Nataraja (The Go of Dance) ,Tamil: கூத்தன் [Kooththan] is the dancing posture of the Hindu god Shiva, who performs his divine dance as a part of his activities of creation and destruction. Nataraja is most often depicted through a statue. The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in a aureole of flames, lifting his left leg (and in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing over a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance. It is a well known scultptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in the famous temple at Chidambaram.