Tag: lord shiva

Reason behind my name!!!


Todays WordPress The Daily Post topic is Say Your Name!! Which asks three questions about my name…

Are you named after someone or something?

My name is Anand Nataraj and I’m named after Lord Nataraj(Lord of Dance) who performs a Anandha(Happy) Thandavam(Dance). So, I’m named Anand Nataraj.

Also I hail from the temple town of Chidambaram where the famous Natarajan temple is located!!

Are there any stories or associations attached to it?

This is no story behind my naming… I’m just names after the famous Temple & God where I hail from… To be frank my association with dance is just with the name.. I don’t know A.B.C of dance!!!


But I can share the concept behind Lord Nataraja;

  • A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the crescent moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arch of flames. This dance is called the ”Dance of Bliss”, ”aananda taandavam”.
  • The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass…
  • The upper left hand contains ”Agni” or fire, which signifies destruction. The opposing concepts in the upper hands show the counterpoise of creation and destruction or the fire of life.
  • The second right hand shows the ”Abhaya” mudra (meaning ”fearlessness”), bestowing protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of ”dharma”.
  • The second left hand points towards the raised foot which signifies upliftment and liberation. It also points to the left foot with the sign of the elephant which leads the way through the jungle of ignorance.
  • The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara, which symbolises Shiva’s victory over ignorance. It also represents the passage of spirit from the divine into material.
  • As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and dissolved. Shiva’s long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a knot, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course or destroying them utterly.
  • The surrounding flames represent the manifest Universe.
  • The snake swirling around his waist is Kundalini, the Shakti or divine force thought to reside within everything. This also parallels the cords of life worn by the Brahmins to represent the second rebirth.
  • The stoic face of Shiva represents his neutrality, thus being in balance.

If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

Definitely not!!! This is the name I’m identified with for this many years and it is something which is chosen by my parents and grand parents. I’d proudly live with this name forever!!

Ganesh Chadurthi @Home


GANESH6-SmallLast week it was Ganesh Chadurthi a festival dedicated for lord Ganesh & famous with Hindus all over the world and particularly in India.

So who Ganesh is?

Lord Ganesh is the elder son of Lord Shiva & Parvathy…

Why Ganesh Chadurthi is celebrated?

Clay Idol we brought last week
Clay Idol we brought last week

Lord Shiva had Nandhi Deva as guard the house of Godess Parvathi. One day Godess Parvathi instructed Nandhi Deva not to allow inside the house as she is taking bath. Lord Shiva arrived at that time and Nandhi Deva allowed his as he is her husband and God of resolution. This Irked Godess Parvathi as Nandi Deva didnt obey her.

Then Lord Shiva was away for war. This time Godess Parvati wanted to bathe and having no-one to guard the door to her house, conceived of the idea of creating a son who could guard her & obey her orders. Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door and instructed him not to let anyone enter.

In the meantime, Lord Shiva returned from the battle but as did not know about Ganesha. Also Ganesha stopped Shiva from entering Parvati’s chamber. Shiva, angered by Ganesh’s impudence and cut off Ganesha’s head with his trident. Parvati emerged to find Ganesha decapitated and flew into a rage. She took on the form of the Goddess Kali and threatened destruction to the three worlds of Heaven, Earth and the subterranean earth.

Seeing her in this mood, the other Gods were afraid. Lord Shiva, in an attempt to pacify Parvati, sent out his deciples, to find a child whose mother is facing another direction in negligence, cut off his head of the child and bring it quickly. Also he said the head must reach him before the end of dawn.

The first living thing they came across was an elephant. That elephant was facing north (the auspicious direction associated with wisdom). So they brought the head of this elephant and Shiva placed it on the trunk of Parvati’s son and breathed life into him.

Parvati was overjoyed and embraced her son, the elephant-headed boy whom Shiva named Ganesha, the lord of his ganas (devoties / followers). Parvati was still upset so Lord Shiva announced that everyone who worships Ganesha before any other form of God is favored. So Ganesh is worshipped first in all Hindu occasions and festivals.

This is why we celebrate Ganesh Chadurthi…

DSC01491DSC01492Hailing from a Hindu family we celebrate as a grand occasion but performing pooja & cooking special food. We buy clay idol of Lord Ganesha and perform abhishegam on the idol. You can see picture on the left taken after performing abshegam by my father & specially cooked food in front of god to celebrate the occasion. We keep the idol in our Prayer Room for 3 days and immerse it in Sea or Pond or River or well inside our home. After the pooja is over first we offer a part of food to Crow (which we consider as our ancestors). After the Crow eats the first bite we come back and cherish the special food cooked. Also in the menu there will be Kozhukattai & Sundal which is my favorite.