until she reached a hill in which was situated the village of Veḍuvar. She stood underneath a veṇgai tree where the Veḍuvar in large numbers waited on her. At that time Kovalan appeared in divine form and took her away. This incident took those present on the occasion by surprise and they decided to venerate Kaṇṇaki as a goddess. In her honour they engaged in Kuravaikkūttu accompanied by music. The śilappadikāram refers to another kind of ritual dance in connection with the worship of Koṛṛavai, the Goddess of Victory. This dance is called the Veṭṭuvavari described in the opening lines of the canto xii. Here the person who offers worship is not the priest but the priestess of the Maṛava tribe. In the middle of the high street of the village, the priestess danced, as if possessed by the goddess, to the great surprise of those present.2 She predicted what disasters awaited the village and how they could be averted. The same work refers to the dance of śiva immediately after the burning of the Tripuram. It is known as Koḍukoṭṭi or simply Koṭṭi. Why this dance came to be known by this name is thus explained by the commentator Aḍiyārkkunallār. After having set fire to the Three Cities and when they were in flames, the Lord would not show mercy. On the other hand, He was so happy that he clapped His hands and indulged Himself in a dance.3 Iḷango-Aḍigaḷ gives a fascinating description of this dance. VI. The King of Dancers The concept of śiva Natarāja in his role as cosmic dancer (anandatandava) must have developed as a result of the place that ritualistic dance obtained in early Dravidian religion. The following reading is from HEINRICH ZIMMER'S, The Art of Indian Asia, Vol. I, pages 122 to 123. ŚIVA NATARAJA, THE King of Dancers, in his manifestation as Nṛtya-mūrti, is the cosmic dancer. He is here the embodiment and manifestation of the eternal energy in five activities (pañca-kriyā): (1) creation, pouring forth, unfolding (sṛṣṭi), (2) maintenance or duration (sthiti) , (3) destruction or taking back (samhāra), (4) concealing, veiling, hiding the transcendental essence behind the garb of apparitions (tirobhāva), and (5) favoring, bestowing grace through a manifestation that accepts the devotee (anugraha). The god is dancing on ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 See also Puṛam, 259. 3śilap., canto vi, 43 naḍukaṛkādai. |