Ramavataram, popularly referred to as
Kamba Ramayanam, is a
Tamil epic that was written by the
Tamil poet
Kamban 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 original 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.