The 12th century was when these leaves were discovered in the vicinity in South India ancient Vaitheeswaran Koil in Tamil Nadu. The Nayanar community that discovered these leaves recognized their significance and created exactly copies. They are the custodians of the Nadi Leaves since the time of discovery. Also, they are the sole community that has been trained for generations in the art of reading leaves and interpret them to come up with the predictions. Additionally, they are the only ones with access to Nadi leaves, and are still following this tradition of traditional nadi Astrology. Astrologers of the past who were keen on learning about the subject to nadi-astrology obtained the leaves from libraries. It is believed that the leaves on palms were initially written on animal skins, and some later on were copied onto palm leaves. They were also preserved through the application of oil derived from blood of a peacock. The principal center for Nadi Astrology is situated in the Vaitheeswaran koil, South India.

The Maharajah Serfoji II of Tanjore, who was a huge patron of the sciences and arts stored the leaves in his library to ensure they were accessible for future generations. The British recovered the leaves within their time in the kingdom, and later sold them to a few Indian families who keep these leaves. The families that keep them are meticulous and continue to instruct people on how to read the leaves, so that people can still benefit from the wisdom of these Siddhas, also called Naadi Astrology Family. The Siddhas now consider themselves to be Nadi family of astrologers. It is believed that one of the Nadi followers Mr.G.Natarajan Swamy is a specialist in the area of Vaitheeswaran oil and is part of one of the most prestigious Nadi families.