PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE

MODULE 4 NATARAJA IN DANCE

आंगगकम भुवनम यस्य वागिकं सवव वाङ्ग्मयम| आहायं िन्द्रतारागध तंनुम्सात्ववकं शिवम ्|| Who embodies the entire Universe, Whose speech is the language of the Universe Whose ornaments are the moon and the stars, we pray to the pure (serene) Lord Shiva! Every dancer begins with this shloka as a prayer to Lord Shiva, as Nataraja, before starting the class and before a performance on the stage. That shloka lists the four aspects of abhinaya / अशभनय Angikam / अंगीकम, Vachikam / वागिकं , Aharyam / आहायव, and Satvikam / सत्ववकम, which every dancer masters and expresses it on the stage. Nataraja, literally the King of Dance, plays an important spectator and a judge of a dancer’s capabilities. It is no wonder that he is part of the stage during every Bharatanatyam performance seen in India.

Visiting any Shiva temple, one cannot miss the Ananda tandava / आनंद तांडव pose. Either be it as the main deity (as in Chidambaram Temple), the procession deity, as part of a pillar (as in the Madurai Meenakshi Temple), or on the ceiling panels (as in the Benaras Vishwanath Temple). Lord Shiva has many forms and there are

1 interesting anecdotes attached to each one of them, and there is also a famous mythology of how Nataraja came to be. While, Lord Shiva has a pan-Indian and pan-Asian spread, the form of Nataraja as we know today is a quintessentially a South Indian creation. Before the image of Nataraja was chiseled in stone and sculpted in metal, poets and saints such as Tirumoolar / तत셁मूऱर and Appar / अप्ऩर and others have painted an image using only words that was significant in influencing ancient artists. Inspired by these, the Pallava king Mahendravarman in honor of his father Simhavishnu executed the Shiva temple called Avanibhajana Pallaveshvaram / अवनीभजन ऩ쥍ऱवेश्वरम in the village of Seeyamangalam, Tiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. 1

In this rock-cut cave temple, there is a bas-relief of Shiva as Nataraja. According to archeologists and historians this is probably the first instance of a Nataraja tobe carved in stone based on the descriptions given in Saivate literature and songs. This Nataraja is different from the Chola bronze image we see today. The main differences of this Nataraja with the image we know today are: the left arm is in dola hasta and not brought to the right side; the absence of apsmara / अऩस्मार or muyalahan / मुयाऱाहन; presence of two shiva ganas, where one is beating an upright drum and the other is praying to Shiva. 1 The most common Nataraja pose, in Nataysastra terms, is part of the 108 Karanas as mentioned in Natyasastra. Based on the position of the arms and legs, it is the Bhujanga trasitam karana. Bhujanga / भुजंग means snake, and this pose is of a man, who after noticing a

2 snake lifts his leg in haste with fear and throws his hands outward to ward off the snake. The positions of the hands are also significant. While he has his right hand in Abhaya hasta / अभय हस्त (dancers use the pataka hasta or ardha chandra hasta), the left is in dola hasta and points towards the lifted left leg. The left foot is in Kunchita stance and hence the toe is pointing to the ground and thus known as kuncita padam / कंु गित ऩा दम.् Due to this, the small garland decorating the deity in Chidambaram is also referred as Sri Kuncitapadam.2 The Nataraja in Avanibhajana Pallaveshvaram as mentioned earlier does not have the serpents as ornaments; however there is a snake at the feet of Nataraja. The sculptor felt the need to include this most likely as this form of Shiva adheres to the Bhujanga trasitam karana as mentioned in Natyasastra.

