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Large Wooden Dancing Tandava Shiva Carving with 12 Arms and Leg Raised Overhead 78"
Item# 98w18
Large Wooden Dancing Tandava Shiva Carving with 12 Arms and Leg Raised Overhead 78"
Item# 98w18
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This statue weighs too much to be shipped using UPS or any of our international carriers and will have to be shipped by a freight carrier. We will get you a freight shipping quote for this statue.
During the checkout process freight shipping will not be automatically added to the price. Shipping will be calculated based on the weight of the sculpture and the distance from Oceanside, CA to determine the shipping price. Shipping will then be added to the total after the order is placed and we will email you a new receipt. We get quotes manually so you, the customer, get the best and lowest priced freight quote possible when we quote the shipment to our 10 freight carriers we have relationships with.
Or you can call us directly at 1 (760) 994-4455.
Please call 1 (760) 994-4455 or 866-568-8712 or email us [email protected] with any questions about shipping or anything else.
Statue Details
Materials: Neem Tree Wood Hand Carved in Tamil Nadu, India
Total Height Including Base: 78 inches or 198 cms
Base Width & Depth: 36.5 x 14 inches
Weight: 225 pounds or 102 kgs
- Shiva dances the wild tandava dance with one leg kicked over his head as he plays the drum to the beat of his dance,
- The Tandava dance was a competition Shiva had with Kali over who would get to spend the night in a particular forest, both laid claim to the forest and refused to leave so they devised a dance competition with the loser having to leave the forest. Shiva won the competition because he lifted his leg over his head, Kali refused to mimic this very unladylike dance posture thus losing the competition
- Shiva has 12 arms that hold flowers, 2 drums, a drum stick, agni or fire, a noose and a bell with his right hand held up in the abhaya mudra and his hand raised above his head in a dancing pose
- This enormous sculpture is hand carved by the artists of South India and completely one of a kind, you will receive this exact statue with your order
Shiva is dancing the wild Tandava. Shiva has 12 arms hold a variety of weapons including a drum with a cobra around it, fire or agni, drum, drum stick, noose, a bell and flowers. One hand is held up in the abhaya mudra, a mdura of divine protection and another is raised over his head in a dance posture. His leg raised over his head shows Shiva to be dancing the Tandava dance as explained in the story below. His face is tranquil and passive with a slight smile. Shiva's hair is out to the side much like his hair as he dances as the lord of dance, Nataraja. Shiva is dancing on a dwarf named, Apasmara who represents ignorance. He is thus destroying ignorance in the world when he dances. The dwarf holds a knife and a shield. The dwarf has curly hair and a mustache. the features of Shiva and the dwarf are beautifully rendered with handsome faces and detailed hands and fingers. To the left and right of the dwarf is Krishna playing his flute and Lord Brahma playing the drum.
Standalone Quote Box
The statue has a deep, natural wood stain that reveals the woods' natural veins. A magnificent sculpture of lord Shiva!
The Story Behind the Wild Thandavam: Kali was the patron goddess of Thillai Forest. Lord Shiva came to the forest to dance for two of his devotees, Patanjali and Vyaaghrapaada who worshipped the svayambhu-linga, now in the inner sanctum of the temple. Kali challenged Shiva to a dancing contest on the condition that the loser had to leave the forest. The contest was judged by Lord Vishnu. The dance contest went on for hours with every one of Shiva's dance postures being matched by Kali. Shiva performed a posture with his left leg lifted over his head in the Ananda Thandavam exposing his genital area. Kali, being a respectable woman, was unable to go into this compromising position. Thus, Kali admitted defeat and left the forest. In his joy he named Saraswati, Vagdevi, goddess of speech and sound. The sound of mantras filled the universe with vital energy, or prana. Things began to take shape and the cosmos acquired a structure: the sky dotted with stars rose to form the heavens; the sea sank into the abyss below, the earth stood in between. Gods became lords of the celestial spheres; demons ruled the nether regions, humans walked on earth. The sun rose and set, the moon waxed and waned, the tide flowed and ebbed. Seasons changed, seeds germinated, plants bloomed and withered, animals migrated and reproduced as randomness gave way to the rhythm of life. Brahma thus became the creator of the world with Saraswati as his wisdom.
"The sculpture chooses you. You know when you find the right piece to bring into your home and into your heart."
Founder, Lotus Sculpture
Shiva the Destroyer (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), or Siva, is one of the main Deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the paramount lord by the Saivite sects of India. Shiva is one of the most complex gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger.
