கோட்டையடா மூவரைகள் கோட்டம் போட்டே
கோட்டையுறும் வாயிலெட்டுக் கோணந்தன்னில்
வாட்டமற வாயிலிலே காவலாக
மாதாகா யித்திரிசா வித்ரியன்னை
கேட்டையெலாம் நீக்கிடுவாள் கேட்பதெல்லாம்
கெடியான நொடியினிலே கிடைக்கச் செய்வாள்
கூட்டிடுவாள் கூடாத பயன்களெல்லாம்
கூட்டுவிப்பாள் நாட்டுவிப்பாள் கோமளத்தாய்
Kottaiyada moovaraihal kottam potte
Kottaiyurum vaayilettuk konanthannil
Vaattamara vaayilile kaavalaaga
Maathaakaa yithirisaa vithriyannai
Kettaiyelaam neekkiduvaal ketpathellaam
Kediyaana nodiyinile kidaikkach seivaal
Koottiduvaal koodaatha payangalellaam
Koottuvippaall naattuvippaall komalaththaay.
“Build the fort, O man—set up the three enclosures and make the fortification.
In the ‘corner’ where there are the eight gates belonging to the fort,
stand as a guard at the gate without weariness.
Mother—(called) Māthāgā, Itthirisā, Vithri—Mother!
She will remove every misfortune; whatever one asks,
she will make it obtained in an instant, in a fleeting moment.
She will also unite (bestow) all gains that ought not be joined (ought not be had),
She will cause them to be gathered and established—O gentle Mother.”
The verse speaks in the idiom of a “fort” to describe the yogic body and its defended inner domain. The practitioner is told to “raise the fortress” by arranging a threefold protective structure (often read as a triad within the person: three channels/flows, three impurities, or three layers of embodiment) and to station vigilant awareness at the “eight gates”—the outward-running portals where life leaks out as sense-impulse, speech, breath-dispersion, and habitual reaction. At this guarded threshold stands a Mother-power—named cryptically as Māthāgā / Itthirisā / Vithri—evoking a mantra-form of the protecting Goddess (frequently associated with Gāyatrī/Sāvitrī lineages in Siddhar usage). When properly installed/invoked, she becomes the inner gatekeeper: she removes affliction and inauspicious forces, and grants requests with immediate effectiveness. The poem also hints at the dangerous edge of siddhi: she can “join” even those results that are normally ‘not to be joined’—i.e., extraordinary or forbidden attainments—yet, being “gentle,” she also ‘establishes’ (stabilizes) the state so that power does not scatter.
1) “Fort / fortification” (கோட்டை, கோட்டம்): In Siddhar discourse this often signals the body-as-citadel and the discipline that seals it—an inner alchemy of containment. It can include ethical restraints, breath-regulation, mantra, and the sealing of energies that otherwise dissipate.
2) “Three enclosures” (மூவரைகள்): The triad is intentionally open. Common Siddha triads that fit the context are: (a) three nāḍīs (iḍā, piṅgalā, suṣumṇā) to be harmonized and ‘walled’; (b) three doṣas (vāta, pitta, kapha) to be balanced as a medical fortification; (c) three malas/impurities (āṇava, karma, māyā) to be bounded so they do not rule the gates; or (d) three bodies/sheaths in a simplified scheme. The verse does not force one choice.
3) “Eight gates” (வாயிலெட்டு) and “in the corner/angle” (கோணம்): ‘Gates’ indicates openings/portals—either sensory avenues or directional points in a yantra-like geometry. The mention of “corner/angle” supports a mandalic/architectural visualization: the inner practice is like placing a guardian in each angular portal so the citadel is not breached by wandering forces.
4) The “Mother” as gatekeeper: Siddhar texts often compress mantra-names into unusual spellings. The Mother here is both a protective intelligence (devatā) and the awakened śakti that stands watch at thresholds (between outer and inner, between breath and mind). Her “removing misfortunes” matches the apotropaic function of mantra; her “instant granting” matches the siddhi motif.
5) Ethical tension: “She will unite even the gains that should not be united” can be read two ways: (a) as sheer potency—śakti can produce even abnormal/forbidden outcomes; or (b) as a warning that without discernment, one may obtain ‘unfit’ fruits. The closing “gentle Mother” softens but does not cancel the ambiguity—power is real, and therefore responsibility is real.
Overall, the passage functions as an instruction in yogic guarding (attention at the gates), a hint at ritual/yantra installation (fort, corners, gates), and a theology of inner śakti (Mother as both protector and granter of siddhis).