Shiva Nataraja (Lord of the Dance) Flashcards
title
Shiva Nataraja
(Lord of the Dance)
artist
unknown
date
Shiva Nataraja
(Lord of the Dance)
scale
67.8 x 48.3 cm x 22 cm
material
bronze
where is it now
V&A Museum, London
who is the god depicted
God depicted is Shiva, from the henotheistic Hindu faith
who is brahman
Brahman is the Supreme Being, manifested on earth as the Trimutri:
Brahma the creator god
Vishnu the preserver
Shiva the destroyer
show is shiva depicted in hindu art
can be shown as fearsome warrior, covered in the white ashes of the destruction he has wrought,
as a family man with his wife Parvati and son Ganesha,
or as a linga, or phallus, form
where in the world is shiva primarily depicted
primarily in southern India, having become popularised in the early-10th century in the Tamil region during the reign of the Chola dynasty (9th-13th centuries C.E.)
when and where were depictions of shiva popularised
become popularised in the early-10th century in the Tamil region during the reign of the Chola dynasty (9th-13th centuries C.E.)
One of the longest lasting empires of south India, the Chola Dynasty heralded a golden age of exploration, trade, and artistic development. Shiva Nataraja was the tutelary deity to the Chola royal household.
Shiva Nataraja becomes popular during the reign of under Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi. The official god of the Cholas
what is the story of shiva
It takes place Tillai forest of Chidambaram, described in the songs of seventh-century poet-saints as the setting for a variety of divine and demonic activities.
Shiva came to the forest in the form of a wandering beggar, to trick and humiliate the sages who neglected proper worship. In the battle that ensues, the sages sent creatures, such as a demon and a snake, to attack him.
Shiva dramatically defeats these malevolent forces (he takes the snake and coils it around himself, making it harmless) and then performs his victorious “dance of bliss.”
what does nataraja mean
Nataraja = dance of the king
how is the representation of dance important
Shiva’s ‘dance of bliss’ after defeating the ignorant sages in the Chidambaram forest: the andanda tandava
Dance is thought to invoke a meditative, trance-like state. It is also a creative act, in which you are continuously in motion, constantly changing your form.
evokes traditional chola warrior dances- Dance, one of many offerings to the deity, was performed by temple dancers or devadasis, women who dedicated their lives to sacred movement. These women lived in the temple towns of the Cholas, and were considered married to the temple deity.
how is shiva’s desruction and recreation of the universe shown
The ring of cosmic fire
The flame of destruction - agni
Holds the damaru drum
what are mudras and where are they seen
In the representation of Hindu Gods, hand gestures, known as ‘mudras’ are meant to relate particular messages.
Shiva’s right hand is raised in a gesture that says ‘be not afraid, everything will be all right’. This gesture is the abhaya mudra.
what does one of shivas left arms do and what does this remind us of
One of Shiva’s left arms crosses his body and is meant to remind us of the swaying of an elephant’s trunk. This is a reference to Ganesh, the God with an elephant’s head. Ganesh is commonly known as the remover of obstacles.
This is appropriate then, because Shiva’s gesture calls our attention to his lifted leg, removed from the obstacles to enlightenment. At the same time it ‘invokes’ Ganesh to remove such obstacles.
how is victory over ignorance shown
Under Shiva’s foot is a figure of a dwarf or ‘Asura’, known as ‘Asura Apasmara’, literally ‘ego’.
He represents ignorance and forgetfulness of the right way to live according to ‘dharma’ the rule of law.
Shiva is literally, then, pounding down ignorance and human vices that block us on our path to enlightenment. He is ‘keeping our ego under check’
The demon of ignorance is shown here pinned down tightly by Shi- va’s right foot. He looks blissfully up at the conquering Lord Shiva,
despite his defeat. In the story
of the Chidambaram forest, this demon was one of the weapons the sages launched against Shiva, who handily crushes the demon, thereby declaring his triumph over ignorance.
what does the lotus flower base represent
The lotus flower, indigenous to South and Southeast Asia, repre- sents purity in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions. The flower grows from the depths of muddy water to emerge above its surface, pristinely beautiful. This pedestal is a double lotus, with petals point- ing upward and downward.
lotus flower on the head wheel
This small halo-like ornament was created to cover the knot that secures a headband.
what do the earrings represent
RIGHT
On Shiva’s right ear is an earring depicting a makara, a mythical water creature.
