— Auguste Rodin, The Dance of Shiva - A Study on The Tiruvalangadu Nataraja at Madras Museum

His dance is the dance of the cosmos, the eternal rhythm of the universe. The circle of flames represents the cyclical nature of the cosmos, creation and destruction with Shiva being the center of it all. The artist is a ingeniously combines the two seemingly antithetical elements of Shiva’s dance, the tremendous frenzied activity of the universe with his calmness, his complete tranquility. His facial expression shows supreme bliss and wonderful poised, his raised leg gives him a wonderful sense balance and grace. Shiva himself represents your own fundamental consciousness, which is the center of all this activity.

In his right hand he’s holding a drum, a Damaru, representing the rhythm of creation and his left hand a flame representing destruction, which balance each other out perfectly. He points at his foot, bent slightly giving him a wonderful sense of balance, and the little, hideous dwarf being crushed beneath. This dwarf represents ignorance, or illusion, or Maya; the small and selfishly absorbed part of yourself blinding you from perceiving the true nature of the universe. That you are not separate from all the gyrations of atoms and molecules which make up the universe, that you are the great dance of Shiva. You are aloof, you are and are made of the cosmos. When you crush the illusion of separateness, see through it, you will be released from bondage and achieve Yoga, Union with Shiva and Know Thyself.

(Adapted from V.S. Ramachandran’s Neurology and the Passion for Art lecture)

ॐ नमः शिवाय