Kirmeeravadham (The Slaying of Kirmeera) is a Kathakali play(Aattakatha) written by Kottayam Thampuran (also known as Kottayathu Thampuran) in Malayalam. Based on the Mahabharatha, the story concerns itself with events in the course of the forest exile of the Pandava princes. The play has fourteen scenes. The four plays of Kottayam Thampuran, namely, Kirmeeravadham, Bakavadham, Kalyanasaugandhikam, and Kalakeyavadham, are considered very important in the Kathakali repertoire and are a combination of conventional structure (chitta) with intermittent possibilities for improvisation (manodharma).