Shiva was originally known as Rudra, a minor deity addressed only three times in the Rig Veda. He gained importance after absorbing some of the characteristics of an earlier fertility god and became Shiva, part of the trinity, or trimurti, with Vishnu and Brahma.
Shiva wears a snake coiled around his upper arms and neck symbolizing the power he has over the most deadly of creatures. Snakes are also used to symbolize the Hindu dogma of reincarnation. Their natural process of molting or shedding their skin is symbolic of the human soul's transmigration of bodies from one life to another.
Shiva's female consort and wife is Parvati; because of his generosity and reverence towards Parvati, Shiva is considered an ideal role model for a husband. The divine couple together with their sons - the six-headed Skanda and the elephant headed Ganesh - reside on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.
His guardian is Nandi (the white bull), whose statue can often be seen watching over the main shrine. The bull is said to embody sexual energy, fertility. Riding on its back, Shiva is in control of these impulses.
He often holds a trident, which represents the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. It is also said to represent the threefold qualities of nature: creation, preservation and destruction, although preservation is usually attributed to Vishnu.
As the destroyer, Shiva is dark and terrible, encircled with serpents and a crown of skulls.
Shiva often wears sacred Rudaksha beads, perhaps a reference to his earlier name Rudra.
The crescent moon Shiva wears on his crown, besides being a symbol of Kama the goddess of nightly love, also represents the bull, Nandi, a fertility symbol.
Shiva holds a skull that represents samsara, the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Samsara is a central belief in Hinduism. Shiva himself also represents this complete cycle because he is Mahakala, the Lord of Time, destroying and creating all things.
Shiva is represented in a variety of forms. One such form is as a lingam. The ovoid shape is a representation of the absolute perfection of Lord Shiva - if that which is beyond form had to be given form, the lingam would be the closest form to the mystical experience of the absolute perfection of Shiva. Shiva is often pictured in a pacific mood with his consort Parvati, as the cosmic dancer Nataraja, as a naked ascetic, as a mendicant beggar, as a yogi, and as the androgynous union of Shiva and Parvati in one body (Ardhanarisvara).
Another example of Shiva's apparent synthesis of male and female attributes is seen in his earrings. He wears one earring in the style of a man and the other as a female.
Shiva's third eye is a symbol of higher consciousness. It is also a weapon he uses to destroy his enemies by emitting a fire missile which has the power to incinerate the three worlds. He can also kill all the gods and other creatures during the periodic destruction of the universe. Shiva's third eye first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, so Shiva opened his third eye emitting his destructive missile endangering the three worlds.
Shiva was originally known as Rudra, a minor deity addressed only three times in the Rig Veda. He gained importance after absorbing some of the characteristics of an earlier fertility god and became Shiva, part of the trinity, or trimurti, with Vishnu and Brahma.
Shiva wears a snake coiled around his upper arms and neck symbolizing the power he has over the most deadly of creatures. Snakes are also used to symbolize the Hindu dogma of reincarnation. Their natural process of molting or shedding their skin is symbolic of the human soul's transmigration of bodies from one life to another.
Shiva's female consort and wife is Parvati; because of his generosity and reverence towards Parvati, Shiva is considered an ideal role model for a husband. The divine couple together with their sons - the six-headed Skanda and the elephant headed Ganesh - reside on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.
His guardian is Nandi (the white bull), whose statue can often be seen watching over the main shrine. The bull is said to embody sexual energy, fertility. Riding on its back, Shiva is in control of these impulses.
He often holds a trident, which represents the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. It is also said to represent the threefold qualities of nature: creation, preservation and destruction, although preservation is usually attributed to Vishnu.
As the destroyer, Shiva is dark and terrible, encircled with serpents and a crown of skulls.
Shiva often wears sacred Rudaksha beads, perhaps a reference to his earlier name Rudra.
The crescent moon Shiva wears on his crown, besides being a symbol of Kama the goddess of nightly love, also represents the bull, Nandi, a fertility symbol.
Shiva holds a skull that represents samsara, the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Samsara is a central belief in Hinduism. Shiva himself also represents this complete cycle because he is Mahakala, the Lord of Time, destroying and creating all things.
Shiva is represented in a variety of forms. One such form is as a lingam. The ovoid shape is a representation of the absolute perfection of Lord Shiva - if that which is beyond form had to be given form, the lingam would be the closest form to the mystical experience of the absolute perfection of Shiva. Shiva is often pictured in a pacific mood with his consort Parvati, as the cosmic dancer Nataraja, as a naked ascetic, as a mendicant beggar, as a yogi, and as the androgynous union of Shiva and Parvati in one body (Ardhanarisvara).
