Nataraja or Nataraj (Hindustani: nÉ™t̪əˈraËdÊ’, The Lord (or King) of Dance; Tamil: கூதà¯à®¤à®©à¯ (Kooththan)) is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation. Nataraja is most often depicted through a statue. The dance of Shiva in Tillai, the traditional name for Chidambaram, forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. He is also known as "Sabesan" which splits as "Sabayil aadum eesan" in Tamil which means "The Lord who dances on the dais".The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in the famous temple at Chidambaram.
The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in an aureole of flames, lifting his left leg (and in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing over a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance. It is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture.
The two most common forms of Shiva's dance are the Lasya (the gentle form of dance), associated with the creation of the world, and the Tandava (the violent and dangerous dance), associated with the destruction of weary worldviews - weary perspectives and lifestyles. In essence, the Lasya and the Tandava are just two aspects of Shiva's nature; for he destroys in order to create, tearing down to build again. Wikipedia Dance of Shiva underline added, See Revelation (the changes that occur before awakening or realization
Nataraja or Nataraj, the dancing form of Lord Shiva, is a symbolic synthesis of the most important aspects of Hinduism, and the summary of the central tenets of this Vedic religion. The term 'Nataraj' means 'King of Dancers' (Sanskrit nata = dance; raja = king). In the words of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Nataraj is the "clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of… A more fluid and energetic representation of a moving figure than the dancing figure of Shiva can scarcely be found anywhere," Hinduism
Shiva Nataraja destroys creation by his Tandava Dance, or Dance of Eternity. As he dances, everything disintegrates, apparently into nothingness. Then, out of the thin vapours, matter and life are re-created again." Oroon Ghosh, The Dance of Shiva and Other Tales From India, Signet Classics, 1965
See Also
Awakening
Law of Assimilation
Law of Sympathetic Vibration
Realization
Revelation
Rhythmic Balanced Interchange
Self Realization
Universal Heart Beat