Ramavataram, popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya. However, Ramavatharam is different from the Sanskrit version in many aspects – both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the storyline. This historic work is considered by both Tamil scholars and the general public as one of the greatest literary works in Tamil literature. Kambar wrote this epic with the patronage of Thiruvennai Nallur Sadayappa Vallal, a Pannai kula chieftain. In gratitude to his patron, Kamban references his name once in every 1,000 verses. Early references in Tamil literature Even before Kambar wrote the Ramavataram in Tamil in the 12 century CE, there are many ancient references to the story of Ramayana, implying that the story was familiar in the Tamil lands even before the Common Era. References to the story can be found in the Sangam literature of Akanaṉūṟu,(dated 200 BCE–300 CE) and Purananuru (dated 200 BCE–300 CE), the twin epics of Silappatikaram (dated 6th century CE) and Manimekalai, and the Alvar literature of Kulasekhara Alvar, Thirumangai Alvar, Andal and Nammalvar (dated between 8th and 10th centuries CE). Structure The book is divided into six chapters, called Kandam in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 113 sections called Padalam (படலம்) in Tamil. These 113 sections contain approximately 10569 verses of the epic. Bala Kandam (Chapter: Childhood) Ayodhya Kandam (Chapter: Ayodhya) Aranya Kandam (Chapter: Forest) Kishkindha Kandam (Chapter: Kishkindha) Sundara Kandam (Chapter: Beautiful) Yuddha Kandam (Chapter: War) Compilation As with many historic compilations, it was very difficult to discard the interpolations and addendum which have been added over a period of time to the original. This task was taken up a committee of scholars headed by T. P. Meenakshisundaram called the Kamban Kazhagam (Kamban Academy). The compilation published by this committee in 1976 is what is used as the standard today. Valmiki's Ramayana in Sanskrit has seven chapters. The Tamil poet Ottakoothar wrote Uttara Kandam, the seventh (last chapter) kandam of the Tamil epic Ramayanam. Literary significance Kamban's use of Virutham (Sanskrit: vṛttam) and Santham (Sanskrit: chandas) in various verses is effective in bringing out the emotion and mood for storytelling. He achieves the Virutham and Santham by effective choice of words. Religious significance This epic