Swami Desikan is said to have composed these 1008 verses in a single night. Needless to say, that this great feat called for mastery in imaginative versification of the highest order, which he alone is capable of. Although Paduka Sahasram speaks of multi-faceted quality of Ranganatha’s Padukas, it is generally acknowledged that Swami Desikan who had already written lyrics on subjects covering the Lord, Mahalakshmi, Bhoodevi, and other deities and acharyas, had deeply felt that he not eulogized Sri Nammazhwar and hence he was happy to compose the string of verses on him, also known as Shatagopan (from which comes the word Shataree).

The other version is that the Lord was so greatly pleased with Nammazhwar’s Thiruvoimozhi that He desired and inspired Swami Desikan to return His gratitude to the Azhwar in the form of Paduka Sahasram.