Study Spot
Customized learning paths based on interests
11th century. As a symbol, Shiva Nataraja is a brilliant invention. It combines in a single image Shiva's roles as creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe and conveys the Indian conception of the never-ending cycle of time.
The blissful Nataraja, dancing the world into being
The origins of Nataraja, and of the Hindu god Shiva himself, lie thousands of years ago. However, the form we recognise best today may have reached its apex around the 9th or 10th century in southern India: The Ananda Tandava, or blissful dance.