Guest guest Posted June 8, 2000 Report Share Posted June 8, 2000 If you r looking for a physical and mystical interpretation and information thereof I guess the best source would be the writings of Fritjof Capra. He has done a lot of research about the cosmic dance of Shiva. Regarding dancing in general , here's an informative story I found in the site http://www.dromo.com/ An Excerpt From " The Wanderer " by Khalil Gibran Once there came to the court of the Prince of Birkasha, a dancer and her musicians. And she was admitted to the court. And she danced to the music of the flute, the lute, and the zither. She danced the dance of flames and fire, and the dance of swords and spears; she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space, and then she danced the dance of flowers in the wind. When she had finished, she approached the prince and bowed her body before him. The prince bade her to come nearer, and said unto her, " Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and delight, whence comes your art and how is it that you command all the elements in your rythyms and your rhymes? " And the dancer came near and bowed her body again and said, " Gracious majesty, I know not the answer to your questionings. Only this I know: The philosophers soul dwells within his head, the poets soul dwells within his heart, the singers soul dwells about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body. " > ---------- > Gopi Krishna[sMTP:gopi] > Reply Ramakrishna > Wednesday, June 07, 2000 5:16 PM > Ramakrishna > Cc: hindu > [ramakrishna] Re: Nataraja > > Om > > Lord Nataraja, as in Chidambaram, where HE is the presding deity, is the > Dancing Siva. Can anybody explain in detail what is the concept, > significance and essence of this form of Lord Shiva. I have asked many > people yesterday about the significance of this dance, but no one so far > has given me a satisfactory reply. I know about it to the extent that it > is a cosmic dance, the rakshasa symbolises evil spirits and the dance form > is Pralaya Thandava, etc. But, I wish to go deep into it. I request you to > enlighten me on this in detail. > > Regards > > > P. Gopi Krishna > > > > ------ > Fast, secure, free - eGroups' PayPal. > Get cash too. > Sign up today and get a $5 bonus. > http://click./1/5026/3/_/411454/_/960412711/ > ------ > > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2000 Report Share Posted June 8, 2000 Namaste Gopi Krishna Here is my understanding of Lord Nataraja from the books I've read. 1. Nataraja - King of the stage (stage may imply this whole jagat, the world is a stage in which we are playing so many roles) 2. Damaru - represents sound or vibration, which is the cause of the universe. therefore, creation is in his hands 3. tiger skin - tiger skin represents ahamkara, ego. He has killed the tiger and has wrapped its skin around him 4. demon - demon represents maya, the world which is mithya, elusive. and he is holding it by stepping on it thus implying that maya is dependent upon him. some say that the demon represents ego too.... 5. raised foot - this leg shows that while he is the controller of maya, yet he is apart from it. like the state of turiya which pervades all the other 3 states of experience 6. fire - represents destruction, the capacity to reduce things to ashes. this means that he doesn't just create but also destroys. this nataraja form represents him as jagadeeshwara, the lord of the universe who creates, sustains and destroys 7. dance - his dance captures his role as the sustainer of the jagat, as the image captures him in motion 8. circular structure around him - represents atoms in motion. It is in motion due to his dance. This what I've learnt about the philosophy behind Lord Nataraja's form. Please add more to it or correct me if I'm wrong. > > Gopi Krishna [sMTP:gopi] > Wednesday, June 07, 2000 7:47 PM > Ramakrishna > Cc: hindu > [ramakrishna] Re: Nataraja > > Om > > Lord Nataraja, as in Chidambaram, where HE is the presding deity, is the > Dancing Siva. Can anybody explain in detail what is the concept, > significance and essence of this form of Lord Shiva. I have asked many > people yesterday about the significance of this dance, but no one so far > has given me a satisfactory reply. I know about it to the extent that it > is a cosmic dance, the rakshasa symbolises evil spirits and the dance form > is Pralaya Thandava, etc. But, I wish to go deep into it. I request you to > enlighten me on this in detail. > > Regards > > > P. Gopi Krishna > > > > ------ > Fast, secure, free - eGroups' PayPal. > Get cash too. > Sign up today and get a $5 bonus. > http://click./1/5026/3/_/411454/_/960412711/ > ------ > > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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