[[File:Temple troglodytique dédié à Shiva (Badami, Inde) (14146091479).jpg|thumb|6th/7th century Nataraja in Cave 1 of [[Badami cave temples]]|left|280x280px273x273px]]Around the 10th century, it emerged in [[Tamil Nadu]] in its mature and best-known expression in [[Chola bronze]]s, of various heights typically less than four feet.<ref name="rao227" /><ref name="jharle309" /> Nataraja reliefs are found in historic settings in many parts of South East Asia such as [[Ankor Wat]], and in [[Bali]], [[Cambodia]], and central Asia.<ref name="panthey1987" /><ref name="Banerjee 1969 73–80" /><ref name="Mahadev Chakravarti 1986 178 with footnotes" /> The oldest free-standing stone sculptures of Nataraja were built by [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] queen [[Sembiyan Mahadevi]].<ref name=":1" /> Nataraja gained special significance and became a symbol of royalty in [[Tamil Nadu]]. The dancing Shiva became a part of Chola era processions and religious festivals, a practice that continued thereafter.<ref name="Davis2010p18">{{cite book|author1=Aghoraśivācārya|author2=Richard H. Davis|title=A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruAfDP0OZyEC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-537852-8|pages=15–20, 24–25}}</ref>