The dance of Shiva symbolises the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, birth and death.

His dance is therefore the dance of the Universe.

The parallel is seen in modern physics, which has shown that the cycle of creation and destruction is not only reflected in the turn of seasons and in the birth and death of living creatures but is also the very essence of inorganic matter.

The poet sings:
With each step
He took He scattered stars in space
With each movement of his outstretched arms He enveloped space and time
With his long hair flying in the wind He dances in ecstasy to the delight of his devotees

These words are reflected almost like a mirror image in painstakingly crafted images in stone and bronze. Shiva in a dancing pose is known the world over as Nataraja, The King Of Dance.

For centuries, our culture has accepted that the dance of Shiva is the dance of life, myths, symbolism, mystic responses and philosophical explanations all merely add to the strength of such belief in a power that transcends the merely mortal and when the human dancer enacts this act encompassing concept, he or she only makes a humble offering of acknowledgment.

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