Nataraj

Do you know who your worst enemy is? 

It is ignorance and a lack of true wisdom.

"The epitome of ignorance and heresy is Apasmara. He is one of the immortal demons who has been there from the beginning of creation, corrupting the thoughts and actions of people forever. Even though Apasmara, also called Muyalakan, has existed from the beginning, he is still frail and powerless due to the knowledge imparted by the Vedas. Apasmara can never be killed but must be subdued with true knowledge to maintain the balance between ignorance and wisdom. One who gets possessed by Apasmara speaks gibberish and acts against the teachings of the Vedas", so says the Guru.

Image by Lathish MV from Pixabay

In the past, the Taragram forest was home to thousands of rishis. With time, they deviated from the path of true dharma and started to practice heresy. As a result, Apasmara began to grow stronger day by day. Under the influence of the demon, they forgot the teachings of the Vedas. They began to value the worldly pleasures of their mortal bodies more and more as they came to believe that the gods did not exist. They soon formed a new cult and began persuading people to follow them. 

A time came when Apasmara became so powerful that he started to threaten the authority of the Vedas. Thus, Lord Shiva decided to intervene. He appeared in the disguise of a young, attractive hermit, accompanied by Lord Vishnu as Mohini. They entered the forest as man and wife. As Shiva walked among them without wearing any cloth, the wives of those rishis got attracted to the youth and masculinity of Shiva, whereas rishis were mesmerized by the beauty of Mohini. The rishis grew infuriated by the action of Shiva and the infatuation of their wives towards him. They decided to slay him and get Mohini for themselves. 

But they could feel that the young yogi was not an ordinary person. Thus they conducted a ritual, and from their sacrificial alter appeared a fearsome tiger. They sent the tiger to devour Shiva. But instead, Shiva killed the tiger, flayed him, and wore the skin around his waist. The rishis were stunned to see that, and they decided to send some venomous snakes to poison Shiva. The Lord picked up the snakes and braided them with his matted hair as ornaments. As the rishis were taken aback by this action, Apasmara himself appeared from the alter in the form of a dark dwarf equipped with a spiked mace. 

Apasmara rushed at Shiva, intending to strike him violently. However, Shiva responded swiftly, causing Apasmara to fall on the ground. Shiva rapidly climbed up the dwarf's back. He placed his right foot on his back and began to dance elegantly. As Shiva continued his dance (tandava), two additional hands appeared on his body. After seeing the magnificent dance, the rishis and their wives all became conscious again. They went back to heed the Vedic teachings. Apasmara's power declined as he was subdued. 

Shiva's prowess in dancing led him being referred to as Nataraj. His dance was witnessed by both gods and demons with amazement. From that day on, Shiva continued to perform his daily tandava (dancing) at Thillai in Chidambaram in order to keep Apasmara in subjugation forever. 

As Nataraj, shiva's right rear arm holds a damaru or udukkai, which creates celestial sound or nada; his left rear arm contains fire for purification of the soul; the right front arm is in Avaya Mudra to protect his devotees; and the left front arm and elevated left leg symbolize liberation. Nataraj is encircled by an elliptical boundary, which signifies the influence of maya, or illusion. The tandava dance signifies both creation and destruction. During Ananda-tandava, Shiva creates the universe, and he appears as a pleasant Satchidananda swarup (purest form). During Rudra tandava, he brings destruction and calamity. But there are seven distinct danceforms of Shiva-tandavas. They are Ananda-tandava, Gouri-tandava, Uma-tandava, Tripura-tandava, Sandhya-tandava, Kalika-tandava, and Samhara-tandava. There are 32 Angaharas and 108 Karanas (hand-leg coordinated movements) to define these danceforms.

Mohini

Lord Vishnu appeared as Mohini a number of times in mythology. First to slay the Bhasmasura, then after samudra manthana to distribute Amrita among the devas, and then, to give birth to Lord Ayyappa. As Shiva danced as Nataraj after subduing Apasmara, Mohini also witnessed the glorious dance of Shiva. The feminine form of tandava is lasya. In contrast to tandava, which is a more aggressive danceform, lasya is much more gentle and erotic in nature. Though the lasya danceform is credited to Devi Parvati, the consort of Shiva, the Mohiniyattam dance form of Kerala (also a lasya danceform) is attributed to Mohini, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.