Golden Lay Verses

Verse 177 (யோக வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

அங்கமெலாம் பங்கமிலாத் தங்க மாக

அழிவற்றுப் போமமுத நிலையுண் டாகச்

சங்கையிலாச் சங்கத்தின் நாதம் ஓங்கத்

தத்துவமாம் தமனிகள்ரீங் காரஞ் செய்ய

பொங்கிவரும் பொறிபுலன்க ளைய்யம் நீங்கிப்

போக்கற்றுப் போக்குவர வாகி நிற்க

எங்கணுமே மங்காத ஜோதி யுள்ளே

இருப்பதுவே ராஜாங்க யோக மாகும்

Transliteration

angamelaam pangamilaath thanga maaga

azivattrup pomamutha nilaiyun daagach

sangaiyilaach sangaththin naadham oongath

thaththuvamaam thamanigalrreeng kaaranj seyya

pongivarum poripulanka laiyyam neengip

pokkattrup pokkuvara vaagi nirka

engkanumey mangaatha jothi yulley

iruppathuve raajaanga yoga maagum.

Literal Translation

When all the limbs become like flawless gold,

when there arises the state of deathless/imperishable “amṛta” (nectar),

when the nāda (inner sound) of the doubtless “saṅgam” swells,

when the tattva-nāḍīs/“thamanigaḷ” make a “rīṅ” (humming) resonance,

when the rising confusions/impurities of the sense-organs depart,

standing without any “going,” becoming one beyond coming-and-going,

with an unfading light everywhere within—

to abide thus is “Rājāṅga Yoga.”

Interpretive Translation

Rājaṅga (kingly/royal-limbed) yoga is the interior attainment in which the body is rendered incorruptible (spoken of as becoming “gold”), the deathless nectar-state is tasted, the inner sound of yogic union becomes pronounced, and the subtle channels—governed by the tattvas—vibrate with a distinctive humming resonance. As sensory turbulence and doubt dissolve, one remains motionless in a condition beyond all arrival and departure, established in an inner light that does not dim anywhere.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse compresses a Siddhar map of realization in bodily-alchemical and yogic terms.

1) “Flawless gold” (பங்கமிலாத் தங்கம்): Literally it is an image of purity and non-decay; in Siddhar idiom it can simultaneously point to (a) an alchemical transformation of the bodily constituents (dhātu-pariṇāma / kāya-siddhi), and (b) a metaphor for a mind-body made free of “blemish” (karma/vasana) and therefore not subject to corrosion by time.

2) “Imperishable amṛta-state”: Siddhar texts often treat amṛta not only as mystical nectar but as a physiological-yogic event—cooling, sustaining, and associated with a reversal of ordinary wasting processes. “Aḻivattru” (imperishable) indicates a state where decay is suspended, whether read literally (longevity/immortality motifs) or contemplatively (abidance in the deathless awareness).

3) “Nāda of the doubtless saṅgam”: “Saṅgam” can mean a union or confluence; it may denote the yogic joining of currents (commonly read as iḍā–piṅgalā resolving into a central current), or the meeting of individual and absolute. “Sangai-ilā” (without doubt) suggests a certainty that is not intellectual but experiential—stabilized by inner audition (nāda).

4) “Thamanigaḷ… rīṅkāram”: “Thamanigaḷ” in Tamil can mean vessels/veins/ducts; in Siddhar usage it may extend to subtle nāḍīs. Their “rīṅ” humming points to an inner vibration—often described as bee-like (bhrāmarī-like) or as the subtle resonance that becomes audible when prāṇa is collected and the senses withdraw. The mention of “tattva” frames this as a transformation in the elemental/ontological principles that pattern body and mind.

5) Sense-impurities depart; beyond coming-and-going: As the indriyas quiet, the practitioner becomes “pōkk-atru” (without going), a phrase that can mean physical stillness, cessation of mental roaming, and—more radically—abiding in that which is not subject to saṃsāric transit (birth/death, entry/exit).

6) Unfading inner light: The “jōti” (light) is presented as internal and ubiquitous—suggesting the self-luminous awareness (or an interior luminosity experienced in deep yoga). Calling it “unfading” marks it as not a sensory light but a stable, non-dependent radiance.

Thus, “Rājāṅga Yoga” is portrayed not as a technique but as the resultant state: purified/‘golden’ embodiment, nectar-like imperishability, inner sound and vibration in the channels, sensory transcendence, and luminous, unmoving abidance beyond all dualities of movement and rest.

Key Concepts

  • Rājāṅga (royal-limbed/kingly) yoga as a state rather than a method
  • Kāya-siddhi / “golden body” imagery (purity, incorruptibility, alchemical transformation)
  • Amṛta (nectar) and imperishability (aḻivattru)
  • Nāda (inner sound) and certainty beyond doubt
  • Saṅgam (union/confluence) as yogic integration
  • Tattva framework (principles/elements shaping body-mind)
  • Thamanigaḷ (vessels/nāḍīs) and inner vibration (“rīṅkāram” hum)
  • Indriya-śuddhi / withdrawal of senses and removal of impurities
  • Transcendence of coming-and-going (beyond saṃsāric transit)
  • Inner unfading jōti (self-luminous inner light)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Flawless gold” can be read literally (alchemical/physiological transmutation) or metaphorically (purified, non-decaying awareness-body). The verse does not force a single register.
  • “Pōm amudhu nilai” / “amṛta-state” may indicate a yogic secretion/experience, a symbolic “deathless” consciousness, or both; Siddhar diction often intentionally overlays medical and metaphysical meanings.
  • “Saṅgam” may mean confluence of nāḍīs/currents, union of Śiva–Śakti, or the meeting of jīva and param; the phrase “saṅgattin nādam” leaves the referent open.
  • “Thamanigaḷ” can denote gross veins/ducts in a medical sense or subtle nāḍīs in a yogic sense; the text does not specify which level is primary.
  • “Rīṅkāram” (the ‘rīṅ’ sound) may be an onomatopoeic marker of an internal hum (bee-like resonance), a sign of prāṇic movement in the central channel, or an encoded hint toward mantra/bīja-like vibration; the verse preserves the sonic cue without explicit decoding.
  • “Beyond coming-and-going” can mean deep meditative stillness, cessation of mental modifications, or the metaphysical ‘deathless’ (not entering/exiting states); all are plausible within Siddhar polyvalence.
  • “Unfading light everywhere within” could be interpreted as an experiential inner luminosity (yogic perception) or as the philosophical claim of self-luminous consciousness pervading all inner space; the verse keeps both readings compatible.