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1. The upper right-hand holds the drum, which signifies the sound of creation. All creations spring from the great sound of the damru.
2. The upper left-hand holds the eternal fire, which represents the destruction. Destruction is the precursor and inevitable counterpart of creation.
3. The lower right hand is raised in the gesture of Abhay mudra signifying benediction and reassuring the devotee to not be afraid.
4. The lower left-hand points towards the upraised foot and indicates the path of salvation.
5. Shiva is dancing on the figure of a small dwarf. The dwarf symbolises ignorance and the ego of an individual.
6. The matted and flowing locks of Shiva represent the flow of river Ganges.
7. In ornamentation, one ear of Shiva has a male earring while the other has female. This represents the fusion of male and female and is often referred to as Ardhanarishwar.
8. A snake is twisted around the arm of Shiva. The snake symbolises the kundalini power, which resides in the human spine in the dormant stage. If aroused, one can attain true consciousness.
9. The Nataraja is surrounded by a nimbus of glowing lights which symbolises the vast unending cycles of time.
10. It is an important piece of Chola sculpture.

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*The name Nataraja is a Sanskrit term, Nata meaning act, drama or dance and Raja meaning  lord or king.
*It is a depiction of Hindu God Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer.
*It typically shows Lord Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Sashtra poses holding various symbols
*It is popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture and one of the finest illustrations of Indian art.

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Nataraja, (Sanskrit: “Lord of the Dance”) the Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, represented in metal or stone in many Shaivite temples, particularly in South India. Shiva Nataraja at the Brihadishvara Temple, Thanjavur, India.

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*The  oldest free standing stone sculptures of nataraja were built by chola Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi.

*Nataraja gained special significance and became a symbol of royalty in Tamilnadu .

* The dancing Shiva became a part of chola era procession and religious festivals ,a practice that continued thereafter.

*As a symbol Shiva nataraja is a brilliant invention . It combines in a single image Shiva's roles as creator preserver and destroyer of the universe and conveys the Indian conception of the never ending cycle of time
* An antique panchaloka idol of lord Nataraja stolen from a temple in southern Tamilnadu and smuggled to Australia 37years ago has been brought back to India
* The 700 year old statue, belonging to the pandya era , will reach Tamilnadu on Friday

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The significance of 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 placed on the ground), and release (by the foot lifted).Nataraja in sanskrit means the Lord of Dance.

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Natarajar - Dance of God

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NATARAJAR  -LORD OF DANCE

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Nataraja, the dancing form of Lord Shiva, is a very beautiful symbol of the union of nature and the Divine.Nataraja holds fire in one hand, representing the fire element. A damaru in his other hand depicts the space element. Many forces in the universe are represented by a shape similar to that of a damaru, like a chromosome, or shapes of galaxies and so on. Time also is said to have a conical representation. ∞ is the symbol (shape of the damru) and represents infinity.

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Nataraja, the dancing form of Lord Shiva, is a very beautiful symbol of the union of nature and the Divine.Nataraja holds fire in one hand, representing the fire element. A damaru in his other hand depicts the space element. Many forces in the universe are represented by a shape similar to that of a damaru, like a chromosome, or shapes of galaxies and so on. Time also is said to have a conical representation. ∞ is the symbol (shape of the damru) and represents infinity.

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The oldest free-standing stone sculptures of Nataraja were built by Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi. Nataraja gained special significance and became a symbol of royalty in Tamil Nadu. The dancing Shiva became a part of Chola era processions and religious festivals, a practice that continued thereafter.

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EXPLORE ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LORD NATARAJAR- THE GOD OF DANCE.

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EXPLORE ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LORD NATARAJAR- THE GOD OF DANCE.

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11th century .as a symbol Shiva Nataraja is brilliant invention. it combines in a simple image she was roses creator perserver and destroyed of the universe and convey Indian conception of the never - ending cycle time

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11th century .as a symbol Shiva Nataraja is brilliant invention. it combines in a simple image she was roses creator perserver and destroyed of the universe and convey Indian conception of the never - ending cycle time

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BY:POOJASRI.S

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NATARAJA; THE HINDU GOD SHIVA IN HIS FORM AS THE COSMIC DANCER,REPRESENTED IN METAL OR STONE IN MANY SHAIVATE TEMPLES.
(SANSKRIT; LORD OF DANCE).
SHOWN WITH 4 ARMS AND FLYING LOCKS DANCING ON THE FIGURE OF A DWARF. WHO IS SOMETIMES IDENTIFIED AS APASMARA (A SYMBOL OF HUMAN IGNORANCE ;APASMARA MEANS 'FORGETFULLNESS' OR 'HEEDLESSNESS').

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Nataraja
(Sanskrit: “Lord of the Dance”) the Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, represented in metal or stone in many Shaivite temples, particularly in South India. Shiva Nataraja at the Brihadishvara Temple, Thanjavur, India.

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*Natraja, is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer.
*His dance is called Tandavam or Nadanta, depending on the context of the dance.
*The pose and artwork is described in many Hindu texts such as the Anshumadbhed agama and Uttarakamika agama.
*The dance relief or idol featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism and is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture.
*The great Hindu god Shiva has many guises and many representations in art, but perhaps the most familiar is as a dancing figure within a circle of fire, that is as Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the Dance.

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What does NATARAJA idol signifies about Lord Shiva ?

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*The significance of the Nataraja 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 the men  from illusion of the idea of "self" and  of the physical world.
* The cosmic dance was performed in Chidambaram which is called the center of the universe by some Hindus.
*The symbolism of Siva Nataraja is religion ,art and science merged as one.

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Nataraja is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as divine cosmic dancer. A 10th century chola dynasty bronze sculpture of Shiva. Symbol agni the classical form of the depiction appears in stone reliefs