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 This volume furnishes a critical edition of the first 340 verses of this hitherto unpublished work, which detail the daily obligatory rites of an initiate (dikşita) in the Saivasiddhanta tradition.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 Națeśa), 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 Puspavaneśvara, in some unidentified town.

We have often come across references to Ramanathapaddhati in medieval commentaries such as the one composed by Nirmalamaņideśika on the Kriyakramadyotikā of Aghorasiva; but we had not come across any of its manuscripts. A few years back during one of our visits to the Tiruvavatuthurai Adheenam, near Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu we found a beautiful manuscript written in Devanagari script in a notebook. The title page records that this paper manuscript contains the text of Natarajapaddhati and that it was copied from a manuscript belonging to the same collection. Initially we thought that it might be a ritual manual pertaining to the Tiruvavatuthurai mutt.

While reading the manuscript we found the colophon that mentions the date of composition and also the author's lineage. According to it, the text was composed in śaka 980, i.e., 1058 CE. We also know of another work by Ramanatha, namely the Siddhāntadipikā, a manual on Śaivasiddhānta doctrines which was composed in śaka 993, i.e., 1071 AD. We have found that the Natarajapaddhati was, in fact, the same as the Ramanathapaddhati quoted by the saiva acarya-s of South India. In the internal colophons of the Natarajapaddhati both Ramesvara and Ramanatha are used synonymously as the name of its author. This also helped us confirm that he was the same Ramanatha who wrote the Siddhantadipika.

Ramanatha had given the name Natarajapaddhati to his text in honour of his guru, Nataraja (Națeśa). He also states that, residing at the matha situated at the east of the temple of the God of Puspavana, he had composed this paddhati for the followers of the Golakimatha in order that they easily comprehend the saiva ritual system.