Bharatanatyam is a type of Indian concert dance. It was originally performed by temple-dancer women. The plots of choreography expressed legends of the god in whose honor the temple was built, narrating their deeds of fighting against demons.
It was believed that all events in the dance were lived out in reality, so the outcome of the battle depended on the skills of the performer: for the god’s victory, they had to perform the dance without a flaw.