Nataraj: Shiva as Lord of the Dance NATARAJ.TXT *********************************************************************** Developed by Jean Johnson, New York University. Introduction: Art is an excellent aid when someone is trying to understand complex ideas from another culture. The Nataraj, Lord Shiva and Lord of the Dance, offers a visual summary of several of the most important ideas in Hinduism. Learning to identify the various aspects of the image can help student understand several of the central tenets of Hinduism. As the curator of the Indian collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has written: If one had to select a single icon to represent the extraordinarily rich and complex cultural heritage of India, the Shiva Nataraj might well be the most remunerative candidate. It is such a brilliant iconographic invention that it comes as close to being a summation of the genius of the Indian people as any single icon can. Ultimately, in Hinduism, there is only one reality, often identified as Brahman. Brahman encompasses all there is in the universe, and everything that isn't, as well. Beyond form or formlesness, it cannot be spoken of with words nor does it possess any characteristics. Because Brahman, the One without second, without form and yet not formless, is difficult to understand, Hindus sometimes just say "Neti-neti", meaning that for anything we can name, Brahman is "Not that, not this." Representations of divinity are like signposts, (to use Joseph Campbell's phrase); they point the devotee toward the mystery of Brahman; they are not it. You and I are part of Brahman as well, but we usually forget that each of us and the world in which we are living are ultimately only Brahman. We play our parts in life, over and over again, until eventually we long to loose what we think of as our identity (the self), and recognize our true Self - oneness with Brahman. Understanding our unity with Brahman, moksha, is the ultimate goal of all Hindus. The Nataraj, one of the forms of Lord Shiva, expresses these ideas and this goal. The Nataraj was developed in South India in the 9th and 10th centuries during the Chola Dynasty (880-1279 CE). It was made of bronze and artist used the lost wax process. The following list identifies the various motifs of the statue. Objectives: Through this activity, students will be able to: "read" the meaning of the Nataraj; understand the various aspects of Hinduism that the Nataraj symbolizes; understand the importance of samsara (the cycle of birth, death and rebirth) and moksha (release from samsara) in Hindu thought; understand why many consider the Nataraj one of the finest works of art anywhere in the world. Teaching Time: One day for a close study of the Nataraj itself. This lesson could also be incorporated into a larger series of lessons on Hinduism and on Indian art. If this is the first time students have encountered multi-armed deities in Indian art, you may want to start with the introductory ideas suggested below. If students are familiar with multi-armed deities in Indian art, you may want to go immediately to step four. Materials needed: 1. Several images of multi-armed Indian deities such as Durga or Vishnu. 2. An image or images of the Nataraj. These could be photographs, slides, overhead transparencies, a poster, drawings, a printout from this lesson plan or actual statues. Note: Students can usually find a picture of the Nataraj in art history books or textbooks. Teachers can encourage students to look for a picture of the Nataraj or bring in their own sketch of the image. Or cl Procedure: 1. Divide students into groups of two or three students each. a) Ask each group to make its own list of six to eight kinds of power. b) Now ask them to make symbols that represent each of those aspects of power. c.) Have the various groups share their images of power with one another. d) Discuss as a class which images were similar which were distinctive. 2. Divide students into groups of two or three students each. a) Ask each group to think of a powerful person that possess one or more of the aspects of power they identified in the first activity b) Have the groups decide how they could illustrate visually that person's power. c) Have the various groups share their ideas with the rest of the class. 3) Show the class a picture of a multi-armed Indian deity. Ask the class questions such as: Why did the arts represent the deity with several arms? What does being "well-armed" suggest? What is the deity holding in its hands? What do those various images symbolize? 