Religious ballads are introduced in this lesson. Differences between religious stories and religious ballads are bought out. Character formation in these ballads and the varieties of life styles used in them can be understood. Social understanding through these ballads is also highlighted.

The four central units define these ballads besides outlining the structure and the theme. The popular stories in these poems, the characters like Alli and Archunan and the man-woman relationship in their life-style are dealt with in these works.

Religious ballods are based on stories derived from religious works like Ramayanam and Mahabaratham besides Sivapuranam, Vishnupuranam and Bagavathapuranam.

Ballads like Maalai, Kuram, Kathaipaadal and Eniyettam are based on several events combined with the small story theme as in Alli Arasaani maalai, Minnoliyal Kuram and Eniyettam. All these three poems are dealt with in one unit of this lesson.