Shivathandava
Detail Photos
Devas, bhoothaganas and sages gather around as onlookers. Shiva is the magnificent central figure with 16 arms each holding a weapon or other symbolic element. Shiva appears as Nataraja within a great circular aureole bordered by a repeating rosette medallion, his many arms fanned outward in a dynamic dance pose. His pale complexion and tall crown of matted locks are adorned with a small figure of Ganga, a crescent moon, and a miniature Nandi, while a serpent coils across his chest and arms. His attributes span a trident (trishula), a small hand-drum (damaru), a deer, a conch, a bowl, a stringed instrument, and a tongue of fire — several carried in hands ringed by snakes whose sinuous bodies double as the rays of the halo itself. He wears the flared, richly patterned lower garment characteristic of the dance, one leg raised mid-motion, the other planted on a small prostrate figure beneath his feet. Below the roundel, four celestial women stand in anjali mudra, flanked by Ganapathi at the lower left and a figure riding a peacock (likely Subrahmanya) at the lower right. Above, rows of divine witnesses look on, including a bearded ascetic playing a stringed instrument and several green-skinned attendant figures with folded hands.
