Nataraja deity - a couple of interpretations

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Dear all,

 

I have recently come across a couple of interpretations of the above,

which I have found would be interesting to share. I quote some parts

below.

 

" Shiva Nataraja dances in a circle of flames. With his right foot he

stamps down a goblin, the embodiment of ignorance; his left foot is

raised in dance..... In his right hand he holds a drum, in his left a

flame, while his two front arms perform indicative gestures.........

 

For the faithful, all these details are full of significance: the

beating of the drum represents the original cosmic explosion, Shiva's

first drum roll. This provoked vibrations - implied by the waves in

his hair- as a result of which atoms combined to form elements; thus

the cosmos originated. The flame on the palm of Shiva's left hand

represents the end of an aeon, the destruction of the world in a sea

of flames, which is analogous to the cremation of each human being.

With the gestures of his front hands.. he endeavors to preserve his

creation: he blesses his creatures and teaches them the correct

doctrine......As befits a prince, the right earlobe of the god is

elongated, while the left lobe is decorated with a disc, which implies

femininity and the power of creation "

--Quoted from Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Shiva, Bombay 1948,

pp 83-95

 

Whereas the above interpretation is on the meaning of the Shiva

Nataraja Sculpture, another interpretation of the principle of

composition and the diagram of the figure is below:

" The Shiva Nataraja figure fits into a large Hexagon formed by two

interlocking regular triangles. This results in a YANTRA, a symbol of

meditation in which male and female powers are linked in a circle. As

mentioned earlier, the figure of Shiva wears a wheel with spokes in

his hair: this symbolizes the fact that he is the moving force of the

cosmos, but he himself stands outside the course of time " .

---Quoted from Alice Boner, " Zur Komposition des Shiva Nataraja im

Mueseum Rietberg " in Artibus Asiae 27 (1964) pp 33-40

 

....Shambhavey Namaha

 

Venkatesh T