The Dance of Siva symbolizes not only the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, but also the daily rhythm of birth and death which is seen in Indian mysticism as the basis of all existence.  At the same time, Siva reminds us that the manifold forms in the world are maya - not fundamental, but illusory and ever-changing - as he keeps creating and dissolving them in the ceaseless flow of his dance. 

As Heinrich Zimmer has put it: “His gestures wild and full of grace, precipitate the cosmic illusion; his flying arms and legs and the swaying of his torso produce- indeed, they are - the continuous creation-destruction of the universe, death exactly balancing birth, annihilation the end of every coming-forth”.

Siva's dance-in the words of Ananda Coomaraswamy is 'the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of'. As the god is a personification of brahman, his activity is that of brahman’s myriad manifestations in the world. The dance of Siva is the dancing universe; the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another’.

Siva’s Dance as viewed in Modern Physics

Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter.  According to quantum field theory, all interactions between the constituents of matter take place through the emission and absorption of virtual particles. More than that, the dance of creation and destruction is the basis of the very existence of matter, since all material particles 'self-interact' by emitting and reabsorbing the virtual particles. Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction.      

The patterns of this dance are an essential aspect of each particle’s nature and determine many of its properties. For example, the energy involved in the emission and absorption of virtual particles is equivalent to a certain amount of mass which contributes to the mass of the self-interacting particle. Different particles develop different patterns in their dance, requiring different amounts of energy, and hence have different masses. Virtual particles, finally are not only an essential part of all particle interactions and of most of the particles' properties, but are also created and destroyed by the vacuum. Thus, not only particles, but also void, participates in the cosmic dance, creating and destroying energy patterns without end.

For the modern physicists, then Siva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Indian tradition, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena. Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Sivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The bubble-chamber photographs of interacting particles, which bear testimony to the continual rhythm of creation and destruction in the universe, are visual images of the dance of Siva equaling those of the Indian artists in beauty and profound significance.  The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art, and modern physics. It is indeed, as Ananda Coomarswamy has said, “poetry, but none the less science”. -  ‘The Tao of Physics’ by Fritjof Capra

Conclusion
On June 18, 2004, an unusual new landmark was unveiled at the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva — a 2m tall statue of the Indian deity Siva Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. The statue, symbolizing Siva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given by the Indian government to celebrate the research center's long association with India.

In choosing the image of Siva Nataraja, the Indian government acknowledged the profound significance of the metaphor of Siva's dance for the cosmic dance of subatomic particles, which is observed and analyzed by the physicists at the Research Centre.

The parallel between Siva's dance and the dance of subatomic particles was first discussed by Fritjof Capra in an article titled "The Dance of Siva: The Hindu View of Matter in the Light of Modern Physics," published in Main Currents in Modern Thought in 1972. Siva's cosmic dance then became a central metaphor in Capra's international bestseller The Tao of Physics, first published in 1975 and still in print in over several editions around the world.

A special plaque next to the Siva statue at the Research Centre explains the significance of the metaphor of Siva's cosmic dance with several quotations from The Tao of Physics.  Here is the text of the plaque: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, seeing beyond the unsurpassed rhythm, beauty, power and grace of the Nataraja, once wrote of it "It is the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of."

More recently, Fritj of Capra explained that "Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter," and that "For the modern physicists, then, Siva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter."

It is indeed as Capra concluded: "Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Sivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics”.

Capara’s statement echoes the voice of an ancient Tamil poet "O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of thy creation.  All these worlds are transformed by Thy hand bearing fire.  Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils of causality.  It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to those that approach Thee.  These Five-Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork”. 
Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam, Anandam,
Sat-chit-ananda, Svayam Jyoti Prakasam,
Chidanandarupah Sivoham Sivoham.

Truth, knowledge, endless, bliss,
Existence-knowledge-bliss, self-luminous,
I am Siva I am Siva of the form of knowledge and bliss.
AUM  NAMAH  SIVAYA
Also see pictures of:
1. 12 Jyotirlings
2. Shiv Temples
3. An introduction to Kashmir Saivism -