The Tamil tradition believes that the Paripāṭal anthology originally contained 70 poems, of which 24 have survived in full and few others have survived in fragments into the modern era as evidenced by the quotes in the Tolkappiyam and the Purattirattu. Of the 24 full poems that have survived, 7 are dedicated to Tirumal (Krishna, Vishnu), eight to Murugan, and nine to river goddess Vaikai. The nine river-related poems mention bathing festivals (Magh Mela), as well as water sports, offerings of prayers at the river banks, playful lover's quarrel where the wife accuses her husband of bathing with his mistress.