Natarajapaddhati of Ramanathasiva

Composed in the middle of the eleventh century CE, the Natarajapaddhati is the earliest surviving Saiva ritual manual (paddhati) known to have been written in the Tamil country. This volume furnishes a critical edition of the first 340 verses of this hitherto unpublished work, which detail the daily obligatory rites of an initiate (diksita) in the Saivasiddhanta tradition. It provides precise instructions on the sequence of performing all rites, from waking up in the early morning until bedtime. The author, Ramanatha, a disciple of a certain Nataraja (also known as Natesa), to whom he pays homage and in whose honour the work is named, mentions that he resides in a monastery (matha) situated on the eastern side of the temple of Siva Puspavanesvara, in some unidentified town.