Indian Bronze Sculpture at the Art Institute Chicago - Essay Example

King Shiva Nataraj: Lord of Dance 2008 Thesis ment King Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, embodies the core of Hindu culture and belief that life is all about creation and destruction. The symbolism in this statue, depicts this central idea of life that all others stem from, including the very origin of the dance itself. In Hinduism, the Trimurti, or the trio of the great gods, is represented by Brahma - the Creator -, Vishnu - the Preserver - and Shiva - the Destroyer. Between the three of them, the Gods depict the lifecycle of all species. Although Shiva, the "angry god", is often equated with darkness and death, he is also the transformer and protector of the soul which is recreated once more by Brahma. In that sense, Shiva is also the deity of reproduction. Because of the association with death and anger, Shiva is the most-feared god in Hindu religion and at the same time, is the epitome of love and salvation. Shiva is also the Mahayogi, the greatest ascetic who through his intense meditation breaks the barriers for the river Ganga to flow down to the plains from his abode in Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. His love for his consort, Parvati, is intense and depicts the tense relationship between man and woman (1stholic). The symbolism in Shiva's physical features depicts the earthly life cycle. The torrent of the Ganga river that Shiva brings about through his meditation flow as Shiva's locks of hair, thereafter transforming into the seven big rivers in the land. Among the physical attributes of Lord Shiva, other than the cobra (symbolizing worldly forces), a skull (implying Shiva as lord of finale) and the mermaid Ganga also find the falcate moon (the container of the holy nectar). Shiva wears two earrings - the right ear has a Linga or male earring and the left ear has a Yoni or female earring. The image, in other words, is androgynous and includes both male and female. Shiva has four arms and two feet, the body carrying strap and ornaments of the classical dancer. Rising out of Apasmara is the "circle of fire" (the Prabha Mandala), namely, the real circle of creation--this observed world where we are placed in. Lastly, the whole image sits on a lotus base, lotus being a symbol of cleanliness growing out of the dim waters of the mysterious (Objectives For Myths, indiana.edu). Shiva, the lord of the Lingam (or sexuality), the husband of Shakti-Devi (or Parvati), is also Nataraja, King of Dance, who transforms man into a higher level. In Hindu philosophy, dancing is considered as an art form in which the dancer is metamorphosed into a being gifted with extraordinary powers. The dance, like yoga, generates daze, elation, the experience of the celestial, the self- realization ("atmanam biddhi") and, lastly, uniting with the godly spirit. The dance, in Hindu societies, has grown along with the remarkable rigors of the meditation - fasting, breathing exercises, total withdrawal. To work magic upon others, one has to be fascinated oneself and dance is an act of creation, resulting in a new state and taking the dancer to a new and higher persona, stirring dormant energies to mold the world (Zimmer, Philosophies of India). The typical Nataraj is shown with four hands, two on either side, the upper left hand gripping a flame, the lower left hand indicating down to the devil Muyalaka, or dwarf (Apasmara) symbolizing unawareness, shown to be holding a cobra. The demon is trampled by Shiva's right foot and the other foot is lifted. The upper right hand clutches a drum, the lower one is in the abhaymudra ('be without fear'). The hair is plaited and jeweled, some of his locks reeling as he dances; inside the crinkles of his hair are a coiled cobra, a skull, and the form of Ganga, the Hindu holy river. The whole figure stands on a lotus plinth bordered by a ring of flames, touched by the hands gripping the drum and the fire (Coomaraswamy, 1957). The dance represents five activities: Shrishti (creation, progress); Sthiti (conservation, maintainence); Samhara (annihilation, fruition); Tirobhava (delusion); and Anugraha (freedom, unrestraint, elegance). The implication of every aspect of Shiva is provided by many religious texts, such as the Chidambara Mummani Kovai: "O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of thy creation. All these worlds are transformed by Thy hand bearing fire. Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils of causality. It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to those that approach Thee. These Five- Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork." (as cited in page 66-78, Coomaraswamy, 1957) The hourglass like drum that Shiva carries is called a damaru in Sanskrit and Udukkai in Tamil. The holding gesture (mudra) is called damaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "damaru-hand"), representing sound of Creation (Michaels, Apte, Jansen). The upper left hand that holds Agni or fire implies annihilation. So, these two hands together represent a syntheis of two opposing ideas --of creation and destruction. The Abhaya mudra (meaning fearlessness) grants defense against both malevolence and unawareness to those who follow thepath of dharma, usually defined as virtue or duty, the standard of rectitude, the principle of piety and of unity (Sri Swami Sivananda). The second left hand indicating the lifted foot signifies strengthening and deliverance. As Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava. Shiva, with his long, plaited hair generally tied in a knot, slacks and crashes into the celestial bodies, devastating them totally. The flames around him stand for Creation. The snake twirling around his waist is kundalini, the Shakti or celestial force thought to be staying inside everything. The indifferent or unaffected face of Shiva shows that he remains detached and in balance (Michaels, Apte , Jansen). According to legends, in the forest of Taragam in the south of India, a group of sacrilegious Rishis (saints), through their harmful miraculous power, stole the forces of creation --sun, moon, water, etc. The gods needed to prevent this damage. Yet, Brahma and Vishnu realized that they were not strong enough to do so. Shiva, however, was willing to face these demons and went to the forest to refute them. The black magicians gathered around a fire and started their magical chants when Shiva arrived, first invoking out of the holy fire a dreadful tiger that attacks Shiva, who however, shredded its skin with his fingernail, draping himself in the tiger skin and moved toward the sorcerers.They, then, called up from the fire a serpent that advanced to attack Shiva, but, again, Shiva just clutched it, spun it around his head, put it on himself as a sort of band and continued to move toward the sorcerers.Lastly, the sorcerers summoned a small, dirty dwarf who started to proceed towards Shiva to attack him thinking that such dirt would certainly push the unsullied Lord to vacate. Instead, Shiva lifted up the dwarf and flinging it on to the ground, crushed its back and started to perform his Dance of Creation, in order to restore the world order after defeating the demonic forces of annihilation. In ancient Indian religion and philosophy, all arts depict like stages of life. Art is devoted to a life shaped by faith. The theory of Indian Dance cannot be separated from the arts of literature, sculpture, painting and music. Dance is the cadenced physical movement impelled by feelings and emotions. Being the supreme art, dance has its scope holding all aspects of life. From the earliest times to the 16th Century, the Indian sculptor appears to be charmed by the lively energy of the Indian dance. The bond between the dance and sculpture is re-stated by the Silpa ratnakara (sculpton). The various sthanas and karanas (places and reasons) essential in natyya (acting) are equally essential in sculpture in which the splendor of the position is as important as the prettiness of the form and abhinaya (acting). The irresistible sculptural attributes of Indian dance is evident in the way in which it appears to reach the ideal pose, balancing after a series of changes. The ancient Indian sculptors tried to seize this celestial movement through precise rhythms and lines and capturing the joyful passion of natya. Dance has inspired the sculpture intensely. The basic principle in both these arts is to fill space on the strength of balance and proportion, the primary need being beauty. According to Sangitaratnakara, the success of a dance performance depends on nothing but splendor which has a parallel in sculpture. Nataraja is flawless in aesthetic terms in India. The majesty of the idea of Siva as a celestial dancer is a fusion of science, religion and art, with Nataraja the Lord of dance as its greatest proponent. His dance implies three things (1) It is the source of all changes within the universe; (2) The point is to liberate form the traps of illusion; (3) The place of dance, is in the heart. The dance represents 1) creation and growth, 2) continuation and defense, 3) devastation and involution and 4) incarnation of souls - Tribhava. Nataraja is the personification of tala, the unit of size, referred in both Silpa sastra (aesthetics of art) and Natya sastra (aesthetics of theater) of space in sculpture and space and time in dance. Pramana (evidence) is the area of proportion in sculpture and Kalpramana, the cadence in dance. The brilliant Nataraja temple at Chidambaram with its main towers adorned with a series of sculptures stands for 108 karanas, confirmed by the religious texts (Leela Ganapathy, Spiritual Dance). It is believed that the Dance of Shiva was performed at this site. The Gupta Empire (240 to 550 CE) in northern India is considered to be the Golden Age of Hindu Arts. The peace and prosperity that prevailed during the reign of Gupta rulers, who are thought to have come to power from outside the royal lineage, supported the flourish of the arts, particularly architecture, sculpture and painting. Most significant are the Buddhist arts in Sarnath and the Ajanta caves. The style of sculptures, typically in cash bronze, is differentiated by the rounded shapes and curved lines. When first researching this piece on the bronze sculpture of King Nataraja at the Art Museum at Chicago, I knew that symbolism ran deep in the Hindu psyche, religion and mythology. I wanted to research on the symbolism that this piece of sculpture that was created in the Gupta period and uncover a truly original beginning - the real reason why this statue is so significant and abundant. I realized that this sculpture in essence signified the entire Hindu belief of life's creation, destruction and recreation. Works Cited Burgher, Elijah, School Arts, May, 2006 by Shiva as Lord of the Dance, retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6631/is_200605/ai_n26611112 Zimmer, Heinrich , "Philosophies of India." Retrieved from http://www.deeshaa.org/tandava-shivas-cosmic-dance/ Coomaraswamy , Ananda K.The Dance of Shiva", in, The Dance of Shiva: Fourteen Indian Essays, rev. ed. ,New York: NoondayPress, 1957, 66-78. Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Jansen, Eva Rudy (1993). The Book of Hindu Imagery. Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications Ganapathy,Leela , Spiritual Dance: : Dance in Spiritual Indian Art, Journal of Indian History and Culture Focus; Indian Art, September 1996 C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research., retrieved from http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Spiritual_Dance/id/4158 Objectives For Myths, Narratives and Meditation, retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/isp/cd_rom/mod_05/mod_05.htm Shiva, God of Destruction, http://1stholistic.com/Prayer/Hindu/hol_Hindu-Shiva.htm Read More