Thirumanthiram is the tenth Thirumurai in the Tamil Saivaite Panniru Thirumurai. It has been divided into nine sections called Tantras, containing the quintessence of the Saiva Agamas. Sekkizhar, the author of Periyapuranam, designated this Tamil classic as "Tamizh Moovaayiram" since it possesses 3000 poems each of which has unique metrical structure, each line consisting of 11 or 12 syllables, depending upon the initial syllable. It is the earliest exposition of Saiva Agamas in Tamil, discussi