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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis sculpture depicts the four-armed deity Shiva mid-dance, balancing on his right leg atop the dwarf-like demon Apasmara, who represents ignorance. He is encircled by a ring of flames representing the cosmos, while his hands display specific gestures, including holding a small drum and a tongue of fire. The fluid pose and calm facial expression contrast with the dynamic circular structure, embodying the rhythm of the universe's creation and destruction.
As a central icon in Shaivism, the Nataraja represents the five activities of God—creation, preservation, destruction, illusion, and grace—serving as a philosophical model for the cyclical nature of time and the illusory quality of material existence, concepts frequently explored in the Upanishads and Shaiva Siddhanta texts.
Ananda Coomaraswamy
His essay 'The Dance of Shiva' is the foundational modern interpretation of this icon’s cosmological and metaphysical symbolism.
Object
Bronze
religious
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 14, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.