The World’s largest Nataraja statue made from ‘Ashtadhatu’ (eight metals) has been installed in front of Bharat Mandapam which is the venue for the G20 summit in the national capital.
The statue is 27 feet tall and weighs around 20 tons which has been made from lost wax technique.
Notably, the Nataraja sculpture is an iconic representation of Lord Shiva, which holds immense artistic, religious, and spiritual significance. In this statue, Lord Shiva is presented performing the dynamic dance posture called tandava, which exudes energy and vitality. The Nataraja statue was created by the traditional Sthapatis of Swamimalai in the traditional lost wax casting process following canons and measurements as mentioned in Silpa Shastra, which have followed in the making of Nataraja since the Chola period, i.e., 9th century AD onwards.
The statue is made with eight metals namely; copper- 87 percent, zinc- 10 percent, lead- 3 percent, tin-trace quantity, silver-trace quantity, gold-trace quantity, mercury-trace quantity, and iron as support.
“The 27 feet of Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of dance, installed in front of Bharat Mandapam, at the time of the G20 Presidency, is the tallest bronze icon as of now. This Cosmic dance symbolizes the Omnipresent Infinite permeating the sub atom too. This form of the Lord is a synthesis of Religion, Philosophy, Art, Craft, and Science. The book, ‘Dance of Shiva’, by Ananda Coomaraswamy created ripples of thought in the world of atomic physics,” sources told ANI.
The sources further mentioned that the statue was made in Tamil Nadu in a record time of seven months.
India is all set to host the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 9-10. World leaders will arrive in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.
The summit will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
