Nataraja नटराज | Bhairava — The Dance That Burns Illusion | Museum Poster

Look closer, grandchild — Shiva has many faces. This one is Bhairava, dancing the dance that burns illusion clean away. The trident raised. The sword for cutting through what we cling to. The skull-cup tilted, the third eye opened wide, the moon still in his hair. The dog runs at his foot. The bone-garland swings. He is not angry. He is fierce because the world is fierce, and gentleness alone cannot save us from our own forgetting. Bow to him on Tuesday. Light a lamp. He clears the road for the rest of the journey.