Deeper Meanings of Dancing Shiva

There is no doubt that our religious shrines and artifacts are truly amazing. They don't amaze with just their aesthetics, but also the stories and thoughts behind making it. One such artifact is the Dancing Shiva. Just look at the beautiful picture below. But do you know what does each specific aesthetic of the sculpture mean?

The mesmerizing Dancing Shiva; Source: Wikimedia

Art, like love, is a concept that cannot be adequately defined. It can only be comprehended in terms of how it affects us. Take the Dancing Shiva, for example. For millennia, many dancers and musicians have worshipped Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. Chidambaran is also thought to be the centre of the cosmos. Chidambaran is the heart of the faithful, and the Lord's dance of Anand, pleasure, is his grace.

Shiva is the Nrityamurti, the cosmic dancer, who embodies himself while also manifesting endless energy. In his study titled 'Myth and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization,' Indologist Heinrich Zimmer famously elucidates the complex pictorial allegory of the image. He emphasizes the mudras of the hand and the alignment of the feet in particular. The upper right hand, which is holding the damru, is the initial specification. The hour-glass-shaped drum connotes sound and is traditionally associated with ether, making it the first of the five elements. The evolution of the Universe is revealed through the other elements of air, fire, water, and earth. "Together, music and ether constitute the first truth-pregnant truth," Zimmer continues, "Together, sound and ether signify the first truth-pregnant moment of creation, the productive energy of the Absolute, in its pristine cosmogenetic strength."

The Ardhachandra mudra is a half-moon position in the fingers of the opposing upper left hand. The palms, on the other hand, feature a symbolic tongue of fire. The element of destruction in the world is fire, which can be found in the palm of one's hand. The Abhay mudra is presented by the second right hand (fearless gesture). It bestows security and tranquility. The raised left foot is pointed downwards by the reaming left hand on the chest. It's in the Gaja-hasta mudra, which imitates an elephant's spread trunk. Shiva dances on the dwarfish demon Asampara Purush's prostrate body, symbolizing our ignorance as the man or demon known as forgetfulness or heedlessness.

God is encircled by a ring of fire known as the Prabha-mandala. It represents the transcendental light of true understanding. The face maintains a state of sovereign calm,' expressing placid serenity.

None of this is news, nor is the fact that the sculpture's persistent attraction extends to the domain of quantum physics, as Fritjof Capra established in his book 'The Tao of Physics.' While these metaphysical and intellectual approaches surely improve our awareness and understanding of the image, they are ultimately human attempts to express the ineffable and inexpressive. Whether or not you are aware of the symbolism, the entire composition will move you. As John Armstrong put it, "To find something beautiful is to register the kinship between the object and the most important part of oneself - one's soul."