The Image

Shiva Nataraja

Shiva Nataraja
Shiva Nataraja (F2003.2)

Shiva Nataraja depicts the Hindu god Shiva as “Lord of the Dance,” engaged in the dynamic, victorious “dance of bliss” (ananda tandava) he performed after defeating arrogant sages in the Chidambaram forest. In representations of the deity, such as this tenth-century bronze sculpture in the Freer’s collection, every feature reveals important details.

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