Editing Nataraja (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja).jpg|thumb|left|[[Chola bronze]], [[Tamil Nadu]], 10th or 11th century.]]The word Nataraja is a [[Sanskrit]] term, from नट ''Nata'' meaning "act, drama, dance" and राज ''[[Raja]]'' meaning "king, lord"; it can be roughly translated as ''Lord of the dance'' or ''King of the dance''.<ref name="Coomaraswamy 2013">{{cite book |last1=Coomaraswamy |first1=Ananda K. |title=The dance of Shiva |year=2013 |publisher=Rupa |isbn=978-8129120908 |page=56}}</ref><ref name="king">{{cite web |last1=Stromer|first1=Richard |title=Shiva Nataraja: A Study in Myth, Iconography, and the Meaning of a Sacred Symbol |url=http://www.soulmyths.com/shivanataraja.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905155327/http://soulmyths.com/shivanataraja.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-05 |url-status=live |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> According to [[Ananda Coomaraswamy]], the name is related to Shiva's fame as the "Lord of Dancers" or "King of Actors".<ref name="coomarados" />

The form is known as ''Nataraja'' and as ''Narteśvara'' (also written Nateshwar) or ''Nṛityeśvara'', with all three terms meaning "Lord of the dance". However, Nataraja and Nateshwar represent different forms of Shiva.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 September 2019 |title=A journey to the past with dancing Shiva |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/journey-the-past-dancing-shiva-1805938 |access-date=8 November 2020 |work=The Daily Star |quote=in an Old Dhaka temple ... a stone statue of Nateshwar, a depiction of dancing Shiva on the back of his bull-carrier Nandi}}</ref> ''Narteśvara'' stems from ''Nṛtta'' same as ''Nata'' which means "act, drama, dance" and ''[[Ishvara]]'' meaning "lord".<ref name="Brunner 2007">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XHXAAAAMAAJ |title=Mélanges Tantriques À la Mémoire D'Hélène Brunner |first1=Hélène |last1=Brunner-Lachaux |first2=Dominic |last2=Goodall |first3=André |last3=Padoux |publisher=Institut français de Pondichéry |year=2007 |isbn=978-2-85539-666-8 |page=245}}</ref> ''Natesa'' (IAST: ''Naṭeśa'') is another alternate equivalent term for Nataraja found in 1st-millennium sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch| title= Manifestations of Shiva|url=https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram|year =1981|publisher= Philadelphia Museum of Art| isbn= 0-87633-039-1| pages=[https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram/page/43 43–45]}}</ref>

In Tamil, he is also known as “''Sabesan''” ({{Langx |ta| சபேசன்}}) which splits as “''Sabayil adum eesan''” ({{Langx |ta| சபையில் ஆடும் ஈசன்}}) which means “The Lord who dances on the [[dais]]”.  This form is present in most Shiva temples, and is the prime deity in the [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram|Nataraja Temple]] at [[Chidambaram]] (Tillai).<ref name=":0" /> The dance of Shiva in Chidambaram forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. Koothan({{Langx |ta| கூத்தன்|translit=Kūththaṉ|label=ta}}), Sabesan({{Langx |ta| சபேசன்|translit=Sabēsaṉ|label=ta}}), Ambalavanan ({{Langx |ta| அம்பலவாணன்|translit=Ambalavāṇaṉ|label=ta}}) are other common names of Nataraja in Tamil texts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-20 |title=கூத்தன் சபேசன் அம்பலவாணன் நடராஜன்SAGARVA BHARATH FOUNDATION |url=https://connectedindian.net/cultures-and-traditions/natarajar-02/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=SAGARVA BHARATH FOUNDATION |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=:: TVU :: |url=https://www.tamilvu.org/slet/l5F31/l5F31pd1.jsp?bookid=128&sec=11&pno=4696 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.tamilvu.org}}</ref>