Kambar, is one of the greatest Tamil poets. Kambar authored the tamil version of Ramayana, or the Story of Rama, one of the oldest epics in human history. The original version was written by Sage Valmiki (c.250 BC). This epic of 24,000 verses tells of a Raghuvamsa prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, a mighty emperor. In Hindu mythology Rama is considered to be the Seventh incarnation of God Vishnu, one of the Hindu holy trinity (Brahma and Shiva completing the trinity).

Kavi (poet) Kamban wrote Ramavatharam in his native Tamil language inspired by the Sanskrit Epic.

Kamban was born in the 11th Century in Therazhundur, a village in the culturally rich Tanjavur district in the modern state of Tamil Nadu in South India. Kamban was a great scholar of India's two ancient and rich languages, Sanskrit (Indo-European) and Tamil (Dravidian).

The Ramavataram or Kamba Ramayana of Kamban is an epic of over 10,000 verses, of 4-lines each. Kamba Ramayana is not a translation of the Sanskrit epic by Valmiki, but an original retelling of the story of the God Rama. The poetic work is well known for its similes.

Legend has it that the entire episode was written in one night, as Kambar procrastinated the work till the day before the deadline set by the King. There is a saying that Kamban veetu kattu thariyum kavi paadum, loosesly meaning, Even Kamban's loom can pen a poem.