Golden Lay Verses

Verse 1 (காப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஓமென்னு மைங்கரத்து முதலோன் பாதம்

உயர்பரனுக் கும்குருவாம் குமரன் பாதம்

ஊமென்ன முன்னிற்கு முமையாள் பாதம்

ஊமையெழுத் துள்ளுயிராம் சிவனார் பாதம்

காமனையே பெற்றெடுத்த திருமால் பாதம்

கனகமணிச் சிரக்கோயிற் கவினைக் கண்டே

சேமமுறுஞ் சித்தர்பதம் போற்றிக் காரைச்

சித்தன்யான் வைப்புமுறை செப்பு வேனே

Transliteration

Omenna maingkaraththu mudhalon paatham

uyarparanuk kumguruvam kumaran paatham

oomenna munnirku mumaiyaal paatham

oomaiyezhuth thulluyiraam sivanar paatham

kaamanaiye petreduththa thirumaal paatham

kanakamani'ch chirakkoyir kavinai kande

semamurun chiththarpatham potrik kaarai'ch

siththanyaan vaippumurai seppu vene.

Literal Translation

“The Feet of the Primordial One of the ‘Oṁ’—the First Lord with enchanting hands;

The Feet of Kumaran, who is Guru even to the Supreme Transcendent;

The Feet of Umā-Devī, spoken of as ‘Uṁ’, standing foremost;

The Feet of Śiva, who is the inner life within the ‘Umā-letter’;

The Feet of Tirumāl (Viṣṇu), who brought forth Kāma himself;

Having beheld the beauty of the temple whose crown is of gold and gems,

Praising the Siddhar-state/Feet that bestow well-being, I—Karai Siddhan—

Will speak the method of “vaippu” (placing/keeping/enshrining) as I know it.”

Interpretive Translation

“From the mystic sound ‘Oṁ’ and its first principle, up through the guruhood of Kumāra (Murugan), through Śakti as ‘Uṁ’, and Śiva as the inmost life within that very syllable—

I take refuge in the ‘Feet’ (the ultimate ground/abode) of these divine principles.

Even Viṣṇu’s ‘Feet’, tied here to the arising (or mastery) of desire (Kāma), are included.

Having seen a resplendent, jewel-crowned golden shrine—

I praise the auspicious Siddhar-abode (the attained state of liberation/medicine-like well-being),

And Karai Siddhar now sets out to disclose the concealed procedure called “vaippu-murai” (the way of placing/preserving/enshrining).”

Philosophical Explanation

1) “Feet” (pādam) here is both literal devotion and a technical Siddhar shorthand: the ‘feet’ of a deity can mean the foundation, the support, the final refuge, or the attained ‘state’ (padam) of realization.

2) The verse links divinity to sound/letters: ‘Oṁ’ and ‘Uṁ’ are not merely utterances but principles (tattvas). In Siddhar/Tantric idiom, syllables are living powers; to name the syllable is to point to a corresponding inner center, mode of consciousness, or deity-function.

3) Kumaran as “guru even to the Supreme” preserves a mythic-yogic motif: Murugan/Skanda is the revealer of the highest mantra-meaning (e.g., the teaching of praṇava). In yogic terms, the ‘guru principle’ can be depicted as arising within the divine itself, not merely in human lineage.

4) Umā and Śiva are described as mutually interior: Śiva is said to be the “inner life” within the ‘Umā-letter.’ This expresses a non-dual (or near non-dual) theology: Śakti is not separate from Śiva; the letter/sound that names Śakti already contains Śiva as its vital core. It also hints at mantra-sādhana—penetrating the “inside” of a syllable to reach its living consciousness.

5) The Viṣṇu–Kāma line can be read devotionally and therapeutically: Siddhar texts often treat desire (kāma) both as a cosmic power that gives rise to worlds and as a force to be transmuted. Bringing forth Kāma may also imply the governance of Kāma—desire being generated, sustained, and potentially mastered within dharma.

6) The jewel-crowned golden temple is not only an external shrine but can function as an inner symbol (the ‘temple’ of the body or head). “Crown” naturally invites a yogic reading (the head/top, sahasrāra; or the “spire” as suṣumṇā’s ascent). Yet the verse does not force a single identification; it keeps the referent open.

7) The concluding promise—“I will speak the vaippu-murai”—sounds like a preface to a method: ‘vaippu’ can mean placing, storing, depositing, fixing in position, enshrining, or keeping preserved. In Siddhar medical/alchemical contexts it can hint at how a substance is kept, sealed, layered, incubated, or “placed” for efficacy; in yogic contexts it can hint at how attention/breath/mantra is ‘placed’ in a center. The verse’s invocation of deities and syllables frames that method as sacred and power-bearing rather than merely procedural.

Key Concepts

  • Pādam (feet/state/refuge)
  • Praṇava (Oṁ) symbolism
  • Syllable/letter mysticism (akṣara-tattva)
  • Kumaran/Murugan as guru-principle
  • Umā–Śiva non-separateness (Śakti–Śiva unity)
  • Viṣṇu (Tirumāl) and Kāma (desire) as cosmic/transformable power
  • Temple as outer shrine and possible inner-body allegory
  • Siddhar-padam (state of attainment) as “well-being/auspiciousness”
  • Vaippu-murai (method of placing/preserving/enshrining; possibly technical)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “மைங்கரத்து முதலோன்” can mean “the first/primordial one with beautiful/dark hands,” or a specific epithet of a deity (potentially Brahmā or a primal Lord); the compound is intentionally opaque.
  • “உயர்பரன்” (‘Supreme Transcendent’) could refer to Śiva in a Śaiva reading, or to an abstract Parabrahman beyond sectarian mapping; thus “Kumaran as guru even to the Supreme” can be mythic or metaphysical.
  • “ஊமென்ன” may be read as the mantra-syllable “Uṁ,” but “ūmai/ūme” also carries the sense of “mute/silent,” allowing a reading about the ‘silent letter/sound’ (mantra’s interior silence).
  • “ஊமையெழுத்” can be parsed as “the letter of Umā” (Umā-eḻuttu) or as “the mute letter” (a soundless/implicit akṣara), which changes whether the focus is goddess-identification or esoteric phonetics.
  • “காமனையே பெற்றெடுத்த திருமால்” could mean Viṣṇu as progenitor of Kāma (through mythic genealogy such as Pradyumna/Kāma), or symbolically that dharmic preservation also generates/contains desire; alternatively it can imply the capacity to subdue or reconstitute desire.
  • “கனகமணிச் சிரக்கோயில்” may denote a specific famed shrine (golden, gem-crowned), but it can also function as an inner-yogic image of the ‘crowned temple’ (head/crown-center).
  • “சித்தர்பதம்” can mean the feet of realized Siddhars, or the ‘state/plane’ (padam) of siddha-realization, or both simultaneously.
  • “வைப்புமுறை” may be a practical instruction about storing/placing medicines or alchemical preparations, or an inner discipline about placing mantra/breath/awareness; the verse does not close the meaning.