The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1670 page)

(Skt., ‘Lord of the dance’).
iva, the cosmic dancer, especially in the T
ava
dance
. His dance manifests creation, sustenance, destruction, balance, and liberation.
iva as N
ar
ja appears in his familiar dancing form from the 5th cent. CE onwards, at e.g.
Ellora
and
Elephanta
.

 
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(Skt., ‘Lord’). A medieval
yoga
tradition of India, influenced by
Tantrism
,
aivism
, and Buddhism. The tradition traces its origin to Matsyendran
th, one of the eighty-four
siddhas
, who is regarded as its
adiguru
, and his pupil
Gorakhn
th
(
c.
1200 CE). Originating in N. and NE India, the tradition became pan-Indian, tending to adopt the religious forms of a particular region. Thus most N
ths follow
aiva practices, though in W. India N
ths tend towards
Vai
avism
, and in Nepal towards Buddhism.
The aim of N
th yoga is liberation in this life (
j
vanmukti
) which is attained in a perfected or divine body (siddha/
divya deha
). The practice of developing the body (
k
y
s
dhan