Origins of Nataraja According to the legends of Chidambaram temple, the temple for Shaivites, Lord Shiva came to a community of rishis to teach them that without the grace of the divine, their knowledge and their power amounts to nothing. Shiva in the form of a mendicant came to them and had made the rishis’ wives fall in love with him. While, Vishnu took the form of Mohini / मोहहनी and made the rishis lose their senses to her charms. When some of the rishis saw these illusionary traps, they set forth a magical fire, from which came a ferocious tiger. With ease, Shiva killed it and wore the tiger’s skin as a loin cloth. Next, the rishis sent poisonous snakes, which Shiva wore as ornaments after subduing them. Feeling defeated, they sent a dwarf demon to attack Shiva, which he used it as a pedestal and stood upon the dwarf. Finally, the rishis sent the fire itself, which

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Shiva played with his left hand. Thus, he started to dance the cosmic dance as Nataraja or the Ananda Tandava. The power of his dance made the rishis to realize their folly and surrender to him and realized the importance of enlightenment.1 Indian Classical dancers do not tire by enacting this story even today. Not only is the story’s message powerful, the execution gives ample space for imagination in the dancer. The ultimate tandava dance includes jumps, pirouettes and statuesque poses that make the audience sit on the edge of their seats. Almost invariably, the dancer finishes it with the Nataraja pose, as to signify the connection. The American dancer Ted Shawn was quite captivated by the Nataraja image that he commissioned a foundry in Calcutta to sculpt a life size Tiruvasi or the ring of fire weighing about 400kg with a pedestal so that he can dance as Lord Nataraja in America! 2

Symbolism of Nataraja in Ananda Tandava / आनंद तांडव

The pose called as the Ananda Tandava or the Dance of Bliss was Shiva’s intention to show the rishis the Bliss of supreme. It symbolizes the cycle of creation and destruction. If we look deeper into the details of the Nataraja bronze sculpture, famously perfected by the Chola Empire, one realizes that the verses of Tirumanthiram by Tirumoolar are depicted in action. In layman terms as explained by Ananda Coomaraswamy:

“The dance of Shiva represents his five activities: 'Shrishti / श्रीत्टि' (creation, evolution); 'Sthiti / त्स्थतत' (preservation, support); 'Samhara / संहार' (destruction, evolution); 'Tirobhava / ततरोभाव' (illusion); and 'Anugraha / अनुग्रह' (release, emancipation, grace).”

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Ananda Coomaraswamy further describes Nataraja as 4

“In his upper right hand Shiva holds a small hourglass-shaped drum to symbolize the primal sound of creation; the upper left bears a tongue of flame, the element of destruction. The way the two hands are balanced points to the dynamic balance of creation and destruction in the world, underlined by the Dancer’s clam and detached face in the centre of the two hands. It is the face of one who has dissolved and transcended the polarity of creation. The lower right hand is raised in the Abhaya mudra / अभय मुरा, the sign that denotes “do not fear”, symbolizing maintenance, protection and peace while the lower left hand points down to the uplifted foot, symbolic of the release from the spell of maya / माया.”

The image is a paradox, in a sense that there is so much activity happening with the use of Shiva’s arms and legs, the coiling of snakes, the obeisance of Ganga who is being flung away from his hair locks and so on; yet Shiva’s face reflects the inner tranquility of attaining the bliss or Ananda.5

Apart these outer symbolic representations, the Ananda Tandava has subtle yet deeper interpretations that are significant for a dancer’s knowledge. For example, the damaru / डम셂 emanate sounds or vibrations that conceived the primal force from which all the music and the language of the universe arose from. The frayed dread locks of Nataraja are sprinkled with stars, which are symbolic of the rhythm of the entire universe or cosmos. While, the sun and the moon are the two eyes of Nataraja, the crescent moon adorning his headgear indicates the mind control. The praying Ganga who is usually locked in his dread locks is also seen to be in movement with Nataraja’s locks. She is seen in praying pose and admiring the Lord’s divine dance. Ganga is symbolic of the nectar of immortality. The

5 snakes which Nataraja wears as ornaments are also part of his dynamic movement, where they similar to Ganga are awed and looking in vismaya / ववस्मय bhava with their turned heads, indicating the diverse energies of mankind subdued and under control. Finally, the apasmara / अऩस्मार or the muyalahan / मुयाऱहन signify the evil and ignorance of the world, which has been defeated. 6

It is interesting to note that the other accessories Nataraja wears has been skillfully depicted in the Chola bronze images. In Mahabharata, Shiva came in the form of a Kirata / ककरात or a hunter in front of Arjuna / अजुनव and fought with him before giving the weapons Arjuna was praying for. According to the mystical aspects, the colour white is a favorite of Shiva. Thus, he likes white flowers, milk, rice, ash, and offerings that are predominantly white. Combining these two, the ancient sculptor has depicted the white feathers of the crane and is frequently mentioned as a Kirata or the hunter in saivaite poems and literature. These feathers are often mistaken as from peacock. 7, 8

