It is believed that Shiva first performed this dance to redeem a group of sages who were practicing an unorthodox form of Hinduism. Challenged by them with a tiger, a snake, and a dwarf demon, symbols of the untamed mind, egotism, and ignorance, Shiva subdued all three. The Lord of the Dance wears a snake belt and an animal-skin loincloth and stands on the back of a dwarf to indicate his victory over these creatures destroyed by him in order to guide the sages to heightened spirituality.