Goddess+Shiva

Elise Elliott, Emily Shy

"Shiva, Twelfth Century Bronze." Date Unknown. Online Image. Journey to the Sea. 9 September 2009. . "Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)" Date Unknown. Online Image. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. 9 September 2009. . Lamoise, Philippe. __ABCCLIO:world history:ancient:entry display-mozilla firefox__. Digital image. [statue of dancing shiva]. ABCCLIO. 9 Sep. 2009 . Shiva is one of the three principal deities in Hindu [|India] who was worshipped as the god of cosmic destruction. The name Shiva did not appear in the [|Vedic Age], but the god perhaps existed as Rudra, a storm god known for the devastation he brought to the land. Shiva destroyed in order to create new forms and thus serves as a protector of the world and a restorer of cosmic order. That ambiguity is embodied in a deity that is represented in both asceticism and sensuality. Shiva is alternately referred to as the moon god of the mountains, and when he appeared on earth, he was a wanderer known to meditate under the full moon on Mount Kailas, a mountain in the Himalayan range. Shiva had several distinct characteristics, among them hair that lay in a mass of mats and a third eye that could obliterate anything or restore order.
 * "Shiva." //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 9 Sep. 2009. <[]>.**

Basically, Shiva was one of the three most important gods in Hindu India, and was the god of destruction. He did not exist in the Vedic age, but may have been called a storm god. To me god of destruction sounds awful, but they believed that he destroyed to create new forms which makes him good in their point of view. Shiva is also called the moon god of the mountains because when he was alive he would meditate under the full moon. the Shiva was distinct because he had hair in a mass of mats, and a third eye for destroying things or restoring order.

To find this page I went on the library database, then I went to ABCCLIO under history, i searched ancient history and went to the gupta empire (it was not what i was looking for so...) I searched the term Buddhism Shiva (forgot shiva was hindu), and i found a page (khmer empire) where the word Shiva was highlighted as a link to a separate page so i went to that page.

This god/picture relates to the concepts of Hinduism because the god is called the destroyer, but is not feared because Hindus believe in reincarnation.

"Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) [Tamil Nadu, India] (1987.80.1)". In //Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History//. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. [] (October 2006)
 * Sculptures of Shiva Nataraja (a brilliant work of symbology and a representation of ancient Indian culture) developed during the Chola dynasty (ca. 860-1279), though they have been found from as early as the 400s. Shiva dances in front of all the gods, at the center of the universe, in the golden hall of Chidambaram. He teaches that he is Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer using symbolic movement and gestures. Each placement of the limbs and the circle around him has a specific meaning.**

"Shiva as Nataraja - The Lord of Dance." __Lotus Sculpture__. Date of Posting Unknown. 9 September 2009. <[]>.
 * **shown as source of movement in the universe (arch of flames)**
 * **purpose of the dance was to liberate humans from the idea "of 'self' and of the physical world"**
 * **Shiva's five activities:**
 * **creation (drum)**
 * **protection (front right hand "fear not" gesture)**
 * **destruction (fire)**
 * **embodiment (firmly planted foot)**
 * **release (lifted foot**
 * **messy hair: dismissal by society**
 * **ring of fire: the universe with pain**
 * **inner edge is water of the oceans**
 * **crescent moon in hair: cycles of moon dictate seasons and aid rebirth, life**
 * **snake: power, reincarnation (shedding of skin same as shedding of bodies)**
 * **drum, right back hand: endless recreation of universe**
 * **front right hand: "fear not"**
 * **fire, left back hand: "destructive energy" at conclusion of each age, loss of sins and illusion**
 * **uplifted left foot: everlasting bliss to all who approach**
 * **planted right foot: firmly holds down dwarf demon "ignorance", who he has slayed; allows birth of knowledge**

To find my second source, I googled "Shiva Nataraja Lord of Dance symbolism" and quickly glanced over the results while partially using TOECAP to determine which of the results were useful to me.