In her book “Laghu Bharatam / ऱघु भरतम” the bharatnatyam dancer Sudharani Raghupathy has an interesting take on the symbolism of Nataraja. Two triangles, forming a six edged star known as Shadkonam / षडकोणं resembling a David’s star, can be superposed on the image of a Nataraja. The outer edges of the star align with 1) the Ganga on the head, 2) the fire on the upper left hand, 3) the flowing loincloth indicating the dynamism, 4) the apasmara or muyalakan, the demon of ignorance, 5) the damaru in the upper right hand, and finally 6) the lifted left leg, also known as Kuncita padam. And, each of these can be interpreted as the Panchakashara mantra of Shiva: Om Na Ma Si Va Ya, in the same order as described above. 9

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Types of Tandava According to Saivaite legends, Shiva dances seven types of tandavas. They are Ananda tandava (Dance of Bliss), Sandhya-tandavam / संध्या-तांडवं (Dance of the Dusk under the Banyan tree), Gauri- tandavam / गौरी- तांडवं (Dance with Gauri), Tripura-tandavam / त्रिऩुरा- तांडवं (Dance after slaying the demon Tripura), Kalika tandavam / काशऱका- तांडवं (Dance after slaying the demons of evil and ignorance), Uma tandavam / उमा तांडवं (Dance with Uma), and 3 Samhara-tandavam / संहार- तांडवं (Dance of destruction). There are variations among Saivaite legends as to the number of tandava performed by Shiva. According to another saivaite mythology Shiva performed 64 tandavas at 64 different shrines. Among the seven tandavas listed above, the Ananda Tandava “portrays all the manifold responsibilities of the Lord”, and thus considered the foremost of all tandavas. 8

Pancha Sabha / ऩंि सभा According to Saivaite legends of Tamilnadu, Shiva danced his Tandava in five places and they are worshipped as Pancha Sabhai Sthanlangal (Pancha- Five, Sabha-hall or audience, Sthalangal-Place). These are: 10 Sabha Temple Location Tandava Element Porsabhai / Nataraja Chidambaram Ananda Gold Temple Tandava ऩोसवभई (Golden Hall)

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Vellisabhai / Meenakshi Madurai Sandhya Silver Amman Tandavam वे쥍ऱीसभई Temple (Silver Hall) Tamirasabhai Nellaiappar Tirunelveli Muni Copper / तशमरसभई Temple Tandavam (Copper Hall) Rathinasabhai Vada Tiruvalangadu Kali Emerald / रगथनासभई Aaranyeswarar Tandavam (Emerald Hall) Temple Chithirasabhai Kutralanathar Coutrallam Tirupura Art / गिगथरसभई Temple Tandavam (Hall of Art)

In the Vellisabhai or Velliambalam, in Madurai, the Nataraja is seen dancing with his right leg lifted instead of the left. There is an interesting story behind this: The Pandiyan king Rajasekharan a saivaite devotee and a master in 63 art forms had delayed learning dance out of his reverence to Lord Nataraja. However in due course he started learning dance to complete his mastery over the 64 arts. During his training, he realized the difficulty of maintaining the Nataraja pose and wondered if a mere mortal could not stand in this pose for more than few minutes, how is Nataraja able to stand on his right leg all through centuries. Thus, he prayed to the Lord to change the leg position so that Shiva could relax. Bowing to his devotees’ wishes Lord Shiva changed his leg position and thus enacted his leela of Kaalmari adaiya padalam / का쥍मारी अदेय ऩा दऱम or the story of how Shiva changed his leg position. This legend has been popularized and dancers perform to a famous song composed by Andavan Pichai called Kaal mari adiya set to Kunthala Varali raga and Adi tala. 11

