Dance divine : dancing deities of India / Dr. Siri Rama.

"The figure of Shiva, dancing in his form as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, is one of the most celebrated and globally recognized Indian icons. The significance of this image has been explored not just by Indian dancers and composers, but also by art historians, philosophers and even physicists around the world. What is less well known are the numerous legends, and artistic representations as dancers, of the other major Indian deities, Ganesha, Muruga, the various avatars of Vishnu and the diverse forms of the Goddess. This scholarly, yet very accessible book, explores the dance of the Indian deities as imagined in a variety of forms of the Indian arts. This myths and foundational temple stories (sthala puranas) in literature, musical compositions in different Indian languages, and sculptural representations of the dance of the major deities in the Hindu pantheon are described from a dancer's perspective. Richly illustrated with photographs of dance sculptures in temples, and of dancers depicting this divine dance of the Hindu deities, the book will be a valuable resource for dancers, dance researchers and dance connoisseurs. While the book is not conceived as a religious exposition, devotees of these varied Hindu deities might also discover unknown facts of their ishta devatas" -- Book jacket.