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SHIVA NATARAJA

The ‘Lord of (Cosmic) Dance’ is forever dancing the rhythms of the universe-the cycles of creation (sarga) and destruction (pralaya) that embody everything from the formation and dissolution of galaxies to the thoughts and physical cells of very human being. The gestures (mudras) of the Nataraja are not meant to be meditated upon as separate expressions, but as sequences of one flow of indivisible consciousness that encompass our own cycles of everyday experience. Therefore Shiva’s upper right hand holds a drum (dhamarukha), representing all cycles of creation while his upper left hand signifies the destruction of all constituents of reality in the form of a flame.
This cycle of continuous creation-destruction is the nature of the universe; it is implicit in the rise of a single thought or in the implosion of a dwindling star. Shiva is surrounded by an aureole of flame, demonstrating the constant flux of cycles of creation-destruction that embody the pulsating universe.
His hair, containing the river-Goddess Ganga as she prepares to descend to earth, is flying about, representing the rapture of his dance, while his facial countenance is calm, immersed in the stillness of his blissful awareness.
This blissful look is symbolic of the state of perfected yoga, wherein the yogin recognizes that the pulsations of Universal consciousness find their source in the still point of one’s own heart.
Accordingly, Nataraja’s lower right hand is raised in abhaya-mudra (fear–dispelling pose), indicating that there is nothing for us to fear when we take refuge in Shiva (he calls us to do so through his downward pointing, lower left hand).