Nataraja: Lord of the Cosmic Dance

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Naṭarāja is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine dancer. His dance is called Tandavam.

The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts. It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Shastra poses, holding Agni(fire) in his left backhand, the front hand in gajahasta (elephant hand) or dandahasta (stick hand) mudra, the front right hand with a wrapped snake that is in abhaya (fear not) mudra while pointing to a Sutra text, and the backhand holding a musical instrument, usually a damaru.

His body, fingers, ankles, neck, face, head, ear lobes and dress are shown decorated with symbolic items, which vary with historic period and region. He is surrounded by a ring of flames, standing on a lotus pedestal, lifting his left leg (or in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing/trampling upon a demon who symbolises ignorance. 

The dynamism of the energetic dance is depicted with the whirling hair which spread out in thin strands as a fan behind his head.

This is a very special painting to me, made using mixed media including fire.