Thevaram: The Sacred Tamil Hymns
By Mataji Laxmi · 25 July 2026 · 6 min read
Hymns still sung in temples a thousand years after they were first offered.
My dear child, long before the Trinity, long even before Purandaradasa, there were voices singing across the Tamil land. They walked from temple to temple, singing their love for Lord Shiva in their own mother tongue. Those songs are called Thevaram, and remarkably, they are still sung in temples every single day.
Let me tell you about them, because this is our own soil, our own language, our own inheritance.
What is Thevaram?
Thevaram is a body of sacred Tamil hymns composed roughly between the sixth and eighth centuries. They form the first portion of the Thirumurai, the great collection of Tamil Shaiva devotional literature. What makes them so precious is that they were sung in Tamil, the everyday language of the people, at a time when much religious expression happened in Sanskrit.
The three saint-poets
Thevaram was composed chiefly by three of the Nayanmar saints: Sambandhar, who began composing as a small child, Appar, also known as Thirunavukkarasar, and Sundarar. Each brought his own voice, yet all sang of the same devotion.
The panns, ancestors of the ragas
Here is something quite beautiful. Thevaram hymns were set to melodic modes called panns, an ancient Tamil musical system. The panns are considered forerunners of what we now call ragas. So when we speak of our ragas, we are speaking of something with deep Tamil roots reaching back many centuries.
Some panns have been carefully preserved and mapped to ragas we still sing today. Others have faded with time, which is a real loss, and part of why keeping this tradition alive matters so much.
A thousand years on, the same words are still offered in the same temples.
Did you know?
In many Tamil temples, trained singers called Oduvars still sing Thevaram daily as part of worship, exactly as it has been done for over a thousand years. It is not preserved as a museum piece. It is living, breathing worship, continuing without interruption.
Why we treasure this at our academy
Carnatic music and Thevaram are not the same tradition, and I would not wish to blur them. Yet they share deep roots, and for Tamil families especially, Thevaram carries something Carnatic kritis alone cannot: it is devotion in your own mother tongue, sung by saints who walked this very land.
When a child learns to sing even a few lines of Thevaram, they are not simply learning music. They are being handed something their great-grandparents very likely sang too.
The gift this brings your child
A living thread back to their own heritage. Singing in one's mother tongue reaches somewhere that translated devotion cannot quite touch. It gives a child roots, and roots are what allow a young thing to grow tall without fear.
🎧 Simply listen together
There is nothing to memorise at home. If Thevaram is taught, it is taught gently in class, line by line.
If you wish, listen to an Oduvar singing Thevaram together sometime, perhaps at a temple. Only as a shared moment, never as a task.
Come and carry it forward
These hymns survived a thousand years because in every single generation, somebody chose to keep singing them. Come to class, and let your child become one more voice in that unbroken line.
Words to know
Thevaram, sacred Tamil hymns to Lord Shiva, composed between roughly the 6th and 8th centuries.
Nayanmars, the sixty-three Shaiva saints of the Tamil tradition, three of whom composed Thevaram.
Pann, an ancient Tamil melodic mode, considered a forerunner of the raga.
Thirumurai, the great collection of Tamil Shaiva devotional works, of which Thevaram forms the first part.
Oduvar, a trained temple singer who sings Thevaram as part of daily worship.
Your questions, answered
What is Thevaram?
Thevaram is a collection of sacred Tamil hymns to Lord Shiva, composed roughly between the 6th and 8th centuries by three Nayanmar saints. It forms the first part of the Thirumurai and is still sung in temples today.
Who composed the Thevaram hymns?
Thevaram was composed chiefly by three Nayanmar saints: Sambandhar, Appar who is also known as Thirunavukkarasar, and Sundarar. Each contributed his own hymns in his own distinct voice.
What is a pann, and how does it relate to ragas?
A pann is an ancient Tamil melodic mode used for singing Thevaram. Panns are considered forerunners of the ragas used in Carnatic music today, and several have been mapped to modern ragas.
Is Thevaram the same as Carnatic music?
No, they are distinct traditions, though they share deep roots. Thevaram is Tamil devotional hymnody sung in temples, while Carnatic music is a classical concert tradition. Many students value learning both.
Wish to keep this tradition alive in your family?
Send us a message on WhatsApp, and we will lovingly help you or your child begin, online, or here with us in Puchong.
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Mataji Laxmi
Mataji Laxmi is the founder and guiding guru of Laxmi Music Academy in Puchong. A lifelong devotee of Carnatic music, she has nurtured generations of students with warmth and devotion, keeping this beautiful tradition alive for the young.