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In Chidambaram, there is a mandapam or a hall called Nritta Sabha or the Hall of Dance. This mantapa is shaped like a chariot pulled by horses. The pillars of this mantapa are filled with miniature and intricate carving of dancers dancing, as conforming to the name of the Sabha. The deity of worship in this Sabha is the Urdhuva Tandava / उध्वव तांडव pose of Shiva, where the Lalatatilaka / ऱऱािततऱक Karana is depicted. The legend goes that in a competition between Shiva and Kali, Shiva raised his leg to pick his fallen earring and using his right foot wore the earring again. Most scholars reason that due to modesty Kali accepted defeat as she could never raise her leg. Others claim that Shiva did not teach this particular Karana to Kali and hence she was stumped as to how to perform this pose. The famous Chola bronze image of Nataraja that adorns the Government Museum, Chennai is from Tiruvalangadu temple, which houses the Rathinasabhai or the Emerald Hall.

Frequently depicted Nataraja poses According to the Natyasastra and other legends, there are 108 tandava poses that Shiva performs. Each of these poses have been depicted in sculptures of Chidambaram, Tanjavur, Kumbakonam and more recently in Satara, Maharashtra. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam studied and popularized these dynamic poses or Karanas and she documented them in detail. 12 While, listing all the 108 karanas is beyond the scope of this chapter, we will see the popular depictions of Nataraja, other than the Ananda Tandava pose, as performed by dancers today. In one of the poses, the dancer is depicting the Shristi or creation aspect of Nataraja. She holds her left arm in dola hasta or gaja hasta, while her right arm indicates the damaru. Also, having the

9 ardhamandali / अधवमंडऱी maintained in the right leg, her left foot is in kuncita pada / कंु गित ऩद . While this is an easier pose to depict Nataraja, the embellishment in this is the shaking of the damaru while maintaining this posture. A variation of the above is when the dancer has her right hand in Tripataka, denoting Shiva as Nataraja and her left hand is in suchi hasta and pointing to the earth. While her left foot is in Kuncita pada, which is being pointed by the suchi hasta, the interesting part is the right foot is also in Kuncita (heel lifted above the ground) while maintaining ardhamandali or the half-sitting pose. Another pose preferred by dancers to depict Nataraja is when they show the fire as alapadma hasta on the left hand and the deer as mrigashirsha hasta / मगृ िीष व हस्त on the right hand, with the legs as depicted in the sculpture: left foot in kuncita and right in ardhamandali.

Among the 108 karanas, Vislukraanta / ववश्ऱुक्रानता, Vrschikarechita / त््स्िकरेगित, and Lalatatilaka karanas / ऱऱािततऱक करण are frequently portrayed by dancers to depict the tandava aspect of Shiva. In Vislukraanta karana the left leg is raised above the waist to have it horizontal to the ground, while holding the left toe with the right hand, and depicting a hasta (commonly a raised dola hasta) with the left hand. In contrast, Vrschikarecita and Lalatatilaka involve raising the leg near to the head and either having dynamic movements of the arms or having hastas that portray the attributes of Nataraja, like ardhachandra / अधविंर for the moon, tripataka / िीऩतक, etc.

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Songs in praise of Nataraja There are numerous songs and poems in praise of Nataraja that came out in the Bhakthi period (15th to 17th century). Also, composers in the 19th century have also composed songs about Nataraja. Here, we will see few compositions that have been popular in Bharatnatyam that praise Nataraja.

Natanam Adinar This is a famous keertanam that was taught by Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai to Ram Gopal, Rukmini Devi Arundale of Kalakshetra, and Shanta Rao. Each of them popularized it with the choreography to a great extent that this song is now a standard composition every Bharatanatyam dancer knows and has to master it. Gopalakrishna Bharati (1810-1896) composed this keertanam, where he describes how the rishis in the Himalayas took penance to see the divine dance of Shiva as Nataraja. Accordingly, Shiva granted the boon by making a promise that in the month of Thai (January- February), during the Poosa nakshatram day, in a place called Thillai or the forest filled with Daruka trees (Darukavanam / दा셁कावनम) he will perform the divine dance. 13 And how did he dance? The eight directions shook and also the snakes he wore as ornaments shook their head as he danced. The ground vibrated with his stomps and the Ganga in his locks shook so much that she was sprinkling holy water everywhere. The witnesses to this dance were the 33 crore devas and ganas who praised Lord Nataraja’s dance. Also, taking artistic liberty, the poet envisions himself singing to which the Lord Nataraja is dancing. 13

