Page 35 - Stone and Bronze, Indian art of the Chola Dynasty, Metropolitan Museum, NYC

FIGURE 34 Nataraja, c. 950. Naltunai Isvaram temple, Punjai

FIGURE 35
Nataraja, 1030. Siva temple, Gangaikondachola-
puram

(Natesa) first occurs in one of the small relief panels75
or in a torana.76
The specific form of the Nataraja, i.e., Siva dancing
in the ananda-tandava mode, perhaps appears for the
first time in a torana of the Naltunai Isvaram temple
(c. 950) at Punjai (Figure 34).77 The lovely figure of
the dancing god is carved in very high relief and seems
to be freestanding. Three musicians are seated next to
him. The extraordinary arch, rising from the mouths
of two sea monsters, is made up of rows of horned lions
(vyalas), wild geese, and horsemen.
It is astonishing to see the perfection with which this
motif-so difficult for sculpture-is realized even at its
first appearance. The most likely explanation is that
the Nataraja in ananda-tandava mode was first devel-
oped in bronze and was only afterward translated into

75. Kandiyur (876), Srinivasanallur (895), Pullamangai (9Io).
76. Kilayur (884), Kumbakonam Nagesvara (886), Pullaman-
gai (9o1).
77. Barrett, Cola Bronzes, p. 8, notes as the first appearance the
torana figure at Tiruvaduturai; he dates the temple to 945. (Bala-
subrahmanyam, Early Chola Art, p. 254, interprets the inscriptions
in favor of a date of 909.)

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