The Sacred Verse
Pāsuram (Tamil: from Sanskrit padyam + Tamil suffix, or from pāḍu = to sing + uram = strength; literally 'a strong/powerful song') is the individual verse unit of the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham. The 4,000 pāsurams are organized into various works (prabandhas), each by a specific Āzhvār, in a specific rāga, addressing a specific aspect of the Lord or a specific Divya Deśam.
Structure and Form
Pāsurams vary in length and meter: some are short four-line verses (viruttam), others are longer decads (paṭigam) of ten verses with an eleventh summary verse. Each prabandham has its own prescribed recitation melodies (isai) and emotional register (rasa).
Status
In the Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition, a pāsuram is not merely poetry — it is Bhagavān speaking through the Āzhvār's divinely granted vision (maṭal). Reciting pāsurams is equivalent to Vedic recitation (svādhyāya). Each pāsuram concludes with a phalaśruti — a verse stating the benefit of reciting that particular work.