Cosmic dancer in CERN, Geneva.
One way to pose the question is to ask who is apasmara? "According to Hindu mythology, Apasmāra was a dwarf who represented ignorance and epilepsy. He is also known as Muyalaka or Muyalakan. To preserve knowledge in the world, Apasmāra could not be killed; to do so would throw out the balance of knowledge and ignorance—as to kill Apasmāra would mean attaining knowledge without effort, dedication and hard work. Consequently, this would lead to the devaluing of knowledge in all forms. To subdue Apasmāra, Lord Śiva adopted the form of Śrī Naṭarāja - the Lord of Dance and performed the cosmic dance of Tāṇḍava. During this dance, Śrī Naṭarāja suppressed Apasmāra by crushing him with his right foot. As Apasmāra is one of the few demons destined to immortality, it is believed that Lord Śivaforever remains in his Śrī Naṭarāja form suppressing Apasmāra for all eternity. This mythological dwarf is generally depicted with his hand in Añjali Mudrā. He is often depicted in this posture in depictions of Naṭarāja. Apasmāra is also a neurological disorder described in Āyurveda, known as epilepsy According to Maharṣi Caraka, there are 4 types of apasmāra." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apasmaraअप-स्मार m. epilepsy , falling sickness Sus3r. &c; want of memory, confusion of mind (in rhet. one of the व्यभिचारिभावs, q.v.), (साहित्य-दर्पण)
चित् mfn. ifc. " knowing " » ऋत-च्/इत्; to understand , comprehend , know (perf. often in the sense of pr.) RV. AV. vii , 2 , 1 and 5 , 5 ; P. A1. to become perceptible , appear , be regarded as , be known RV. VS. x , xv : Caus. चेत्/अयति , °ते (2. pl. चेत्/अयध्वम् Subj. चेतयत् Impv. 2.du. चेतयेथाम् impf. /अचेतयत् RV. ; 3. pl. चित्/अयन्ते RV. ; p. चित्/अयत् RV. (eleven times) ; चेत्/अयत् , x , 110 , 8 , &c ; A1. चेतयान » s.v.) to cause to attend , make attentive , remind of. i , 131 , 2 and iv , 51 , 3 ; P. " to recover consciousness " , awake Bhat2t2. viii , 123 ; to observe , perceive , be intent upon RV. MBh. xii , 9890 Katha1s. xiii , 10 ; A1. (once P. MBh. xviii , 74) to form an idea in the mind , be conscious of , understand , comprehend , think , reflect upon TS. vi S3Br. ChUp. vii , 5 , 1 MBh. BhP. viii , 1 , 9 Prab. ; to appear , be conspicuous , shine RV. TS. iii : Desid. च्/इकित्सति (fr. √कित् Pa1n2. 3-1 , 5 Dha1tup. xxiii , 24 ; exceptionally A1. MBh. xii , 12544 ;Impv. °त्सतु Subj. °त्सात् aor. 2. sg. /अचिकित्सीस् AV. ; Pass. p. चिकित्स्यमान Sus3r. Pan5cat. ) to have in view , aim at , be desirous AV. v , 11 , 1 ; ix , 2 , 3 ; to wish to appear RV. i , 123 , 1: Caus. of Desid. (fut. चिकित्सयिष्यति) to cure Ma1lav. iv , 4÷5 , 6 f. : Intens. चेकिते (fr. √2. चि? , or for °त्ते RV. i , 53 , 3 and 119 , 3 ; ii , 34 , 10 ; p. च्/एकितत् , ix , 111 , 3 ; A1. च्/एकितान RV. eight times) to appear , be conspicuous , shine RV.; f. pure Thought (ब्रह्म cf. RTL. p.34) Veda7ntas.
Prab. अप- √ चित् Caus. A1. (Subj. -चेत्/अयातै) to abandon , turn off from (abl.) VS. ii , 17 : Desid. -चिकित्सति , to wish to leave or to abandon any one (abl.) AV. xiii , 2 , 15. (Monier-Williams)
S.Kalyanaraman, Sarasvati Research Centre
