How Did Lord Shiva Get the Name Natraj?

 

Lord Shiva is a cosmic dancer, the dance performed by him is called “Tandava”. In India Lord Shiva is widely famous as Nataraja, Masterpiece Nataraja Bronze Sculpture is a famous statue of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. 

You can see many Nataraja sculptures in Hindu temples in Mainly in South India. 

There are temples specifically made for the Nataraja form of Lord Shiva.  The Thillai Nataraja Temple is sometimes called the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple.

It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, a manifestation of Shiva associated with dance.  This temple is situated in the Indian city of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. Where this temple now stands was a Shiva shrine when the village was still known as Thillai.

Meaning Of Nataraja:

Shiva, the Hindu deity, is known as Nataraja when he is portrayed as the cosmic dancer and the patron god of the performing arts. Nata means "dancing" and raja means "king" in Sanskrit. 

Nataraja thus means "lord of the dance." Nataraja represents the common idea that Shiva is the one who creates, preserves, and destroys. He is frequently seen surrounded by a fire arch, signifying both samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth) and the cosmic fire that both consumes and generates everything.

Lord Shiva has 19 different avatars, including 11 Rudra avatars. He is frequently portrayed as a skillful warrior, with the exception of the Brahmachari avatar.

The most potent Hindu deity is Nataraja, who symbolizes the fusion of nature and the Divine. Nataraja performs a cosmic dance known as the ananda tandava, or "dance of bliss."

Story Of Getting Named As Nataraja:

There are many stories of the Nataraja form of Lord Shiva in the Puranas. One of them is this-

There was once a competition between Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva in which both had to show their best dance and expression. The final decision of this competition was to be made by Lord Vishnu. 

Lord Shiva gave his expression and danced with the natural form very skillfully and simply from the incarnation of the dancer. Seeing the dance of Lord Shiva, all the deities and sages were mesmerized.

Seeing this, Goddess Kali also danced and expressed her skillfully in every posture. But Lord Shiva showed his pastimes during this time. To become the winner of this competition, he dipped his feet in kumkum and put them on the forehead of Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali was surprised to see all this.

She could not do this to Lord Shiva as she was his wife. In such a situation, Goddess Kali stopped her dance smiling. At the end of the competition, Lord Vishnu declared Shiva the winner and gave him the title of “Nataraja”.

Shiva Nataraja with Shivakami Bronzes statue of Shivakami and Nataraja. They are the deity couple at the Nataraja temple of Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu.

Second Story:

One of the stories states that there were ascetics known as Darukavana or Daruvana who lived in the forest. They engaged in rigorous austerities, penance, and meditation and attained great power. However, this made them conceited, and they started to lose their virtue and engage in unscrupulous tactics. 

Lord Shiva made the decision to reprimand them and guide them back to the right path. In his Nataraja form, he came in front of them and started dancing happily. They made a vicious tiger and sent it to attack the Lord since they saw this as a grave affront to the ascetics. Nataraja, however, did nothing more than tame the animal, skin it, and dress it in its hide.

They were so shocked that they sent a monstrous serpent that the Lord wore as a priceless ornament around his neck. The ascetics then imprisoned a dangerous demon named Apasmara inside a dwarf and let him loose on Lord Shiva. 

The demon's back was broken as the Lord continued his dance by treading on him directly. The reprimanded ascetics repented of their errors, comprehended the majesty of the Lord, and submitted completely to Nataraja. 

The form that is described in this story, on which many Natraja statues are based, like, Ashtabhuja Tandava Nartana Shiva Nataraja. In this statue, you can see Lord Shiva As Natraja standing upon Apasmara the demon. 

Other Tales:

In accordance with another legend, a few sages offered penance to Lord Shiva in Chidambaram with the hope of seeing the Lord perform his glorious dance and receive the feet of a tiger.

For the benefit of the tiger-footed sage Vyaagrapada, the Lord provided for his needs and performed the cosmic dance in Chidambaram.

Another legend states that Shiva took on the Nataraja avatar and performed the dance to appease Lord Vishnu and Adi Sesha, his serpent couch.

Conclusion:

Hinduism holds that Lord Nataraja performs this cosmic dance to create, preserve, and dissolve the universe. It is believed that the shape of his physique symbolizes these profound actions. Nataraja is dancing and balancing the powers of the universe when a placid smile appears on his face, denoting his serenity.