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interesting Hindu dancing god


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Maybe many people -- especially on this board -- already know this, but I just found out today, and I thought it might be of interest on this board. In Hinduism, one of the manifestation of the god Shiva is Natraj or Nataraja, the god of dance who dances the universe into existence. Here is a link to a fairly simplistic site about Nataraja; I like the image, which most of us have seen for years but which I never had a name for before: http://www.indianartcraft.com/shiva-king-of-dancer.htm

I am not proselytizing, by the way! Am not a Hindu -- obviously, since I only just found out about this major god -- but am interested in symbols. I love the image of a deity who continually sustains all of creation by dancing.

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It is my understanding, though, that Shiva also dances all life out of existence, so he is sometimes considered the god of both creation and destruction. Like a lot of religion, life is seen as cyclical, so it makes sense that both birth and death are governed by the same deity.

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I thought Kali was the god of red paint who wanted the sacrificial ring from Ringo in HELP! - but seriously, if you look at most dancing shiva statues, he is circled by flames because the fire that creates and purifies also destroys. (I actually know more about the elephant god, but no one ever suggested he was a dancer!)

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I went back on the Indian art site posted by Balletmomma and much to my suprise there is a painting of Ganesha, the elephant god, a story of his dancing, and a painting of him in a position that approximates sur le cou pied! Brahma says to him "Surely you are a son of Shiva! . . . You will be known by people as the Master of the Dance. All who perform this art in town and in city, in temple and in court, must first invoke your blessing." So I stand corrected!

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