LEFT
His left ear is adorned with a circular earring worn by women.
The pair represents Shiva’s male and female aspects. He is sometimes depicted with his consort Parvati (Uma) as a half-male, half-female form, illustrating the cosmic balance of male and female energies.
third eye
shiva’s third eye represents his cosmic knowledge
matted locks significance (jatas)
Shiva’s flying matted locks of hair are worn by religious ascetics
These locks reflect Shiva’s role as a yogi
who sometimes meditates for hundreds of years high in the Himalayan mountains. The lower half of Shiva’s jatas fly out toward the halo of fire as he performs his dynamic dance.
These have been cast separately and welded onto the figure.
Inspired by Bhakti: The context of religious poetry
Tamil poet-saints of the seventh through ninth centuries CE offer an important perspective on the south Indian worship of key Hindu deities. Their devotional perspective is known as bhakti.
importance of chola warrior dances
evokes traditional chola warrior dances- Dance, one of many offerings to the deity, was performed by temple dancers or devadasis, women who dedicated their lives to sacred movement. These women lived in the temple towns of the Cholas, and were considered married to the temple deity.
what were the guidelines for making religious sculpture
The sacred importance of Shiva Nataraja required sculptors to follow guidelines from key religious and artistic texts.
During the Chola period, a series of texts called the Agamas described appropriate temple rituals and iconography related to Shiva. These texts also described the aniconic, or non-representational, image of Shiva, in the form of a pillar, or lingam. Many Chola temples held linga, along with other movable bronze representations of Shiva for processional purposes.
critical quote from rodin
When the French sculptor Auguste Rodin saw some photographs of the 11th century bronze Shiva Nataraja in the Madras Museum around 1915, he wrote that it seemed to him the…
“perfect expression of rhythmic movement in the world.”
why did bronzes of the chola period arise
Bronzes of the Chola period such as Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) arose out of a need to transmute the divine into a physical embodiment of beauty.
role of this sculpture after creation
Once made and brought to life through ritual, Nataraja lived in the temple, moving out daily and during festivals, gracing his devo- tees within the temple and in the streets, as he processed through the town with song and ritual.
what does the ring of cosmic fire represent
The oval ring around the figure of Shiva Nataraja represents the cosmic fire he uses to destroy the universe as part of the cycle of destruction and creation. Each flame has three points. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a round circle of fire with flames of five points became typical for the Shiva Nataraja image.
CLOTHING
Shiva wears an article of clothing around his waist called a veshti in south India. This garment is also worn by Hindu priests. Across his torso is the sacred thread of the Brahmin priestly class.
SIGNIFICANCE OF MULTIPLE ARMS
In art of the Hindu tradition, deities are depicted with multiple arms to illustrate divine power. Shiva Nataraja’s four arms each take a different position or hold symbolic objects, showing his strength and constellation of skills.
left hand
The left hand points downward to indicate sanctuary for the soul of the devotee.
right hand
The open palm of Shiva’s right hand forms the abhaya mudra, or hand gesture, signifying that the worshipper need have no fear.
drum
It is with this hourglass-shaped damaru drum that Shiva beats a rhythm that brings the universe
into creation. As both the creator and destroyer, Shiva and his drumming
play an essential role in the cycle of the universe.
snake
The story of Shiva’s triumph in the forest near Chidambaram recounts the snake as one of the malicious forces hurled at the
deity by the enraged sages of the forest. Shiva takes the snake and coils it around himself, thereby neutralizing it as a weapon.
ganga
The tiny figure perched in Shiva’s hair is the River Ganga (Ganges) in the form of a goddess. In response
to devastating drought, Ganga agreed to descend to Earth, where Shiva received
her in his matted locks to soften the impact of her landing.
left foot
Shiva’s left foot is lifted as part of the “dance of bliss,” raised in elegant strength across his body. Like a member of royalty, his ankles, arms, chest, and ears are adorned with jewelry.
how was the use of bronze enabled
The expanse of the Chola empire stretched south-east towards Sri Lanka and gave the kingdom access to vast copper reserves that enabled the proliferation of bronze work by skilled artisans.
the rich iconography possible in bronze casting
