Nataraja

Also called: Shiva Nataraja · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

Nataraja ("Lord of dance") is the image of the god Shiva dancing. The Chola artists of south India made it most famous in bronze, and the dance stands for the creation and destruction of the universe. It matters because it is the best-known example of Chola bronze casting. It also shows how bhakti (devotion), temple worship and royal support came together in one object.

Explanation

Background: why the image was made

• Bhakti roots. The Nayanars were Tamil saint-poets who were devotees of Shiva. In their hymns they sang of Shiva as a dancer.
• Royal support. The Chola kings backed this Shiva devotion. They built huge temples and paid for images in stone and metal that brought the saints' visions to life. This link comes from NCERT Class 12, Ch 2.
• A craft the Cholas mastered. UNESCO names bronze casting as one of the four Chola arts, next to architecture, sculpture and painting [2].
• So the Nataraja and the great temple towers come from the same temple-centred, royal system of art.

Main features of the image

• Shiva as 'Lord of dance'. The early Chola Nataraja shows him in the middle of a dance.
• Ring of fire. A circle of flames (often called the prabha-mandala, a halo of fire) surrounds him. It stands for the universe.
• Four arms, each with a meaning (standard textbook reading):
• Upper right hand holds a small drum (damaru). Its beat stands for creation.
• Upper left hand holds fire. It stands for destruction.
• Lower right hand is raised in abhaya mudra (a "do not fear" gesture). It stands for protection.

• Lower left hand points to the raised left foot. This means the devotee can find release (freedom from rebirth) at Shiva's feet.

• The dwarf under his foot. Shiva's right foot stands on a small figure, usually explained as ignorance. Shiva crushes it.

• Flying hair. His locks of hair fly out to the sides because he is dancing so fast.

Material and method

• The images are made of bronze, a metal made by mixing copper and tin.
• They were cast by the lost-wax method (settled textbook account):
• First a wax model is made and covered in clay.
• Then the clay is heated. The wax melts and runs out, leaving an empty mould.

• Molten metal is poured in. When it cools, the clay is broken, so every image is one of a kind.

• These were festival images. Priests could carry them out of the temple in processions, while the main stone image stayed in the sanctum.

Results and meaning

• One idea in one figure. The dance is the dance of creation and destruction of the universe. Making and unmaking are a single act.
• The Nataraja became a lasting symbol of south Indian art and of the Shiva bhakti tradition.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: the Chola period of south India. The study note calls the famous form the early Chola Nataraja. Exact dates differ from one piece to another and are often given only approximately.
• Region: the Tamil country. Textbooks link the Nataraja form closely with Shiva worship at Chidambaram.
• Setting: the great Chola temples. The Great Living Chola Temples are the Brihadisvara at Thanjavur, the Brihadisvara at Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara at Darasuram. Together they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1987 [2][4].

• "Living" means worship has never stopped. Rituals based on older Agamic texts (temple ritual manuals) still go on [2].

• Patrons: the Chola kings. Rajaraja (r. AD 985–1012) built Thanjavur [2], and Rajendra I finished Gangaikondacholapuram in 1035 [2].

• How we know:
• The bronze images themselves survive.
• Nayanar hymns describe Shiva as a dancer.
• UNESCO's listing names bronze casting as a Chola skill [2].

Don't confuse with

• Brihadisvara temple, Thanjavur. This is a huge stone temple built by Rajaraja [2]. The Nataraja is a metal image, small enough to carry.
• 'Descent of the Ganges', Mamallapuram. This is a Pallava open-air rock relief (a carving cut into a rock face) of the 7th–8th centuries [3]. It is not Chola and not bronze.
• Nayanars vs Alvars. The Nayanars were devotees of Shiva and inspired the Nataraja. The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu.
• Harappan 'Dancing Girl'. This is also a bronze made by the lost-wax method, but it is Harappan, thousands of years older. It is not a Chola image and not a god.

Prelims Hooks

• Nataraja = early Chola bronze. It shows Shiva as 'Lord of dance' and stands for the creation and destruction of the universe.
• UNESCO lists four Chola arts: architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting [2].
• Drum = creation, fire = destruction, raised hand = "do not fear", dwarf underfoot = ignorance.
• Chola bronzes were made by the lost-wax method. The Harappan 'Dancing Girl' used the same method, which makes this a common "which of the following" trap.
• The bhakti saints behind the Nataraja are the Nayanars (Shiva), not the Alvars (Vishnu).
• Great Living Chola Temples: UNESCO, 1987; Thanjavur (Rajaraja), Gangaikondacholapuram (Rajendra I, 1035), Darasuram (Rajaraja II) [2][4].

Mains Points

• Bhakti, the state and art came together.
• The Nayanars sang of Shiva the dancer.
• Chola kings paid for bronzes and temples that turned these visions into images.

• By supporting a popular religion, the kings won the support and trust of their people.

• One craft package, not separate topics. UNESCO lists architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting together [2]. So the Nataraja bronze and the Thanjavur vimana (the tower over the sanctum) came out of the same royal, temple-centred system of workshops.

• Art that carries an idea. The Nataraja is not just a dance pose. It shows the whole cycle of the universe, creation and destruction, in one figure. This makes it a strong example for GS-I questions on Indian heritage and on the link between religion and art.

Related concepts

• Chola bronzes
• Swamimalai bronze icons
• Airavatesvara temple, Darasuram
• Great Living Chola Temples
• Chidambaram temple
• Gommateshwara statue
• Angkor Wat

Read more

• Art and architecture of the south