Bronze Shiva Nataraja

Bronze Shiva Nataraja

Figurines

Nataraja is a depiction of the Hindu god, Shiva as a cosmic ecstatic dancer. Hindus see Shiva Nataraja as the supreme lord of dance as Shiva performs his dance called the Tandavam or Nadanta. The Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that fuels the cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution. The dance is also said to release the souls of men from the snare of illusion.

Check out the High Library for more information. 

Check out sacred texts that relate to the artifact. 

Sources: 
Archana Verma, Performance and Culture: Narrative, Image and Enactment in India (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2011). 

Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA)

Dr. William V. Puffenberger

Elizabethtown College retains all intellectual property rights to this image including, but not limited to, digital rights and any derivative works. For permission for reproduction, please contact the College’s Administrative Assistant for Humanities.

A bronze statue of the Shiva Nataraja with ornamental circle surrounding the statue.

10.25 in X 8.5 (26 cm X 21.6 cm)

Physical Object

Puffenberger #97

India