Golden Lay Verses

Verse 286 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சாகாத்தலை வேகாக்கலை சாராநடு வாகும்

ஏகாக்கிர மாஜாக்கிர வாகாக்ரம ராகம்

போகாப்புனல் புகுதாக்கனல் மீகாச்சுட ராகும்

ஆகாவளி மோகாக்களி யானந்தவை போகம்

Transliteration

saakaaththalai vegaakkalai saaraanadu vaagum

egaakkira maajaakkira vaagaakkrama raagam

bokaappunal puguthaakkanal miikaachchuda raagum

aakaavali mogaakkali yaanandhavai bogam

Literal Translation

“The deathless head (crown) makes the ‘vēgāk-kalai’; it becomes the unattaching middle-path.

The one-pointed (ekāgira) and the great-waking (mā-jākkira) become the ‘vāk-ākrama’ raga.

The ‘non-going’ water becomes entering-fire; it becomes a higher (mīgā) flame/light.

In the sky-air/path (ākā-vaḷi), the ‘mōgā-kaḷi’—this is the enjoyment/experience of bliss (ānanda-bhoga).”

Interpretive Translation

When awareness rises to the “deathless head” (often read as the crown center), the vital movement/“kalā” is re-formed so that one abides in the central channel that does not cling to the side-currents. Through one-pointedness and an intensified waking-awareness, the inner “speech/sound” (vāk)—or the graded movement of mantra—takes on its own “rāga” (tone/trajectory, and also the possible sense of attachment being transmuted). The retained “water” (often a Siddhar cipher for bindu/essence) is converted into inner fire, and then into a superior radiance. Moving in the sky-like path (ākāśa-vāḷi), delusive intoxication is overturned/rewritten as the very enjoyment of bliss—ānanda experienced as bhoga.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse reads like an internal alchemical-yogic sequence stated in cryptic element-language.

1) “Deathless head” and “middle that does not cling”: Siddhar texts often point to an immortalizing realization at the crown (sahasrāra) together with the discipline of the central channel (suṣumṇā). “Not clinging” suggests freedom from the dual flow (iḍā/piṅgalā) and from ordinary grasping of mind.

2) Ekāgira + jāgṛti: “Ekāgira” (ekāgratā) is one-pointed absorption. “Mā-jākkira” can be read as “great waking” (heightened lucidity) rather than ordinary wakefulness. The pairing implies a waking-samādhi style of awareness: concentrated yet alert.

3) Water → fire → light: “Punal” (water) in Siddhar code can mean bodily essences (notably sexual essence/bindu, also ‘amṛta’ imagery). “Not-going water” indicates retention and sublimation rather than discharge. The conversion into “fire” (kaṇal) and then “light/flame” (cuṭar) is a classic internal-alchemy trope: the essence is transmuted into heat (tapas/tejas) and into luminous consciousness.

4) Ākāśa-path and bliss as ‘bhoga’: “Ākā-vaḷi” evokes an ākāśa-like channel—subtle, unobstructed—through which prāṇa/kuṇḍalinī and awareness move upward. “Mōgā-kaḷi” is deliberately ambiguous: it may mean the intoxication of delusion (moha) now seen through, or a transformed “kali/kaḷi” (intoxicant/rapture) that becomes ānanda. The siddhar stance here is not world-denial alone: ‘bhoga’ (enjoyment) can be redefined as the lived, embodied savoring of liberated bliss once the inner chemistry and attention are reversed.

Key Concepts

  • sahasrara (deathless head / crown)
  • suṣumṇā (central channel / middle path)
  • iḍā-piṅgalā (side currents, implied by “not clinging”)
  • ekāgratā (one-pointedness)
  • jāgṛti / heightened waking awareness
  • vāk (speech, inner sound, mantra)
  • rāga (tone/sequence; also attachment)
  • bindu / vital essence (coded as “water”)
  • tapas / tejas (inner fire)
  • cuṭar (inner light, radiance)
  • ākāśa (sky-like subtle pathway)
  • ānanda-bhoga (bliss experienced as enjoyment)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “vēgāk-kalai”: could refer to a ‘kalā’ (phase/portion/energy-unit) that becomes swift; or a technical nāḍi/prāṇa operation; the compound is cryptic and may be intentional sound-play rather than a single fixed term.
  • “சாரா நடு” (“unclinging middle”): may indicate the suṣumṇā specifically, or more generally a non-attached median state of mind between opposites.
  • “மா ஜாக்கிர” (mā-jākkira): may mean “mahā-jāgṛti” (great waking), or could hint at “māyā-jāgṛti” (illusory waking) being transcended; the orthography allows both resonances.
  • “வாகாக்ரம ராகம்”: can be read as (a) the graded movement/steps (ākrama) of vāk (speech/mantra) taking on a ‘rāga’ (melodic mode), or (b) attachment (rāga) generated through speech, which is then to be transformed.
  • “போகாப் புனல்” (“non-going water”): may denote retained semen/bindu, conserved bodily fluids/ojas, or ‘amṛta’ (nectar) imagery; Siddhar diction often keeps this veiled.
  • “புகுதா கனல்” (“entering-fire”): can imply essence entering the inner digestive/psychic fire, or kuṇḍalinī awakening; both readings fit the water→fire→light progression.
  • “ஆகாவளி”: may mean ‘ākāśa-vāḷi’ (sky-path/channel) or simply ‘air in space’; either way it points to a subtler pathway than gross breath.
  • “மோகாக்களி”: can be ‘moha-kali’ (delusion/intoxication) being dispelled, or a transformed intoxicant/rapture that becomes bliss; the verse preserves this double edge.
  • “ஆனந்தவை போகம்”: may mean “bliss itself is the enjoyment,” or “the enjoyment of the splendor/expanse of bliss” (ānanda-vaibhoga), depending on how one segments the phrase.