Gajantaka Shiva Dancing as Bhairava

This miniature represents Shiva as Gajantaka, the slayer of Elephant Demon, a theme which has always been vastly favoured and depicted in visual arts, the sculpture as well as the painting. The earliest known rendering of the theme, and also the most magnificent of all representations, is the sculpture of Elephanta of circa A.D. 550. This painting reminds of another master-piece on the theme, a miniature from Mewar, Rajasthan, of circa 1760, which is a priceless collection of Navin Kumar Gallery of New York. This painting has a wondrous similarity with it and only an expert eye might discern a difference after very careful minute observation.

A number of 'puranas' deal with Shiva's act of slaying Nila, or 'Dark', but the depiction in Kurma Purana is more elaborate. Nila, the Demon of Dark', once transformed into an elephant and attacked Shiva. But Shiva overpowered the Demon, killed him and flayed his skin. Then in crazed exhilaration he threw Demon's skin into air and gesticulating all his organs with amiable excitement danced as Bhairava.. He danced so fast that the garland of severed human heads he wore to ankles' length tossed into air and not only that a few heads fell out from it but also lighted the cosmic darkness with the radiation caused by the friction of his body and mind against such darkness and the night-like darkness illuminated as cosmic twilight. The skin of the demon floated into air upon the surface of the wind whirling with the velocity of his dance and so expanded his form that the skin of the demon, when it fell, fell only upon his shoulders and became Shiva's permanent attribute.

The artist has slightly deviated in his representation of Shiva's dance. It is more like that of the Vaishnava Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing in 'patakahasta-mudra', the hand lifted like a flag, more suggestive of the half moon instead of Shiva's fiery pace. The fiery rays emitting from his mind look like a 'siraschakra', the golden nimbus, simply because the movement of his dance is not correspondingly fiery. In Shiva's other dances - Bhairava, Tripurantaka and Anandatandava, his hair likewise flutter in air but here they are well composed, though his scarf is fluttering on both sides. The scene is laid on a monochrome open land, which seems to gradually recede towards the dusky bluish empty vastness. On its other side, say its top, a strip of opaque whitish clouds has two celestial beings, each mounting a russet cock-shaped cart of deep red. They are showering white flowers, eight each, which are seen falling on Shiva's person. On the ground there is Brahma playing on 'mradanga', a long drum and Indra striking cymbals.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.

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Of Related Interest:

Tripurantaka Shiva (Large Sculpture)

Shiva's Taandava (Brass Statue)

The Dance of Shiva and Parvati (Batik Painting)

The Dance of Shiva and Kali (Miniature Painting on Paper)

Shiva as Nataraja : Dance and Destruction In Indian Art (Article)