My Observations & Links

It seems to me that SHIVA as NATARAJ(A) is the same form as Mesopotamian UTU/SHAMASH

They both appear to be hitting the ground with a “fiery landing” from above (hence the fire/smoke trails)

UTU/SHAMASH “cuts the mountain”, and SHIVA as NATARAJ (performing the COSMIC DANCE TANDAVA) “crushes Apasmara”

SHIVA’s Trishul (Trident) seems to be related to the symbol to the side of UTU/SHAMASH which seems to be formed from AN (dingir) at the top, with one point extending down to the earth (KI?) … AN = Heaven/Sky/God … KI =Earth … the symbol opposite seems related to SHIVA’s drum (Damaru)

They also both wear elaborate helmets in their depictions

Other symbols also correlate and seem related, in their hands.

I think the fact Shiva has many arms holding different items is so the people could depict the deity in one image (he had this, that, another thing, power of this, that, etc.), hence, many arms are shown in Hindu deities, as they hold various weapons, tools, and other items that may be symbolic of certain powers or attributes, though … they may have had many physical arms i think it is to show everything in one form …

below is an old video from December 2019 where i initially rambled about my observations … this video was unscripted and rushed, i made a couple of mistakes (corrected in comments), as i felt a slight “eurika” moment as the symbolism correlation clicked, i wanted to share it, and i don’t know anyone else who has noticed these SHIVA + UTU/SHAMASH connections … the 2nd half has clips from a video regarding SHIVA as NATARAJ in particular and the “COSMIC DANCE”:

if anyone sees this and has any input, any more observations and links, please let me know via commenting on this post or email, cheers.