Shaiva Siddhanta in the context of "Nayanmars"

Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing material in the Indian subcontinent, dating back to as early as the 5th century BCE. Their use began in India and spread to other regions, such as Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, in the form of dried and smoke-treated Palmyra or talipot palm leaves.Their use continued until the 19th century when the printing press replaced hand-written manuscripts.

One of the oldest surviving complete palm leaf manuscripts is a Sanskrit Shaivism text from the 9th century, discovered in Nepal, and now preserved at the Cambridge University Library. The Spitzer Manuscript is a collection of palm leaf fragments found in Kizil Caves, China. They are dated to around the 2nd century CE and is in Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit.

Brihadisvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram (lit. 'Lord of Rajaraja') by its builder, and known locally as Thanjai Periya Kovil (lit. 'Thanjavur Big Temple') and Peruvudaiyar Kovil (lit. 'Temple of the great lord'), is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of Tamil architecture. It is also called Dakshina Meru (Meru of the South). Built by Chola emperor Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", along with the Chola-era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple, which are about 70 kilometres (43 mi) and 40 kilometres (25 mi) to its northeast respectively.

The original monuments of this 11th-century temple were built around a moat. It included gopura, the main temple, its massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes, and sculptures predominantly related to Shaivism, but also of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. The temple was damaged in its history and some artwork is now missing. Additional mandapam and monuments were added in the centuries that followed. The temple now stands amidst fortified walls that were added after the 16th century.

Meykandar (Tamil: மெய்கண்டார், Meykaṇṭār, lit. the truth seer), also known as Meykanda Devar, was a 13th-century philosopher and theologian who contributed to the Shaiva Siddhanta school of Shaivism. His literary work known as Śiva Jñāna Bodham (in Tamil) on Shaiva Siddhanta has enjoyed great vogue and prestige among Tamils comparable to other works of Hindu philosophy from the Advaita of Adi Shankara and Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja.

Sadasiva (Sanskrit: सदाशिव, Sadāśiva), is the Supreme Being in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. Sadasiva is the omnipotent, subtle, luminous absolute, the highest manifestation of Shiva. Sadasiva is believed to bestow anugraha and vilaya, or grace and obscuration of pasha, which are the fourth and fifth of the Panchakritya, or the "five holy acts" of Shiva. Sadasiva is usually depicted having five faces and ten hands, and is considered one of the 25 forms of Shiva. Shiva Agamas conclude that the lingam, especially the mukhalingam, is another form of Sadasiva.

The Arunachalesvara Temple or Annamalaiyar Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and Parvati, located at the foothills of the Arunachala hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is regarded as one of the significant temples in the Tamil Shaivite tradition. It is one of the Pancha Bhuta Sthalams and is associated with the element of fire (Agni) among the five natural elements. The presiding deity of the temple is Annamalaiyar (meaning "the mountain that cannot be reached"), who is worshipped as the embodiment of the hill itself, and is represented by a lingam known as the Agni Lingam, symbolizing the element of fire. Parvathi, revered as Unnamulai ammai, is represented by the yoni, with her idol referred to as the Agni Yoni.

The temple is classified as one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, one of the 276 sacred Saivite temples glorified in medieval Tamil Shaiva literature. It is celebrated in canonical Tamil devotional works such as the Tevaram composed by the Nayanars in 7th century CE, Tiruvempavai by Manikkavacakar in 9th century CE, and Tiruppukal by Arunagirinathar in the 14th century CE.

Pāśa (Sanskrit: पाश, romanized: pāśa, lit. "bondage", "fetter") is one of the three main components considered in Shaivism. It is defined as whole of the existence, manifest and unmanifest. According to Shaiva Siddhanta, Pati (the supreme being), Pashu (atmans) and Pasha are eternal, self-consistent, neither distinguishable nor indivisible triad in the nature.