The drum represents sound, a vehicle of speech, divine truth, and revelation. In his upper right hand, he holds an hourglass-shaped drum that beats the rhythm of his dance. Shiva’s multiple arms suggest protection over the worshiper. Shiva dances the eternal, ceaseless energy of the cosmos, setting forth all movement and change, creation and destruction. The image of Shiva Nataraja gives concrete expression to the Hindu idea of endless motion and change in the physical world. Shiva, god of time, destruction, and creation, is the most popular and dramatic of the Hindu deities.One of Shiva’s many names and guises is the evocative Shiva Nataraja, Lord of dance and cosmic movement. As a result, the artist’s use of symbols and the intricacy and quality of craftsmanship are more important than originality. ![]() Artists followed guidelines that determined size and proportions according to the deity’s hierarchical importance. ![]() Chola period sculptures conform to iconographic conventions, so sculptures from different centuries can look similar. The Chola rulers were great patrons of the arts and were deeply devoted to Shiva as Lord of the Dance. ![]() Many bronzes depicting Shiva Nataraja were produced in South India during the Chola Dynasty (880–1279). The artist who created this bronze Shiva is unknown.
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