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 According to the custom of those days, few parents used to dedicate their daughters for temple service and such children would be under the care of the temples. They would be engaged in such services as sweeping and cleaning the temple, collecting flowers, stringing them and making garlands, fetching water for regular puja, etc. Such children - and their seniors - growing together would then develop a natural camaraderie and would live as members of one family. They would then be taught vocal or instrumental music and dancing.
Since they are dedicated to the Lord, they would dance before the main deity, close to the shrine. This was considered a service done to the Lord and therefore even the main priest was not allowed to stand between the dancer and the deity. He was supposed to stand behind the dancer. If at all, he could see her dancing only from behind.
With the passage of time, this convention changed slightly. The dancing was then performed in the inner 'prakara' when the 'utsava moorthy' was taken around the temple, in procession. At such times, the procession would be led by the team playing the nadhaswaram and thavil, who would be playing the instruments, facing the Lord. This team was known as the 'periya melam.' They would be followed by the danseuse. She would be performing her art, facing the Lord. She (or they) were called the 'chinna melam.' This would be followed by the palanquin carrying the Lord. The customs then changed by and by. The dancers, who were performing only within the sanctum sanctorum, came out to perform in the inner prakara and then slowly it extended to the outer prakara. As a natural sequence, the performance of dance extended to places outside the temples. They were known as 'devadasis.' Or 'ones dedicated to the Lord.'
 When the 'deva dasis' started performing in the outer prakara, the general public had an opportunity to witness and enjoy this art form. And then the Kings wanted to see the performance. It was not customary for kings to mingle with the crowd and witness the performance. Therefore, arrangements were made for the danseuse to perform in the palaces
And that was how this ancient art of Bharatam, which was performed only before the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum, came out of the precincts of the temples and entered palaces.
Krishangini - Neeraja Nagarajan
Translated by Hari Krishnan
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