Śiva’s Cosmic Dance
Śivānanda Tāṇḍavaḥ
शिवानन्द ताण्डवः
HE COSMIC DANCE OF ŚIVA NAṬARĀJA IS BOTH SYMBOL AND REALITY. IT IS THE MOVEMENT OF CREATION, PRESERVATION AND DISSOLUTION, THE TRIAD WHICH TAKEN TOGETHER IS THE PRINCIPLE OF MĀYĀ, GOD’S ENDLESS IMPULSE, TAKING place within each of us and within every atom of the universe. We are all dancing with Śiva this very moment and He with us. In the midst of His agitated dance, God Śiva’s HEAD is balanced and still, His EXPRESSION serene and calm, in perfect equipoise as the unmoved Mover. His right EARRING, made of a snake, is masculine. His left, a large discus, is feminine. Together they symbolize the fact that Śiva is neither male nor female, but transcends both. God Śiva’s THIRD EYE is the eye of fire and symbolizes higher perception, extending throughout past, present and future. God Śiva’s HAIR is in the long untended locks of the ascetic, flying out energetically. On His hair are: the SERPENT ŚEŚANĀGA, representing the cycle of years; a SKULL, symbolizing Śiva’s power of destruction; the fifth-day CRESCENT MOON, symbolizing His creative power; and the GODDESS GAṄGĀ, India’s most sacred river, symbol of descending grace. God Śiva’s BACK LEFT HAND holds a blazing flame, the fire God Agni, symbolizing His power of destruction, saṁhāra, by which the universe is reabsorbed at the end of each cycle of creation, only to be recreated again by God Śiva. This hand represents NA in the Pañchākshara Mantra, Na-Ma-Śi-Vā-Ya. His PLANTED FOOT stands for the syllable MA and symbolizes His concealing grace, tirodhāna śakti, which limits consciousness, allowing souls to mature through experience. Śiva dances upon the figure known as APASMĀRA, “forgetful or heedless,” who represents the soul bound by āṇava mala, the individuating veil of duality, source of separation from God. Apasmārapurusha looks up serenely at Lord Śiva’s raised foot, the ultimate refuge, release and destiny of all souls without exception. Lord Śiva’s LEFT FRONT HAND, representing the syllable VĀ, held in the elephant trunk pose, gajahasta, points to His left foot, source of revealing grace, anugraha śakti, by which souls return to Him. Left and right back arms are balanced, as are creation and destruction. Śiva’s BACK RIGHT HAND, standing for the syllable ŚI, holds the thin-waisted rattle drum, damaru, symbol of creation, which begins with soundless sound, Paranāda, from which arises the mantra Aum. The FRONT RIGHT HAND is raised in the gesture abhaya, “fear not,” symbolizing Śiva’s power of sṛishṭi, preservation and protection, and standing for the syllable YA. Lord Śiva’s RAISED FOOT symbolizes His revealing grace, anugraha śakti, by which the soul ultimately transcends the bonds of āṇava, karma and māyā and realizes its identity with Him. Lord Śiva’s SKIN is a pinkish color. His body is smeared with white HOLY ASH, vibhūti, symbol of purity. The BLUE THROAT represents His compassion in swallowing the deadly hālāhala poison to protect mankind. He wears a SKULL NECKLACE, symbolizing the perpetual revolution of ages. The SERPENT JAHNUWI adorns His body, symbol of His identity with the kuṇḍalinī power, the normally dormant spiritual force within man coiled at the base of the spine. Raised through yoga, this force propels man into God Realization. Śiva wears a TIGER SKIN, symbol of nature’s power. His sash, kaṭibhandha, is blown to one side by His rapid movement. THE ARCH OF FLAMES, prabhāvali, in which Śiva dances is the Hall of Consciousness. Each flame has three sub-flames, symbolizing fire on Earth, in the atmosphere and in the sky. At the top of the arch is MAHĀKĀLA, “Great time.” Mahākāla is God Śiva Himself who creates, transcends and ends time. Śiva Naṭarāja dances within the state of timeless transcendence. The double lotus PEDESTAL, mahāmbujapīṭha, symbolizes manifestation. From this base springs the cosmos.§
The four sacred Vedas, mankind’s oldest scriptures, intone, “To Rudra [Śiva], Lord of sacrifice, of hymns and balmy medicines, we pray for joy and health and strength. He shines in splendor like the sun, refulgent as bright gold is He, the good, the best among the Gods (Ṛig Veda 1.43.4-5).” “He is God, hidden in all beings, their inmost soul who is in all. He watches the works of creation, lives in all things, watches all things. He is pure consciousness, beyond the three conditions of nature (Yajur Veda, Svetāśvatara Upanishad 6.11 UPM).” §