Cosmic Dance of Lord Shiva

Living and non- living beings undergo the cycle of birth and death.

Continuous creation and destruction  are the laws of nature.

Lord Shiva's dance is considered to symbolise the eternal life and death rhythm.

Hindus believe that this creation and destruction rhythm goes on for ever.

" Shiva's dance " is considered to be the dance of sub-atomic matters,

It is a continual dance of ' creation ( sristi ) and destruction ( samhara) '.

Shiva is called ' Nataraja ( king of dancers )' .

During Chola period ( 880-1270 AD) artists  came out with a beautiful bronze statue.

This bronze statue of Nataraja depicts Ananda Tandavam ( dance of bliss )

It is the dance associated with the creation of the universe.

Rudra Tandavam of Nataraja depicts the destruction of the universe.

Both the Tandavams of Shiva alternately go on for ever.

When Brahma , the creator goes to sleep, Shiva starts his Rudra Tandavam.

The universe starts to get itself destroyed, it shrinks and goes to the zero size.

When Brahma awakens, Shiva goes for his Ananda Thandavam,

Then Brahma starts his assignment of ' creation' .

The bronze  statue of  dancing Shiva of Chola period is considered as a great marvel.

The four hands represent the rhythm of unity of life.

Upper hand holds a drum to symbolise the primal sound ( Om ) of creation.

Left hand holds  a flame  to symbolise the destruction.

Lord Shiva's statue also symbolises the dance of sub- atomic particles in an atom.

An atom is the net work of its sub- atomic particles- electron , neutron and proton.

The sub-atomic particles cannot be separated. They are performing energy dance in an atom.

If this atomic energy dance is disturbed by destroying it, enormous energy is released.

Shiva's dance is the dance of cosmic energy. It is a dance of sub - atomic matter.

It is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the entire Cosmos.

One of the books says, " Hundreds of years ago Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shiva

------The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies mythology, religious art and modern physics ."

Fritjof Capra had a written book which is an  International best seller by name,' The Tao of Physics ',

He writes , " Every subatomic  particle not only does an energy dance, but  also  is an energy dance  

pulsating process of creation and destruction...without end..for modern physicists, 

then Shiva's dance is the dance of Sub-atomic matter."

He writes ," The dance of Shiva is the dancing universe, the ceaseless flow of energy going through 

an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another."

In 2004 , The European Centre for Research In Particle Physics ( CERN ), Geneva had unveiled

A two meter tall statue of Nataraja (  Dancing Shiva ) representing the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction.

Carl Sagan (US) , the great American astronomer drew the metaphor between the cosmic dance of the Nataraja

and the modern study of cosmic dance of sub-atomic particles.

Rush Peel writes-

The source of all movements,

Shiva's dance.

Gives rhythm to the universe.

He dances in evil places,

In sacred,

He creates and preserves,

Destroys and releases.

We are part of this dance,

This eternal rhythm,

And woe to us if, blinded

By illusions.

We detach from ourselves,

From the dancing cosmos,

This universal harmony.

The  bronze statue made during  the Chola kingdom  about  thousand years ago is associated with modern physics.

How the  great sculptors of those days of Tamil Nadu were able to bring  symbolically the modern physics into it ?

Where did they learn modern physics ?

I am confused.