Symbols of Reverence — Ritual & Devotion : Artwork 1

Shiva in the Ananda Tandava pose — the dance of bliss that the Chola bronze masters of the tenth and eleventh centuries made definitive. The four arms hold the attributes in their prescribed canonical positions: damaru drum upper right, protective abhaya gesture lower right, flame upper left, pointing foot lower left. The flying hair and coiled serpent follow the description in the Agamas. The Nataraja is one of the most complete philosophical images ever produced: the drum sounds the first word of creation, the flame holds the fire of dissolution, the raised foot offers liberation, and the trampled figure beneath is Apasmara — the demon of ignorance held down by the dance of consciousness.