These are hymns created by sages, gurus, devotees, siddha purusha, and / or avatara purusha out of compassion for us. Their composer and the composition divinities and their compositions are tested by writing all or some of the stanzas on to palm leaves and:

• dropping them into fire,
• throwing them in the temple pond/tank, or
• leaving them in the altar and waiting for divine approval.

If the palm leaves are unaffected by these actions, then divinity of the compositions is accepted. In this page we will identify a few pathigams (பதிகம்) – meaning a hymn consists of 10 or 11 stanzas.

Last updated on Feb 22, 2021.