File:11th century Tevaram, 18th century palm leaf manuscript.jpg

English: The Thevaram, also spelled Tevaram, denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection Tirumurai, a Śaiva narrative of epic and puranic heroes, as well as a hagiographic account of early Saiva saints set in devotional poetry to the Hindu god Shiva.

The text has roots in 6th to 8th century CE devotional poetry, that was compiled into Tevaram text in the 11th century. It is a part of the canonical literature of Tamil Shaivism, and devotionally sung in Shiva temples in the contemporary times. It has been called the Shaivism traditions' Tamil Veda.

The manuscript was copied in a Shiva temple around 1700 CE. It is written on palm leaf strips (approx 23 x 3.5 cm), on both sides (see above). Each portion of the manuscript includes a scale (ragam) and beat (talam) to guide the singers and musicians. The colophon contains the titles for the hymns.

The photo above is of a 2D artwork of a text that is about 1,000 years old, from a manuscript that was copied about 1700 CE from older versions, and now preserved in the British Library as MS/Or 12212. Therefore Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer is herewith donated to wikimedia commons under CC 0 public domain license.