4) Ask students to study as image of the Nataraj. You may explain what the various parts of the statue mean or you may ask them to infer the meaning based on what they already know or what they can figure out together. What is the figure doing? Why is Shiva dancing? What might the dance symbolize? His hair is flying out from his head; what does that suggest? What kind of expression does he have? How can his expression be so calm when he is dancing so vigorously? What might that contrast mean? What is he holding in his hands? The drum looks like an hourglass; what might it symbolize? What might the drum beat mean? What would you use to symbolize creation? What does fire do? Why is it an apt symbol of destruction? Taken together, what do the drum and fire mean? Which comes first in this image? What might the ring of fire mean? What does a cycle suggest? Why might that be a good symbol of reincarnation? Why not use a ring of roses, or lotuses; why fire? Which hand is in the mudra, "Be not afraid?" What might people fear? What is Shiva telling them? What assurance is Shiva offering? What assurance might you want from him if he told you not to be afraid? Notice the fourth hand. To what is it pointing? If you could look at the image sideways, you would see that the raised foot is in a different plane from the rest of the image. What might the two planes of existence be? In what plain do we experience creation and destruction? What is the other plane or reality? "Be not afraid" could mean Don't worry about your English test. That would be assurance in this world. But "Be not afraid" could also mean, Don't worry; you'll soon realize moksha and you too will be beyond the plain of life, death and rebirth. Who or what might the dwarf Shiva is dancing on symbolize? Is Shiva hurting him? Destroying him? What must people destroy in order to realize moksha? How is that different from killing evil? 5) Ask students to summarize the meaning of the Nataraj in their own words. 6) Ask students to make their own drawing of the Nataraj and identify the various aspects of the image. Notes on various motifs in the Nataraj: Dance represents the symbolic of the movement of the universe. Dance is an important aspect in Indian life. The Dance of life is the dance of life-death-life...... Two-sided drum held by the first right hand is a symbol of creation. It is beating the pulse of the universe. The drum also provides the music that accompanies Shiva's dance. The drum represents sound as the first element in an unfolding universe. Sound is a vehicle of speech, conveyer of revelation and Truth. Hour glass drum also can represent male and female,two triangles as they penetrate each other to form a hexagon.. When parted, the universe dissolves. Fire held in the first left hand represents destruction which leads to creation, over and over again. Fire also cleanses the impurity of the soul. Both upper arms show balance of creation and destruction. Flame halo (Circle of fire ) represents samsara (reincarnation), the endless cycle of birth and death. Life comes as a result of heat (passion). Life ends in the fires of destruction. And then life comes over and over again. Mudra (hand gesture) of lower right hand means "Do not be afraid." Mudra of lower left hand means "There is a way out." This gesture promises salvation or release from the world of forms and rebirth. This hand points to the way out. Upraised left foot symbolizes release from rebirth and the promise of moksha-nirvana; Dwarf being crushed by the right foot symbolizes not evil but rather ignorance of moksha which Nataraj is overcoming. Dwarf can also symbolize forgetfulness, heedlessness, blindness. Two feet together symbolize interplay of insight and forgetfulness. Shiva's matted hair flowing out as he dances reminds viewer he was an ascetic. Image of Ganges River in Shiva's hair. Reminds viewer that Shiva can control (tame) nature. Ganga had returned to the Himalaya mountains but the people on the plain needed water. A sage performed extraordinary feats of devotion and Ganga agreed to come back to the parched earth. Shiva feared the force of the river would crush life on the plane so He allowed the Ganges River to flow from the Himalayas through his hair and then flow gently onto the Gangetic plain. River Ganges also purifies all things. Expression on Shiva's face is calm, aloof, unaffected by the display of his own energy, the flow and change of time. Snake ornaments also symbolize his control over the powers of nature. Snake may also symbolize egotism which one must overcome in order to realize moksha. Snake also symbolizes cycle of life and death. The raised foot is out of the plane of the rest of the image as the raised foot takes the viewer out of the world of forms into the formless reality of moksha. Image rests on a lotus, the Indian symbol of the creative force of the universe. Crescent moon in crown of his matted hair represents highest principle of consciousness or illumination. Two different ear-rings Shiva wears symbolizes that he embodies both masculine and feminine aspects of existence. One worn by men is a combination of a fish and a crocodile, the other worn by women is a simple spiral. Third eye in his forehead symbolizes his all-seeing ability. Also symbolic of insight or enlightenment. Skull of Death as a crown symbolizes Shiva conquers death. Note aesthetic considerations such as the rhythm and flow the interacting arms, the hair, the fire circle.