Hari
OM
Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and
parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.
For
the month of February the focus will be exploring different aspects of Lord
Shiva. Today, let us look at Sri Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance. The 'About
Hinduism' pages are acknowledged for the following;
In a marvelously unified and dynamic composition expressing the rhythm and harmony of life, Nataraj is shown with four hands represent the cardinal directions. He is dancing, with his left foot elegantly raised and the right foot on a prostrate figure — 'Apasmara Purusha', the personification of illusion and ignorance over whom Shiva triumphs. The upper left hand holds a flame, the lower left hand points down to the dwarf, who is shown holding a cobra. The upper right hand holds an hourglass drum or 'dumroo' that stands for the male-female vital principle, the lower shows the gesture of assertion: "Be without fear."
Snakes that stand for egotism, are seen
uncoiling from his arms, legs, and hair, which is braided and bejeweled. His
matted locks are whirling as he dances within an arch of flames representing
the endless cycle of birth and death. On his head is a skull, which symbolizes
his conquest over death. Goddess Ganga, the
epitome of the holy river Ganges,
also sits on his hairdo. His third eye is symbolic of his omniscience, insight, and
enlightenment. The whole idol rests on a lotus pedestal, the symbol of the
creative forces of the universe.
The Significance of Shiva's Dance: This
cosmic dance of Shiva is called 'Anandatandava,' meaning the Dance of Bliss,
and symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the
daily rhythm of birth and death. The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five
principle manifestations of eternal energy — creation, destruction,
preservation, salvation, and illusion. According to Coomerswamy, the dance of
Shiva also represents his five activities: 'Shrishti' (creation, evolution);
'Sthiti' (preservation, support); 'Samhara' (destruction, evolution);
'Tirobhava' (illusion); and 'Anugraha' (release, emancipation, grace).
The
overall temper of the image is paradoxical, uniting the inner tranquility, and
outside activity of Shiva.
A Scientific Metaphor: Fritzof Capra in his article "The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu View of Matter in
the Light of Modern Physics," and later in the The Tao of Physics beautifully
relates Nataraj's dance with modern physics. He says that "every subatomic
particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a
pulsating process of creation and destruction…without end…For the modern
physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu
mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the
whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena."
The Nataraj Statue at CERN, Geneva: In
2004, a 2m statue of the dancing Shiva was unveiled at CERN, the European
Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva. A special plaque next to the
Shiva statue explains the significance of the metaphor of Shiva's cosmic dance
with quotations from Capra: "Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created
visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time,
physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of
the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient
mythology, religious art and modern physics."
Also, This article is of relevant interest to the scientifically minded of you.