Page 34 - Stone and Bronze, Indian art of the Chola Dynasty, Metropolitan Museum, NYC

ecstatic tandava dance, performed by the many-armed swamy that links the dance at Tillai with the discom-
god in cemeteries and burning-grounds during his fiture of the rishis is much later and first occurs in a text
midnight revels; the nadanta dance before the assem- of the early fourteenth century.70 But King Parantaka
bly (sabha) in the golden hall of the Sri Nataraja tem- I (907-955) already had the roofof the sanctum covered
ple at Chidambaram (south India), the center of the with gold, and the god of Chidambaram, the Lord of
universe-first revealed to gods and ascetics (rishis) the Dance (Sri Nataraja), became the family deity of
after the submission of the ascetics in the forest of Tara- the Chola kings.
gam. It is this last dance that Coomaraswamy identifies In southern literature, the first definition of the three
with the particular dance pose called ananda-tandava attributes held by the Lord of the Dance-serpent,
(Figures 34-42). drum, and bowl of fire-occurs in a song of the Saiva
In medieval Saiva thought, the fivefold activities of hymnist Sundarar (first half of the ninth century); this
Siva were creation, preservation, destruction or ab- is repeated by Manikkavachakar (after 850), who is the
sorption, conferment of grace, and power of conceal- first to mention the term ananda-tandava.7I
a
ment or obscuration; they correspond to the activities The attempt has been made to interpret well-known
of Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Mahesvara, and Sadasiva. Indus Valley figurine72 as the dancing Siva, but the
To the believer, they are all expressed in the Nataraja figure is neither male nor a dancer and probably dates
icon.69 from a much later period.73 The famous bronze statu-
An early Tamil text says: "Creation arises from the ette ofa dancing girl from Mohenjo-Daro74 has a monu-
drum; protection proceeds from the hand of hope; mental quality and great beauty, but it cannot be used
from fire proceeds destruction; the foot held aloft gives as absolute proof that ritual dancing was already prac-
release." We remember that the fourth hand points to ticed at the time of the Indus Valley civilization. We
the raised foot; the flaming mandorla in this context do know that religious dancing was part of the earliest
signifies illusion. known Tamil traditions and that the Nataraja concept
As Coomaraswamy explains, Siva by his dancing de- was developed in the south. Among the oldest existing
stroys heavens and earth at the close of a world cycle. sculptures of the dancing Siva are the reliefs in the cave
of
He also destroys the fetters that bind each separate soul. temples Elephanta (near Bombay) and Ellora (cave
The heart of the believer is the burning-ground where XXI), which date from the late sixth or early seventh
is
the ego destroyed, where illusion and deeds are burnt century. Around A.D. 630, the image appears in cave I
away. Ananda means "bliss"; the perpetual dance is at Badami (in the southern Deccan) and in the Pallava
his play (lila). He dances to maintain the life of the south at Siyamangalam (near Kanchi).
cosmos and to give release to those who seek him. The last of these reliefs can perhaps be interpreted as
The essential significance of Siva's dance is threefold. a precursor of the ananda-tandava mode; the others
First, it is the image of his rhythmic play as the source show the god in the chatura or lalita pose in which both
of all movement within the cosmos, which is represented feet touch the ground. In the Pallava and Pandya tem-
is
by the arch. Secondly, the purpose of his dance is to re- ples of the eighth century the repertory enlarged by
lease the countless souls of men from the snares of illu- at least two more dance poses; the Dwarf of Ignorance
sion. Third, the place of the dance, Chidambaram, the (apasmara) now makes his appearance under the feet
center of the universe, is within the heart. of the divine dancer. The same pattern still prevails on
Thus, at its roots the dance of Siva is the manifesta- the earliest Chola temples, where the dancing Siva
tion ofprimal, rhythmic energy. is, as Coomaraswamy 69. Banerjea, Development, p. 446.
It
said, "the clearest image of the activity of God which 70. Harle, Temple Gateways, p. 29.
any art or religion can boast of." 7I. K. R. Srinivasan, "Some Aspects," p. I89.
72. H. R. Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia (New York, I955) pl.
Chidambaram (Tillai) was associated with the danc- 3 e; SirJohn Marshall, Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization (Lon-
ing Siva from very early times; the dance destroying the don, I931) I, p. 46, fig. i; Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology
three demons' fortresses in the skies was celebrated in 12 (I937) p. 4 and pls. i d-e.
73. Communication to The Oriental Club of New York by Pro-
song in the early eighth century by the hymnist Appar. fessor Eve Harrison on November 7, I956.
However, the particular legend quoted by Coomara- 74. Zimmer, Indian Asia, pl. 3 c.

62