#kailasanath

[kailasanath]

Śiva Naṭarāja – Naṭeśwara

A spectacular larger than life image of Lord Śiva performing Ānanda – Tāṇḍava – the cosmic dance of bliss, flanked by the Devī, Śiva-gaṇas stand around in adoration while celestial beings Devas, Yakṣas and Gandharvas watch from the heavens.

Panel on Kailāsanātha Temple

Cave 16, Ellora

Raśṭrakūṭa

era, mid-eighth century CE, 725 CE - 755 CE

[kailasanath]

Naṭarāja Naṭeśwara

Lord Śiva Mahādeva dancing the cosmic tāṇḍava. One of the few surviving original paintings.

Maṇḍapa if the Kailāsa Temple, Cave 16, Ellora

Raśṭrakūṭa era, mid-eighth century CE, 725 CE - 755 CE

[kailasanath]

Lord Śiva Mahadeva rescuing Mārkaṇḍeya

Lord Śiva emerging from the Śivaliñga to thwart Yamarāja the God of Death as he tries to deprive the child-sage Mārkaṇḍeya of his life, earning him the epithet Yamāntaka. This is from a series of bas reliefs in the storeyed galleries surrounding the main temple.

Kailasanātha, cave 16, Ellora

Raśṭrakūṭa era, mid 8th century CE, 725 CE - 755 CE

[arjuna-vallabha]

Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

[kailasanath]

Lord Śiva Naṭarāja

Panel outside Kailāsanatha Temple, Cave 16, Ellora, circa 757-783 CE

[kailasanath]

Episodes from the Epic Mahābhārata

Almost like an ancient comic strip cut in rock.

Panel outside the Kailāsanātha Temple, Cave 16, Ellora, 8th Century CE

[kailasanath]

The River Deities – Gañgā, Yamunā and Saraswati

Bas reliefs on the left the outer corridor, Kailāsanātha Temple (Cave 16), Ellora, 757 – 783 CE

[kailasanath]

Rāvaṇānugṛha – Lord Śiva being merciful towards Rāvaṇa the rākṣasa king

And so it came to pass that the ten armed Rāvaṇa, rākṣasa king of great might, filled with pried attempted to verily uproot Mount Kailāśa, the abode of Lord Śiva. Then the great God, Mahādeva pushed the great mountain back in place with a mere twitch of his big toe and trapped Rāvaṇa beneath it. Rāvaṇa, his pride crushed, sang praises to Lord Śiva, some say for a thousand years. The ever merciful Lord, pleased with this act of humility and submission released Rāvaṇa and also blessed him with his ātma-liñga.

This theme is very popular in Śaivite art, depicted above in, a modern day diorama at Murudeśwar, an intricate bas-relief at Halebidu, Karnataka (circa 12th Century CE), and in the massive rock-cut megalith of Kailāśanātha Temple at Ellora, Maharashtra (circa 8th Century).