The origin of the Nadi astrology (palm leaf reading) can be traced back to approximately thousands years ago. It is said about nadi astrology that the Indian Rishis or sages had written the life patterns of each persons life on palm leaves by their Yogic Intuitive powers. These unique leaves were initially kept in the temple library.

Later who were very much interested in knowledge related to nadi astrology they got the leaves from the library. This is a traditional service and is being practiced by generations downwards. The primary center for Nadi-Shastra ( Nadi jothidam or Naadi josiyam) is in Vaitheeswarankoil, near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. Here Lord Shiva is said to have assumed the role of a 'Vaidhya' or 'Doctor', who all aviated the miseries of his devotees.

In Tamil Nadu, the texts are mainly written in Vattezhuthu, which is an ancient Thamizh (Tamil) script. They were written by an ancient priest or "Rishi" called Agastya who had a highly developed consciousness. These ancient records of providence were made famous by practitioners around the Vaitheeswara Temple in the state of Tamil Nadu. First, the Naadi palm leaves are located based on the thumb impressions (right for men, left for women).

The nadi was written down in ancient Tamil script called, Vatta eluzhuthu, in palm leaf manuscripts.

There are different types of nadis written down by the Rishis and also there is a nadi called Siva nadi, which is in a dialogue form between the Lord and his consort Parvati.

Saint Kakabusanda also sang verses to his beloved disciple, Goraknath about the destinies of men. And his nadi is called, kakabusanda nadi.

There are Nadis like Ganesh Nadi, Brahma Nadi, Muruga nadi, tantra nadi, Shakti nadi, Atri nadi, Nandi nadi, Dhruva Nadi, jeeva nadi and Suka nadi.

These nadi leaves are preserved by applying peacock oil on it on auspicious occasions.

It is believed that these leaves are written only for the destined souls, who would seek the leaf, on their own accord at the destined hour.

The basic concept of Nadi Astrology is "Nadi" (nāḍi). There are 150 Nādis in a sign or Rāshi (Rāsi); one sign is 30 degrees of the zodiac 360. Twelve signs of zodiac are grouped into three categories: Movable (Chara), Fixed (Sthira) and Dual (Dvisvabhāva) signs. The nomenclature of 150 Nādis is peculiar to each of these three types of signs. There are 1,800 Nādis in 360 degrees. Numbers and names of Nādis are identical among all four Chara signs. Among all four Sthira signs, numbers and names of Nādis are identical, but numbering is different from those in Chara and Dvisvabhāva signs.

Similarly, numbering of Nādis in all four Dvisvabhāva signs are identical among themselves, but different from Chara or Sthira signs. For instance, the first Nādi in Chara signs such as Aries is Vasudhā Nādi, but in Sthira signs the order is reversed and Vasudhā is 150th Nādi. In Dvisvabhāva signs such as Gemini, Vasudhā is 76th Nādi; that is, from the middle of 150. Thus, there are 450 distinctive names and numbers in the full zodiac. Nādi texts use this concept of Nādi as the basic unit for prediction. That is why they are called "Nādi amshas".