Golden Lay Verses

Verse 270 (இல்லற வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

கோசாரப் பசுபதியி னெழுத்தைந்துக்கும்

குணபதியாம் கணபதியி னெழுத்து நான்கும்

மீசாரக் கோமதிக்கு பீஜம் ரிங்வுங்

மேவியுடன் சங்வங்கென் றேற்றியின்ப

மாசாரத் திருமகட்கே யோமென்றோதி

மாறிவந்து பூசைசெய மதியாங் கண்டீர்

ஆசாரம் பூசார மனைத்தின் சாரம்

அப்பப்பா யில்வாழ்வான் நல்வாழ்வானே

Transliteration

koosaarap pasupathiyi nezhutthainthukkum

kunapathiyaam kanapathiyi nezhutthu naangkum

meesaarak koomathikku beejam ringvung

meviyudan sangvangen rettiyinpa

maasaarath thirumagatkee yoomendrothi

maarivanthu poosaiseiya mathiyaang kandeer

aachaaram poos

Literal Translation

For the five letters of Pasupati (Śiva) of “kōsāra/ gōsāra”,

(and) for the four letters of Gaṇapati—who is called the Lord of qualities—,

for Gōmati of “mīsāra”, the bīja (seed-syllable) is “RING” too;

with what is joined, (uttering/raising) “SANGVANG” and taking delight,

for the auspicious Lady, Tirumagaḷ (Lakṣmī), reciting “OM”,

come back/come again and do worship—see (and) understand, O unknowing ones!

The essence of all right conduct and of all priestly worship:

Alas, alas—he who lives at home (as a householder) will be the one who lives well.

Interpretive Translation

Recite Śiva’s five-syllabled formula; recite Gaṇapati’s four-syllabled formula; then employ Gōmati’s bīja (“RING”) together with an additional sound (“SANGVANG”) as prescribed, and finally place “OM” upon/for Tirumagaḷ (Lakṣmī). Do this as a recurring act of worship. This is presented as the distilled core of both ethical discipline (ācāram) and ritual discipline (pūsāram): a householder who keeps to this mantric order will obtain a “good life” (nallvāḻvu)—i.e., an auspicious, steady, well-aligned life.

Philosophical Explanation

1) Mantra as “essence” of ācāram and pūjā: The verse equates the heart of outer observance (conduct rules, purity, ritual correctness) with an inner technology: precise sound-sequences (akṣara/bīja) directed to specific deities/powers. For Siddhar discourse, this often means that ethical life and ritual life are not separate; both are modes of aligning the person’s mind–breath–body with order (dharma).

2) The triadic/serial logic (Śiva → Gaṇapati → Śrī/Lakṣmī): - Śiva/Pasupati: placed first, suggesting the ultimate principle, purification, and release. - Gaṇapati: invoked as the “lord of qualities/hosts,” classically the remover of obstacles and the gatekeeper of rites; in yogic readings he also stabilizes the base and the beginnings of practice. - Gōmati/Tirumagaḷ (Lakṣmī): the prosperity/auspiciousness principle, sustaining worldly life; hence the explicit address to the householder (il-vāḻvān). This sequence resembles a practical household sādhanā: clear the ground (Śiva), remove impediments (Gaṇapati), then establish flourishing (Śrī).

3) Numbers (five and four) as coded structure: “Five letters” (Śiva) readily evokes the pañcākṣara; “four letters” (Gaṇapati) may encode a chaturakṣarī form or a compressed seed/name-formula. Siddhar texts frequently use such counts as shorthand for whole mantra-systems and their correlated cosmologies (five elements, five-fold purification; four directions/quarters, four states, or foundational stabilizations).

4) Bīja-syllables (“RING”, “SANGVANG”) as alchemical-yogic “seeds”: The bīja is not merely devotional; it is treated as a sonic catalyst that “plants” a force in the subtle body. In Siddhar idiom, correct sound and correct placement (mental/ritual) transmute the practitioner’s inner condition. The text, however, stays deliberately cryptic about exact phonetics and procedure, indicating a tradition where full instructions are often transmitted orally.

5) “Good life” as a disciplined integration: The closing couplet is not anti-household; it affirms that a well-lived domestic life can be spiritually potent when anchored in disciplined recitation and worship. The “essence” claim implies that elaborate externals are secondary to the correctly ordered inner rite and the conduct that supports it.

Key Concepts

  • Pasupati (Śiva) pañcākṣara / five-letter formula
  • Gaṇapati four-letter formula (chaturakṣara reference)
  • Gōmati and Tirumagaḷ (Lakṣmī/Śrī principle)
  • Bīja-mantra (seed syllable): “RING” (as written)
  • Additional/auxiliary syllable: “SANGVANG” (as written)
  • OM as integrating praṇava
  • Ācāram (ethical/ritual conduct) and pūjā as a single distilled practice
  • Householder path (il-vāḻkkai) as valid sādhanā

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “கோசாரப்/கோசாரம்” (kōsāra/gōsāra) is unclear: it may be a sectarian/ritual qualifier, a reference to gocara (movement/sense-range/astrological transit), or a coded term for “roaming”/manifest operation of Śiva; the verse does not disambiguate.
  • “Pasupati five letters” likely points to the pañcākṣara, but Siddhar usage can compress or reorder syllables; the exact five-syllable form is not explicitly given here.
  • “Gaṇapati four letters” is cryptic: it could mean the four syllables of the name ‘ga-ṇa-pa-ti’, a specific chaturakṣarī mantra, or a local tradition’s abbreviated formula; the verse does not specify the phonetic content.
  • The bīja written as “ரிங்வுங் / RING” cannot be securely mapped to a standard Sanskrit bīja without tradition-specific context (it could correspond to variants like rīṃ/hrīṃ/śrīṃ in different lineages).
  • “சங்வங் / SANGVANG” may be an auxiliary bīja, a phonetic marker for nasalization/ending, or a lineage-coded add-on (e.g., a concluding sound like vaṣaṭ/svāhā in local form). The text preserves it without explanation.
  • Gōmati and Tirumagaḷ may be the same goddess under two names (a Lakṣmī-form) or two related but distinct invocations in sequence; the verse can be read either way.
  • “மதியாங் கண்டீர்” can be read as ‘see/know (this), O unwise,’ or as an allusion to ‘madi’ (mind/moon/intellect) implying an inner attainment; the wording allows both ethical admonition and yogic hinting.