Nataraj Motupalli Prakasam District in this fine bronze of the Chola period, Shiva is seen as supreme god and the Lord of dance Nataraja. The God is shown in the Nandatandava. The upper right hand he holds a drum, representing the primordial sound of creation. The upper left hand who is the flame of destruction, that both destroys and cleanse the impurity of the soul, indicating the overcoming of opposites in his nature that are symbolised by both female and male earrings. He makes the gesture ‘have no fear’, and points to his raised left foot, symbolising release or place to refuse and salvation for the worshipper. He treads upon the prostrate dwarf of ignorance, illusion Apasmara and the sense of ego which a devotee must overcome. The diminutive figure of the goddess Ganga appears in his flowing hair. The god maintains an exquisite poise and equanimity at the centre of the world and circle of cosmic activity, symbolised by the flaming circle. #CholaPeriod #Bronze #Splendid #Precise #Gods #GodsOfIndia #Nataraja #Shiva #ShivShankar #Hindu #Hinduism #HinduMythology #GodsOfDance #Creation #Destruction #StateArchaeologicalMuseum #MuseumsOfIndia #Hyderabad #HyderabadDiaries #HyderabadJournal #Telangana #India #Wanderer #Wanderlust #Travel #Travelogue #TravelDiaries (at State Archaeological Museum, Hyderabad)