The Cosmic Dance of Polarities

The dance of Destruction and Bliss - Tandava. 

The two polarities of the Shiva ( the lord of dance) Tandava, the divine dance.

Dance is a divine form of liberation from the circle of Samshara and to spread bliss.

Nataraja, the dancer aspect of Shiva expresses himself wonderfully in the two kinds of Tandava, you might have heard this rhythm* and seen the statue.
Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of Creation, Preservation and Dissolution.

The two different tandava are the "Rudra T." and the "Ananda T."

The Rudra Tandava represents the disruptive force of Shiva in his most vicious form to suppresse the anger that germinates deep within.
Shiva annihilates the Evil that seeks refuge within you to make you worthy of attaining samadi and allow the arrival of the new in the physical world.

Ananda Tandava is a dance of bliss, where the intrinsic nature of Shiva emerges from the state of ecstasy deep within and which is untouched from the mundane world. This dance can be performed to express the purest form of pleasure and power of self love and ultimately to spread vigorous positivity all around. 

*https://youtu.be/_crtZ3lSXqY

Om Namashivaya



More content about the dance culture here and the religious text of Natya Shatra.

Asho, the great number-

Dance, the great expression.

The Natya Shastra is considered the foundation of fine arts in India.

It discusses a wide range of topics, from a detailed analysis of musical scales and movements to an analysis of dance forms and their effect on the viewer.

The ‘Natya Shastra’ posits that drama originated because of the conflicts arosed when the world declined from the Golden Age (Kŗta Yuga) of harmony.

With sophisticated accuracy the art performer inspires the audience through the staircase of bhavas, the imitations of emotions, and leading their rasas (emotional responses). 

The ashto, eight, basic bhavas are: love, humor, energy, anger, fear, grief, disgust and astonishment.

In observing and imagining these emotions, the audience experiences eight principal responses, or rasas: love, pity, anger, disgust, heroism, awe, terror and comedy.