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ELEPHANTA CAVES PART 9 - SHIVA as NATARAJA - GHARAPURI




GHARAPURI  - ELEPHANTA CAVES 9

SHIVA as NATARAJA – The Cosmic Dancer – King of Dances or Lord of Dancers.



NATARAJA - The Cosmic Dancer



The dance of the LORD SHIVA is known as TANDAVA. There are supposed to be sixteen Tandava’s, out of which Ananda Tandava signifies creation and Rudra Tandava signifies destruction. There are also 108 Karana’s of the Tandavam, which forms part of the Indian traditional Dance of BHARATANATYAM. NATARAJA the CREATOR.
In the normal pose of Nataraja, The lord stands on his right leg, with the left leg lifted towards the right, with his front hands one in Abhaya Mudra( signs of protection) and the other hand pointing downwards are on the right hand side of the Lords body.

SHIVA IN ANANDATANDAVAM
This panel shows a UNIQUE posture of the Lord of Dances “NATARAJA”. In normal postures of Nataraja, the lord has four hands, this feature of the Lord seems to have eight hands ASHTABHUJA, out of which the front hands with the Abhaya mudra placed on the other hand pointing downwards, seem to be towards the left side of the lord’s body.
The upper most right hand, seems to be holding a trident, with a snake dangling from it. The upper left hand seems to be holding his (missing) matt locks releasing the rivers GANGA, YAMUNA & SARASWATHI, with what looks like a flow of water. The other hands are vandalized.
The exquisite carvings of the crown, large ear rings, flowing hair on to the shoulders, amulets and the belt with its knot hanging from the waist to the extended right thigh are a sight to behold. In total the figure of NATARAJA would have been 10 feet 8 inches when intact. To the left of Shiva is the perfectly carved figure of PARVATHI at 6 feet 9 inches in finely carved drapery

PARVATHI on the right
On the right side of the Panel, one cans see LORD GANESHA holding a Parashu in his right hand, broken tusk in the left hand & LORD BRAMHA on a pedestal of five swans. Below Ganesha is the depiction of KUMARA the commander-in-chief of the gods with the VEL or Shakthi ayudham and to the right corner is the depiction of skeletal BHRINGI the devoted attendant of Shiva replicating his master’s perfection in the art of dancing. To the left of KUMARA is a damaged figure of a damsel whose beautiful dress carved in stone is worth noting.

LORD BRAHMA GANESHA AND KUMARA
  On the left hand side you can see the king of the Deva’s INDRA on his mount AIRAVATA & MAHAVISHNU on GARUDA with GADA (KOUMODAKI) mace on his right hand and SHANKHA (PANCHAJANYA) conch on his left hand.

MAHAVISHNU on GARUDA, INDRA on AIRAVATHA
The face of LORD SHIVA in ANANDA TANDAVA, with a crown and free flowing hair, closed eyes, smiling lips, bedecked with jewels is mesmerizing.
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Location: Elephanta Island, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

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