The Mahari dance style, performed by women temple dancers of the Jagannath temple at Puri, is a form of:

The correct answer is Odissi dance. The maharis were women who were dedicated to the service of Lord Jagannath at the temple in Puri, Odisha, much like the devadasis of the temples of South India. Their dance, performed as part of the daily rituals and festivals of the temple, is one of the main roots of Odissi, the classical dance of Odisha.

The word "mahari" is often explained as "maha nari" (great woman) or "mahan ari" (one who defeats the great enemies, meaning the five vices). The maharis performed dance and sang devotional songs, especially verses from the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, the 12th century Sanskrit poem about the love of Radha and Krishna, in front of the deity at specific times of the day, such as during the evening rituals. There were two main types of maharis: the bhitari gauni, who danced in the inner sanctum, and the bahari gauni, who danced outside, during festivals. Over time, the mahari tradition declined, and from the 16th century, young boys called gotipuas, dressed as girls, also began to perform dance in praise of Jagannath. In the 20th century, the mahari system came to an end, and the last of the maharis, Sashimani Devi, died in 2015. However, the mahari dance tradition, together with the gotipua tradition and the temple sculptures of Odisha, provided the foundation for the revival of Odissi in the 1950s and 1960s by gurus such as Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Mayadhar Raut. Guru Pankaj Charan Das, who came from a mahari family, is often called the "Adi Guru" of Odissi.

About the other options:

• Kathak developed from the storytelling of the kathakars of North India and grew in the Mughal courts.
• Kuchipudi developed in Andhra Pradesh as a dance-drama tradition of Brahmin men.
• Sattriya developed in the sattras (monasteries) of Assam.