The Dance of Śiva

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy published "The Dance of Shiva". The essay summarizes the essential significance of Shiva as Nataraja, "Lord of the Dance", and till today has proven the most persistent point of reference. The present essay investigates the blend of intercultural exchanges that lured Western as well as Indian perceptions into an uncritical acceptance of Ananda Coomaraswamys interpretation. Shiva's ananda tandava or "Dance of Bliss", will be its central theme, set in two seemingly irreconcilable contexts.