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Varugamalamo Aiyaa

Vargalamoo Aiyaa / वरगऱामो ऐया is also a composition of Gopalakrishna Bharati as part of his Kathakalashpam / कथाकऱाऺेऩम called Nanadanar Charitram / नंदनार िररिं. This famous dance composition is performed in the vilambit kala or slow speed as suitable for a padam by Bharatanatyam dancers. The setting is of a Nayanmaar called Tiru naalai povaar or Nandanar, who is a dalit by birth and his sole aim in life is to visit Chidambaram and have a darshan of Lord Nataraja. Being a pariah, he is not allowed inside the temple and there at the gates, he sings his paeans to Lord Nataraja as “Shall I come in? Shall I come in to see you, sing and dance near you?” 14A heart rendering composition was performed by Rukmini Devi Arundale when she visited Chidambaram after her dance training with Pandanallur Meenkashi Sundaram Pillai. 15

Adi kondar

This is a keertanam by Muthutandavar / मुथूतांडवर (1525-1600) a Carnatic music composer who describes the dance of Nataraja. Adi kondar / आडी कⴂडर is set in raga Mayamalava gowlai and Adi talam. The poet is awed and unable to comprehend as to whether two eyes are enough to witness the divine dance of Nataraja? Doesn’t one need thousand eyes for this? He ponders. He further describes the dynamism of Nataraja’s dance by mentioning how his dreadlocks, his snake ornaments, the Ganga, the deer, and the axe are all swaying in the same direction as Nataraja. Not only are Nataraja’s attributes’ are dancing; seeing his dance, Ganesha, Indra and the 33 crore devas are also dancing. This dance is admired by his consort Sivakami who like the poet is in awe of the Ananda Tandava.16

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Bharatanatyam dancers perform Adi kondar with jatis that display all the five Jaatis (Chatushram / ितुश्रम, Tishram / ततश्रम, Mishram / शमश्रं, Khandam / खंडं, and Sankeernam / संकीणवम) and add the sanchari of Shiva competing with Kali. Other songs that describe Nataraja, his attributes and his dance are Idathu Padam thooki and Ananda Natamidum pathan.

Conclusion Where do dancers find inspiration for depicting Nataraja? The answer is in temple sculptures and frescos that are abound. At the same time, as dancer Sudharani Raghupathy mentions 9 “As one ponders on the figure of Nataraja, many philosophical ideas flow through the mind” Thus, the beauty, science, and symbolism of Nataraja can be compared to the fountainhead of creativity and assimilation of Indian Classical Dance.

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Footnotes 1. Chidambaram: Home of Nataraja. Ed. Vivek Nanda and George Michell, Marg Vol 55, Issue 4, 2004. 2. Attendance 2009-10 by Ashish Mohan Khokar. Ekah Printways. 3. The Festival of Dancing Siva by R Nagaswamy. http://www.tamilartsacademy.com/journals/volume1/articles/ article1.xml 4. Indian Dance: The Ultimate Metaphor by Shanta Sherbjeet Singh. Art Media Resources Ltd, 2000. 5. Nataraj: The Dancing Shiva. http://hinduism.about.com/od/lordshiva/p/nataraj.htm 6. Saivism and Vaishnavism in Indian Dance by Mohan Khokar, Sangeet Natak Academi Dance Seminar 1958. 7. http://tamilartsacademy.com/books/siva%20bhakti/chapter11. html 8. http://tamilartsacademy.com/journals/volume1/articles/festiv al_of_dance.html 9. Laghu Bharatam: Handbook on Bharatha Natyam by Sudharani Raghupathy, Vol III, 1997. 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha_Sabhai 11. http://www.karnatik.com/c2878.shtml 12. Karanas: Common Dance Codes of India and Indonesia by Padma Subrahmanyam. Nrithyodaya 2003. 13. http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sta_gkb.htm#natana madinar 14. http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sta_gkb.htm#varukal amo 15. Rukmini Devi: A life by Leela Samson, Penguin Publications, 2009 16. http://www.shaivam.org/tamil/sta_tandavar_u.htm

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