The Shiva Nataraja is a very prominent symbolic work in Indian culture. It shows Shiva as the Destroyer, Preserver, and Creator performing a dance for all the gods that shows both Creation and Apocalypse. Each specific placement of limbs and hands has a symbolic meaning (foot holds down ignorance, hand tells not to fear, fire is suffering, drum is recreation, snake is reincarnation, etc.). All the symbols in this sculpture were relevant to the beliefs of Hindus in this time, and help to show how beliefs may have evolved since then, or the evolution they'd already had at that point from the earlier times.
 * Identification Paragraph/Summary:**

EMMY AND WILLIAM Shiva: taught others that he was "The creator, The preserver, and The Destroyer" He is considered one of the 3 supreme gods in Hindu Mythology.
 * "Shiva." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York: Macmillan, 2000. Student Resource Center - College Edition. Gale. MARY INSTITUTE & ST LOUIS DAY SCHOOL. 9 Sep. 2009** .

• The Chola Empire who came to power in the 9th century to the 13th century. It was founded by Vijalaya. The empire ruled most of southern India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives Islands, Java, Thanjavur, and Tamil Nadu, India. The greatest imperial rulers of the Chola empire were Raja raja (985-1014 AD) and his son Rajendra (1012-1044 AD) ○ **The Chola Empire. lotussculpture.com. Unknown Date of Revision. September 9th, 2009.** http://www.lotussculpture.com/bronze_sculpture_chola_empire.htm • The Chola empire is remembered for their love of the arts. During the reign of the Chola empire, dance, poetry, art, and drama flourished. During this time period, Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) was created. The Heilbrunn Timeline of History stated that "if a single icon had to be chosen to represent the extraordinarily rich and complex cultural heritage of India, The Shiva Nataraja might well be the most remunerative candidate. ○ **"Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) [Tamil Nadu, India] (1987.80.1)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of** **Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.** http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/sss/ho_1987.80.1.htm (October 2006)

• The significance of the Nataraja (Nataraj) sculpture is said to be that Shiva is shown as the source of all movement within the cosmos, represented by the arch of flames. The purpose of the dance is to release men from illusion of the idea of the "self" and of the physical world. The cosmic dance was performed in Chidambaram in South India, called the center of the universe by some Hindus. The gestures of the dance represent Shiva's five activities, creation (symbolized by the drum), protection (by the "fear not" hand gesture), destruction (by the fire), embodiment (by the foot planted on the ground), and release (by the foot held aloft).

As Nataraja (Sanskrit: Lord of Dance) Shiva represents apocalypse and creation as he dances away the illusory world of Maya transforming it into power and enlightenment.
 * Shiva as Lord of the Dance. Lottusscultpure.com. Unknown date of revision. Spetember 8th, 2009.**http://www.lotussculpture.com/nataraja1.htm>

Identification Paragraph The goddess of Shiva statue shows the Hindu god Shiva who is doing a divine dance to clear the universe for the god Brahma to begin the universe creation process. Shiva is doing his divine dance in bright luminous flames with his left leg up and his right leg down upon Apasmara which is a demon or dwarf. The Apasmara symbolizes ignorance and this statue is a big symbol of Indian culture even to this day. Shiva is said to be doing to dances in this pose the first one is the Lasya which is a very calm and gentle dance and is linked to the gentle creation of the world. The other dance is the Tandava which is a very wild and violent dance and is linked to the destruction of the world because Shiva had to destroy before he could allow Brahma to recreate the universe. The pose that Shiva is in also represents Moksha which is the liberation from Samsara, which is the endless cycle of suffering caused by birth, death and rebirth and this is a major part in all Indian cultures to this day because many of them are trying to achieve this.

//For our research, the two additional sources we added to our wiki were Lotussculpture.com and a MICDS Library Database Gale Student Resource Center. I found the lotusscultpure website by simply looking up our religious image in google using the keyword "Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)." For the second source, I went to the database went into Gale Student Research Center and researched "Shiva" coming up with the importance of Shiva in Hindu Mythology.//

“Shiva As Nataraja - The Lord of Dance” __Lotus Sculpture__ 2009. Lotus Sculptures. 8 sep. 2009 [|www.lotussculpture.com/nataraja1.htm] “Artist Arumugam Manivelu” Nataraja 1999. Online image Wikipedia sep. 8 