Golden Lay Verses

Verse 199 (கனக வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

பாரப்பா பூநாகம் பொங்கும் பொங்கும்

பதமப்பா ஐங்கோலக் கருவின் மையில்

சேரப்பா பொன்னாகும் கண்ணி யோடே

செறிவப்பா அமுரியெனும் தேற்றான் வித்தே

நேரப்பா மணத்திட்ட காளிப் பாலை

நெறியப்பா பேய்த்துமட்டிக் கும்மட்டிச் சாறு

தேரப்பா கிழவேம்புக் கதலிக் கல்லில்

சேகரமாம் ரஸமணியின் திகழ்வு தானே

Transliteration

Paarappaa poonaagam pongum pongum

Pathamappaa aingolak karuvin maiyil

Serappaa ponnaagum kanni yode

Serivappaa amuriyenum thetraan vithe

Nerappaa manaththitta kaali paalai

Neriyappaa peyththumattik kummattich saaru

Therappaa kizhavempuk kathalik kallil

Segaramaam rasamaniyin thigazhvu thaane.

Literal Translation

“See, the pū-nāgam bubbles, bubbles.

Set it, in the ‘ink’ (dark paste/blackness) of the five-hued womb.

Join it with the maiden that becomes gold.

Make it dense—(with) the seed of the clarified essence called ‘Amuri’.

Bring it to measure/proper time—(with) the fragrant ‘Kāli-milk’.

By the proper method—(with) the juice of pey-tumatti and kummatti.

Choose/verify (it) on an old neem (base) and in/with a kathali-stone.

That indeed is the shining manifestation of the Rasamaṇi-gem that is gathered (from it).”

Interpretive Translation

The verse describes a rasavāda (Siddhar iatro-alchemy) operation in which “pū-nāgam” (likely mercury in its serpentine, volatile aspect) is made to “boil/rise,” then fixed and transformed by combining it with a “maiden” substance that “turns to gold” (often read as sulfur/śakti or a purifying co-agent), together with a concentrated distillate called “amuri.” The work is conducted through measured heating/time and repeated triturations using specific plant milks/juices (notably “Kāli-pāl,” umattai-related and kummatti juices), ground and tested on neem and “kathali-kal.” The intended end-product is a stabilized mercurial ‘gem’ (rasamaṇi)—a condensed, radiant essence used for rejuvenation, medicine, and the Siddhar ideal of making the volatile (restless) become steady (fixed).

Philosophical Explanation

Siddhar texts often let laboratory instruction and inner-yoga instruction overlap. On the outer level, the “serpent” that surges is mercury’s restless volatility: it rises, foams, and refuses containment unless disciplined by method (neṟi), correct proportion/time (nēram/padam), and suitable co-agents.

On the inner level, the same imagery can point to kuṇḍalinī/uyir-neruppu: an ascending force that “bubbles up,” requiring containment within a “womb” (karu) structured by the ‘five’ (aiṅkōlam)—suggesting the five elements, five breaths, or five-fold bodily constituents. The “maiden” then becomes the stabilizing śakti-principle (or the purifying partner-force) that converts raw potency into “gold,” i.e., perfected vitality and clarity. “Amuri” as a ‘clarified essence’ can be read both as an actual distillate used to process mercury and as the subtle nectar/essence that results when inner heat and discipline refine the body-mind.

Neem and the specified plant juices imply both pharmacological and symbolic functions: bitterness/antitoxicity (neem), intoxicant/poison-transforming motifs (umattai/datura-like references), and latex/milk as binding, coagulating, or ‘fixing’ media. The culmination—rasamaṇi’s “radiance”—is the Siddhar claim that properly tamed poison becomes medicine, and properly restrained volatility becomes enduring siddhi (steadfastness, longevity, and efficacy).

Key Concepts

  • Rasavāda / Siddhar iatro-alchemy
  • Pū-nāgam (serpent-like volatile principle; often read as mercury)
  • Rasamaṇi (mercurial ‘gem’ / fixed essence)
  • Fixation of the volatile (making ‘rasa’ stable)
  • Amuri (clarified essence/distillate; also suggestive of inner ‘nectar’)
  • ‘Maiden’ (kanni) as co-agent: sulfur/śakti/purifying partner
  • Measured heating and timing (padam, nēram) and method (neṟi)
  • Herbal processing: latex/milk and plant juices; detoxification/transmutation motif
  • Five-fold womb (aiṅkōlam karu): five elements/breaths/constituents as an inner-outer vessel

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “பூநாகம் (pū-nāgam)” can be read literally as a ‘flower-serpent,’ but in Siddhar rasavāda idiom it commonly encodes mercury (rasa) in its volatile, serpentine behavior; the verse does not explicitly name mercury, preserving cryptic cover.
  • “ஐங்கோலக் கருவின் மையில்” may mean (a) a ‘black paste/ink’ used in grinding, (b) the darkness of the vessel/womb where the operation occurs, or (c) a five-fold (elemental/pranic) inner matrix in yogic reading.
  • “கண்ணி (kanni, maiden/virgin)” could indicate (a) sulfur (often treated as mercury’s ‘female’ partner), (b) a specific ‘virgin’ mineral or salt, or (c) Śakti as the inner stabilizer that converts rising force into ‘gold.’
  • “அமுரி (amuri)” may be an actual named distillate/essence in the lineage’s pharmacopoeia, but it also invites the secondary sense of amṛta-like ‘nectar’; the text does not specify preparation, implying esoteric oral transmission.
  • “காளிப் பால் (Kāli-milk)” could be (a) a specific plant latex (often Calotropis/Euphorbia-type milks in Tamil medical usage), (b) a ritual/lineage-coded reagent named after Kāḷi, or (c) an inner ‘milk/nectar’ metaphor; the adjective ‘fragrant’ complicates a purely literal latex reading.
  • “பேய்த்துமட்டி / உம்மட்டி (umattai)” gestures toward datura-type materials and the poison-as-medicine trope, but the exact species and whether ‘pey-’ is a qualifier (demonic/intoxicating) or a distinct plant-name remains uncertain.
  • “கும்மட்டி (kummatti)” may indicate a gourd/cucurbit juice, another local plant, or a coded name for a class of moistening agents used in trituration; the verse gives function-by-association rather than botanical clarity.
  • “கிழவேம்புக் கதலிக் கல்லில்” can be read as (a) grinding/testing on a neem-wood/older neem base and a ‘kathali stone,’ (b) a specific grinding slab made from/used with plantain (kathali) materials, or (c) a symbolic pairing of bitter purification (neem) with softening/coagulating support (plantain).