Puran, Nataraj has been considered amalgamation (ardhnareshwar) of Lord shiva and Goddess shakti to create the world.

The dance represents five activities of Lord Shiva like creation (symbolised by drum), protection (not to fear by his hand), destruction ( by fire), embodiment ( by one foot planted on ground) and release ( by another foot held in air). Nataraja is dancing within a flaming halo(mandala) representing time. He is eternal and his dance is cyclical and eternal. His open locks and moon in crescent form represents his idea of being omnipresent. He is holding damru in one hand meaning he provides  his own  music and rhythm of creation. His other hand has agni (fire) the element of destruction. His third hand in abhaya mudra represents calming all fears while fourth hand depicts gajahasta, symbol of liberation and salvation.

It is believed that the dance  of creation was performed by Shiva in Chidambaram, a place identified as the center of heart and center of the universe.

In the statue, it is shown that Lord Nataraj dancing on the Apasmara purusha/muyulakaa. A demon of ignorance , selfishness and laziness.He was dwarf and Lord Nataraj is dancing calmly and teaching the world the importance of balance.Here, Lord Shiva wanted the world to know that one should gain knowledge and wisdom joyfully while keeping all negativity crushed under the foot.

At the time of destructions and recreations he performs in dance form called Tandav.

Nataraj idol and features

• Nataraj idol depicts the pancha kriya.

• Nataraja idol depicts reunion of male and female energy of the world as ardhnarishwar. One ear has the earring of a female and another one is of male.

• This idol is made from brass, bronze and copper.

• Nataraj  idols come in varieties also like one with four hands and some with ten hands.

• According to vastusashtra, the idol should have a smiling  face.

• Nataraj idol should be kept at Ishan kon( northeast) part of your house.

• It destroys all negative energy from home.

• It should not be kept with other idols of other gods.

• It should be placed on the altar table.

• It should be placed at the end of the bed or anything like a clothesline.

• It could be used for decorative purposes also.

In the end, all that matters is the flow of energy. Lord Shiva is a creator and destroyer too. He is a worldly man and performs abstinence too. He saves from negative energy and also he is very aggressive in tandav.