Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s7.65

v2.c16.s7.65

Siva is a destroyer and loves the burning ground. But what does He destroy? Not merely the heavens and earth at the end of a *kalpa*, but the fetters that bind each separate soul. Where and what is the burning ground? It is not the place where our earthly bodies are cremated, but the heart of the *bhakta*, the devotee, laid waste and desolate. He brings not peace but a sword. The place where their selves are destroyed signifies the place or state where their egoity or illusion and deeds are burnt away: that is the crematorium, the burning-ground where Śrī Naṭarāja dances, and whence He is named Suḍalaiyāḍi, Dancer of