Tandava (also spelled as Tāṇḍavam ), also known as Tāṇḍava Natyam , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva . Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja .
19-707: Chittar River and its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tenkasi district in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India . Together with its tributaries and streams, the Chittar River serves as an important source of irrigation for the region and is a major tributary of the Tambaraparani River along with the Manimuthar River . The Chittar has several tributaries which include
38-630: A reservoir provided by an anicut , feeding about 142 hectares (350 acres). The next tributary has seven anicuts and a reservoir and irrigates about 465 hectares (1,150 acres) of land altogether. This pattern continues as each tributary and other contributing rivers has anicuts and reservoirs that provide irrigation for the adjacent land. The Chittar River itself has 17 anicuts irrigating about 8,903 hectares (22,000 acres) of land. It eventually joins with Thamirabarani river . 8°51′N 77°49′E / 8.850°N 77.817°E / 8.850; 77.817 This Tamil Nadu location article
57-631: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in India is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Courtallam Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of 160 m (520 ft) in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu , India . The Coutrallam Falls on the Chittar River
76-548: Is a major tourist attraction. As of 2001 India census , Courtallam had a population of 2,368. Males constitute 41% of the population and females 59%. Courtallam has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78% and, female literacy is 74%. 7% of the population is under 6 years of age. Located in the Western Ghats, Courtallam is part of the Agasthiamalai range,
95-635: Is also often used. Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi have variants of Krishna dancing his Tandava on Kaliya. The Manipuri dance is categorized as either "Tandava" (vigorous, usually go with Shiva, Shakti or Krishna as warrior-savior themed plays) or lasya (delicate, usually go with love stories of Radha and Krishna). In the Krishna Tandava in Raslila performance of Manipuri dance is graceful yet with swift movement and acrobatic gestures. The 108 karanas of Tandava have inspired Shiva sculptures of
114-569: Is located near the town. The Kutralanatha swamy temple is the location of Chitra Sabha , one of the five sabhas of Nataraja, a form of Lord Shiva. Pancha Sabhai Sthalangal refers to the temples of Nataraja, a form of the Hindu god Shiva where he performed the Cosmic Dance Tandava . The temple at the foot of the hill is conch-shaped which has special significance in Hindu tradition. Tamil poet Thirukudarasappa Kavirayar sang about
133-486: Is said to have performed the Tandava in honour of Rishabha (Jain tirthankar) on the latter's birth. The similarly correlated Buddhist deity Acala is shown in some depictions to trample upon Vighnarāja, a demon of obstacles, in the manner of Tandava. In Kathak dance three types of Tandavas are generally used, they are, Krishna Tandava, Shiva Tandava and Ravana Tandava, but sometimes a fourth variety - Kalika Tandava,
152-732: The Aintharuviar (joining near Gajamajorpuram ), the Gundar which joins near Tenkasi , the Hanumanathi joining in Thayar Thoppu near Veerakeralampudur and the Aluthakanniar which merges in the village of Kadapagothi . The Chittar runs for about 80 kilometres (50 mi) before it meets with its first tributary which has an anicut and irrigates about 293 hectares (720 acres) of land. One of its next tributaries has
171-555: The Natya Shastra ) in the use of Angaharas and Karanas modes of the Tandava at Shiva's order. Some scholars consider that Tandu himself must have been the author of an earlier work on the dramatic arts , which was incorporated into the Natya Shastra. The Natya Shastra portrays Shiva narrating about the various aspects of the dance to the god Brahma . The 32 Angaharas and 108 Karanas are discussed by Bharata in
190-536: The Rudra Tandava depicts his violent nature, first as the creator and later as the destroyer of the universe, even of death itself, the Ananda Tandava depicts him as joyful. In Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, Shiva as Nataraja (lit. "King of dance" ) is considered to be supreme lord of dance. Tandava takes its name from Tandu ( taṇḍu ), the attendant of Shiva, who instructed Bharata (author of
209-503: The Sandhya Tandava , the other gods like Brahma , Vishnu , Sarasvati , Lakshmi and Indra play musical instruments and sing Shiva's praises. The Shiva Tandava Stotra is a stotra (Hindu hymn) that describes Shiva's power and beauty, believed to have been written by Ravana , a great devotee of Shiva. Ganesha , the son of Shiva, is depicted as Ashtabhuja tandavsa nritya murtis (Eight armed form of Ganesha dancing
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#1732801402652228-402: The 4th chapter of the Natya Shastra, Tandava Lakshanam . Karana is the combination of hand gestures with feet to form a dance posture. Angahara is composed of seven or more Karanas. "How many various dances of Shiva are known to His worshipers I cannot say. No doubt the root idea behind all of these dances is more or less one and the same, the manifestation of primal rhythmic energy. Whatever
247-603: The Tandava) in temple sculptures. The Bhagavata Purana talks of Krishna dancing his Tandava on the head of the serpent Kaliya . King Chikka Devaraja (the fourteenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore ) minted a series of gold coins called "Devaraja [with] the image of dancing Krishna" ( tandava krishnamurti devaraja ) to commemorate his coronation. Purandara Dasa calls the dancing Krishna ("Nritya Krishna") as "Tandava Krishna". According to Jain traditions, Indra
266-458: The beauty of this place in his "Kutraala Kuravanji". Kurumpalaveesar, sung in Tevaram was done by Sambandar . It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams . Owing to its natural setting, Courtallam has featured in many films. Tandava The Natya Shastra , a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, describes various aspects of the Tandava. Tandava, as performed in
285-529: The feminine version of Tandava. There are two types of Lasya, Jarita Lasya and Yauvaka Lasya. The Hindu scriptures narrate various occasions when Shiva performed the Tandava. When Sati (first wife of Shiva, who was reborn as Parvati) gave up her life in Daksha's sacrifice , Shiva is said to have performed the Rudra Tandava to express his grief and anger. The Shivapradosha stotra says when Shiva performs
304-466: The mountain bearing the name of sage Agastya who is believed to have lived in the area. The closest town to Courtallam is Tenkasi at 5 km (3.1 mi). The closest airports are Tuticorin Airport (91 km away )and Trivandrum International Airport (122 km away) Madurai International Airport (162 km). The nearest railway station is at Tenkasi , 5 km (3.1 mi) away. Courtallam Falls
323-463: The origins of Shiva's dance, it became in time the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of." - Ananda Coomaraswamy The dance is described as a pictorial allegory of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy: The dance performed by Shiva's wife Parvati in response to Shiva's Tandava is known as Lasya , in which the movements are gentle, graceful and sometimes erotic. Some scholars consider Lasya to be
342-422: The person by itself without volition, if his Kundalini (shakti within) is invoked. Mudras and postures of sculptures in ancient Indian temples are a mere depiction of spirituality (invoked spirit, the kundalini), which actually is supposed to occur in the person as a fruit of his practices. Shiva Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. While
361-448: The sacred dance-drama of India, has vigorous, brisk movements. Performed with joy, the dance is called Ananda Tandava . Performed in a violent mood, the dance is called Raudra or Rudra Tandava . The types of Tandava found in the Hindu texts are: Ananda Tandava, Tripura Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Samhara Tandava, Kali (Kalika) Tandava, Uma Tandava, Shiva Tandava, Krishna Tandava and Gauri Tandava. Tandava mudras and postures occur within
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