Another example of Shiva's apparent synthesis of male and female attributes is seen in his earrings. He wears one earring in the style of a man and the other as a female.
Shiva's third eye is a symbol of higher consciousness. It is also a weapon he uses to destroy his enemies by emitting a fire missile which has the power to incinerate the three worlds. He can also kill all the gods and other creatures during the periodic destruction of the universe. Shiva's third eye first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, so Shiva opened his third eye emitting his destructive missile endangering the three worlds.
The use of a wood polish will keep the wood looking fresh and the colors vibrant.
Wood statues are easy to take care of as they just need some annual upkeep to keep them looking as they did when they were first carved. All the wood used by Lotus Sculpure's artists is dried out for months. Moisture causes cracks in the sculpture as the wood contracts and expands in different temperatures. Our wood has little to no moisture in it assuring that the sculpture is not going to crack in its journey into different climates. Here are some simple tips to keep your statue in good condition:
- Dust the statue as needed to prevent dirt build up
- To make the statue shine use a natural wood cleaner and a cotton cloth to buff the sculpture
We prefer Old English to polish and buff our statues. The use of a wood polish like Old English will keep the wood looking fresh and keep the colors looking vibrant. For natural wood and painted wooden statues we recommend Old English for lighter woods. For darker wood statues we recommend Old English for darker woods. Lotus Sculpture cleans and polishes each wooden statue prior to shipping them to the customer.
We recommend keeping wooden statues in an indoor environment. Wood statues can go outside however, they will wear more quickly and develop an antique appearance. If you would like to put a wood statue from Lotus Sculpture outside and keep the same appearance of the sculpture we would recommend first coating the statue with a couple of layers of sealant or polyurethane. We would then recommend placing the statue in a partially covered area. The more exposure to the elements the more the statue will wear over time. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions regarding your wooden statue from Lotus Sculpture, (760) 994-4455 or [email protected].
USA Shipping
This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California gallery and ready for immediate packing & shipping. Packing takes anywhere from 1-4 business days. Shipping takes anywhere from 1-6 business days. The shipping price is automatically calculated from Oceanside, California to the destination in the online checkout. Or you can get a shipping quote by clicking the Calculate Shipping link beneath the Add to Cart button. Shipping will be calculated based on the weight of the sculpture and the distance to the destination from our Oceanside, California showroom.
The delivery charges include insurance, a residential lift gate delivery to your home or business. The freight company will call you to schedule a delivery day and time frame to make the delivery. Someone must be present to receive the statue. Depending on where you are located we will use either R&L Carriers, UPS Freight, Estes, DHX or Roadrunner Transport.
The freight company will use a lift gate to bring the sculpture to the ground and then use a pallet jack to move it anywhere on the same level. They will move it anywhere in your driveway or in your garage. They will not take it to your backyard or in the elevator to your apartment or up or down any steps. They will not be unpacking the statue and taking the crate away. Think of them as you would UPS or Fedex. They only deliver the statue. If you require a little extra service, (within reason) a tip to a delivery man usually works wonders!
For placing the statue our customers have either placed the statue themselves with help of a friend and a tool like a hand truck or a dolly. Or by contacting their landscaper who is used to moving large and heavy objects like rocks and trees into place. For much larger and heavier sculptures sometimes the customer needs a piece of heavy equipment for placing the statue like a crane or forklift. If you have any questions contact me directly at [email protected] or (760) 994-4455
International Shipping
This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California showroom and ready for immediate packing & shipping. This piece is too heavy to ship via UPS and will be shipped using an international freight service. Packing takes anywhere from 1-4 days depending on the statue. We can ship the statue using either sea or air freight to either the your home or the closest port.
If you place your order online shipping will show in the order as $0. Shipping will be calculated based on the weight of the sculpture and the distance from Oceanside, California to determine the shipping price. The shipping quote will be emailed to you and no charge will be made without your approval.
You can obtain a shipping quote for any statue by clicking the link, Calculate Shipping beneath to the Add To Cart button on every statues' page. Or you can email [email protected] or call us 760-994-4455 to receive a shipping quote. Please include the item number of the statue you are interested in purchasing as well as your country and postal code.
Here you can view how our freight statues are professionally crated.
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