Shiva Nataraja

Here the Hindu creator god Shiva performs the ‘tandava ananda’ dance. Its function was to create, maintain and cyclically destroy the elemental forces of the universe. Ringed by a flaming aureole, Shiva dances on the prostrate figure of the demon-dwarf Apasmara, who personifies ignorance and materialism.

Kind

artefact

Date

700–900 CE