One of the first statues I remember as a child is the iconic bronze statue or Shiva standing on an asura with a circle of flames. So what does Nataraj mean? Nataraja or Nataraja, the dancing form of Lord Shiva. 'Nataraja' means 'King of Dancers' (Sanskrit nata = dance; raja = king). Shiva is shown as dancing on an halo of flames, lifting His left leg and balancing himself of the demon Apasmara who is a symbol of ignorance. The upper right hand holds a 'dumroo' that stands for the male-female vital principle, the lower shows the gesture of assertion to be without fear. As a symbol, Shiva Nataraja is a glorious art form. 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.
