According to Hindu mythology, Apasmāra is a dwarf who represents spiritual ignorance and nonsensical speech. He is also known as Muyalaka or Muyalakan. To preserve knowledge inthe world, Apasmāra must be subdued, not killed, as to do so would disturb the necessary balance between spiritual knowledge and ignorance. Killing Apasmāra would symbolise the attainment of knowledge without the effort, dedication and hard work involved, and this would lead to the devaluing of knowledge in all its 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 Śiva forever remains in his Śrī Naṭarāja form suppressing Apasmāra for all eternity.
right foot is planted squarely on a horrible little subhuman creature - the demon, Muyalaka. A dwarf, but immensely powerful in his malignity, Muyalaka is the embodiment of ignorance, the manifestation of greedy, possessive selfhood. Stamp on him, break his back! And that's precisely what Nataraja is doing. Trampling the little monster down under his right foot. But notice that it isn't at this trampling foot that he points his finger; it's at the left foot, the foot that, as he dances, he's in the act of raising from the ground. And why does he point at it? Why? That lifted foot, that dancing defiance of the force of gravity - it's the symbol of release, of moksha, of liberation.
This mythological dwarf is generally depicted with his hand in Añjali Mudrā. He is often depicted in this posture in depictions of Naṭarāja. In some other interpretation it is regarded as the dwarf vamana depicting a wider sectarian antagonism.
Etymology and medical application of name
The suffixsmāra signifies 'speech'. The compound apasmāra means 'gibberish' i.e. nonsensical or unintelligible speech. The Ayurvedic disease concept 'Apasmāra' referred to certain neurological disorders having such speech as a symptom, but, given the absence, at the time, of such modern adjuncts to diagnosis as brain-scanning, it is hard now to determine with any exactitude what all these may have been.
Disease concept in Ayurveda
The concept of Apasmāra in Āyurveda relates to a group of neurological disorders, one of which may be identified as epilepsy: according to Maharṣi Caraka, there are 4 types of apasmāra. These 4 types of apasmara are Vataja, Pitaja, Kapahaja and Sannipataja. Charakhas instituted this classification depending upon the different dashas of the body.
Usage in Indian astronomical symbolism
Recent work by Rupa Bhaty analysing the symbolism of the Natarāja icon of Śiva has revealed the presence of imagery relating not only to the mythology and iconography of expanded consciousness, but also to astronomy. Bhaty interprets the demon Apasmāra, in his astronomical form as the constellationLepus, as representing forgetfulness, specifically forgetfulness concerning the star Canopus, with Apasmāra / Muyala representing / standing in for Agastya when the latter is not visible in India at certain latitudes; and possibly also forgetfulness of a deluge coinciding with a supernova event commemorated in certain South Indian festivals in honour of lord Śiva. The lunar associations of the hare in many cultures likewise tally with the association of Apasmāra and his constellation Lepus with pathological mental states though the concept of lunacy. Bhaty asserts that Rudra, the hunter, and Apasmāra are to be equated with the constellations Kootu and Muyalaka, which were used by the navigators of Malabar and are identifiable with the western constellations Orion the Hunter, and Lepus, the Hare. Śiva / Rudra / Orion , by treading Apasmāra underfoot, delivers Agastya from the clutches of ignorance, by keeping track of the rising of Agastya-Canopus in the night skies of Springtime, as viewed on the horizon at different latitudes on the Indian peninsula.
