Delivered by Sahadevar Sahadeva, the youngest of the five Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata, is traditionally revered in South India as a master of astrology and the occult sciences.

The Science of Divination by Touch original: "Thodukuri Sastiram." A traditional Tamil method of divination where a seeker closes their eyes and touches a grid of numbers to receive a prediction.

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The wheel for discerning good and evil fortune.

The table above uses Tamil numerals 1 through 4 in various combinations. In practice, a seeker would touch one of these cells, and the resulting three-digit number would lead them to a specific verse predicting their future.

A verse form in Tamil poetry defined by its rhythmic quantity and specific rhyme patterns.

To ensure that the people of this prosperous world may know their good and bad fortunes,
And thereby flourish and be redeemed;
To narrate this Science of Divination by Touch in the fine Tamil language;
We seek protection at the two feet of Siddhi Vinayaka, A form of the god Ganesha, the "remover of obstacles" and bestower of success (Siddhi).
Who is like a dark rain-cloud, possessing seven-fold ichor, original: "Matham." Referring to the musth or temple-fluid of an elephant, symbolizing power and divinity.
With his tusks, hanging trunk, five hands, and his majestic elephant head.