Golden Lay Verses

Verse 289 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஸங்கென்றே பூரித்து வாசி வாங்கி

ஹங்கென்றே ரேசித்து வாசி யூங்கி

அங்கென்றே கும்பித்து வாசி வீங்கி

உங்கென்றே யூசிமுனைக் குள்ளே யோங்கி

மங்கென்றே மதிப்பாலுன் மத்தம் தாங்கி

வங்கென்றே நாதமுடிக் கப்பா லூங்கிச்

சிங்கென்னச் சிவமாகும் சக்தி யாகும்

சிவசக்தி யம்ஹம்ஸத் தெல்லாம் சித்தி

Transliteration

sankendre pooriththu vaasi vaangi

hankendre resiththu vaasi yoongi

ankendre kumpiththu vaasi veengi

unkendre yoosimunaik kullee yongi

mankendre mathippaalun maththam thaangi

vankendre naathamudik kappaa loongich

singenna sivamaagum sakthi yaagum

sivasakthi yam'hamsath thellaam siththi

Literal Translation

Saying “saṅ” — fill up (the breath) and take in the vāsi.

Saying “haṅ” — perform the rechaka and let the vāsi go out.

Saying “aṅ” — perform the kumbhaka and let the vāsi swell.

Saying “uṅ” — in the needle-point within, rise (there).

Saying “maṅ” — with discernment, bear/hold your “mattam”.

Saying “vaṅ” — beyond the crown, let the nāda rise.

Saying “siṅ” — it becomes Śiva, it becomes Śakti;

In Śiva–Śakti, in yam–ham–haṁsa — everything is siddhi.

Interpretive Translation

This verse encodes a breath-yoga (vāsi-yoga / prāṇāyāma) practice with seed-sounds. “Saṅ–haṅ–aṅ” mark the basic breath phases: filling/inhalation (pūraka), releasing/exhalation (rechaka), and holding/retention (kumbhaka), while the breath is made to “swell” inwardly. “Uṅ” points to fixing awareness in a subtle ‘needle-tip’ locus (a minute internal point used as a gateway to the central channel), from which prāṇa is made to rise. “Maṅ” adds viveka (discriminative steadiness) to contain the inner turbulence—whether passion, intoxication, or egoic frenzy—so the force does not scatter. “Vaṅ” signals the ascent of inner sound (nāda) beyond the crown (mūrdhan / sahasrāra), implying a crossing of ordinary mind. When the ascent stabilizes, the practitioner realizes the non-duality of Śiva and Śakti; the spontaneous ajapa mantra (yam/ham/haṁsa, resonating with “so’ham / haṁsa”) culminates in “all siddhi,” i.e., completeness/attainment (not merely paranormal powers).

Philosophical Explanation

1) Breath as the alchemical vehicle: The repeated “vāsi” indicates the Siddhar emphasis that breath is not merely air but a carrier of life-force (prāṇa) and consciousness. By ordering pūraka–rechaka–kumbhaka, the verse treats breath as a substance to be ‘filled, released, and sealed’—a quasi-alchemical operation.

2) Mantric phonemes as inner locks: The nasalized syllables (saṅ, haṅ, aṅ, uṅ, maṅ, vaṅ, siṅ) function like bijas: they are not simply words but vibratory cues. The text preserves a code-like sequence rather than explicit chakra-names; the sounds may map to internal centers or phases of ascent, but it does not fully disclose the mapping.

3) “Needle-point” symbolism (ūsi-munai): Siddhar literature often uses “needle-tip” to denote an extremely subtle locus where mind can be pinned so prāṇa enters the central pathway (suṣumṇā). It can also imply the razor-thin place where duality is pierced.

4) Containing “mattam”: “Mattam” can mean intoxication, frenzy, pride, or a kind of inner heat/ferment. The instruction to “bear/hold” it “with discernment” implies that awakening generates intensified energies which must be stabilized (viveka + containment) rather than indulged.

5) Nāda beyond the crown: The upward movement culminates not in a vision but in nāda (inner sound-current). “Beyond the crown” suggests transcending even refined meditative states associated with the head centers, pointing to a supramental stillness.

6) Śiva–Śakti and haṁsa: The closing line links attainment to the union of consciousness (Śiva) and power (Śakti), and to haṁsa/so’ham-type ajapa (the breath’s natural mantra). “All is siddhi” can be read as: when non-duality is stabilized, fulfillment is inherent; particular siddhis are incidental.

Key Concepts

  • Vāsi-yoga (breath-centered Siddhar yoga)
  • Pūraka (inhalation / filling)
  • Rechaka (exhalation / releasing)
  • Kumbhaka (retention / sealing)
  • Bīja / seed-sounds (saṅ, haṅ, aṅ, uṅ, maṅ, vaṅ, siṅ)
  • Ūsi-munai (needle-tip subtle point; gateway to inner ascent)
  • Nāda (inner sound-current)
  • Mūrdhan / crown; ‘beyond the crown’ (transcending head-centered states)
  • Śiva–Śakti union (non-dual realization)
  • Haṁsa / so’ham / ajapa-japa (breath’s spontaneous mantra)
  • Siddhi (attainment; also ‘powers’ as secondary)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • Whether the syllables (saṅ, haṅ, aṅ, uṅ, maṅ, vaṅ, siṅ) are to be pronounced aloud, whispered, or repeated mentally as internal resonance; Siddhar texts often keep this deliberately unspecified.
  • “Vāsi” can be read narrowly as ‘breath’ or more technically as a Siddhar category of prāṇic movement; the verse assumes insider knowledge of vāsi terminology.
  • “Ūsi-munai” (needle-point) could indicate: the tip of the nose, the brow-point (ājñā), the bindu-point, or the entry into the central channel; the text preserves the metaphor rather than naming a locus.
  • “Mattam” may mean intoxication/inebriation, ego-pride, or an energized inner ferment produced by practice; ‘holding it’ could mean restraining passion, stabilizing prāṇa, or containing awakened kuṇḍalinī heat.
  • “Nāda… beyond the crown” may describe a literal inner sound heard in meditation, or a symbol for transcending thought into pure awareness.
  • The closing “yam–ham–haṁsa” can be read as separate bijas linked to subtle centers, or as a composite reference to the ajapa ‘haṁsa/so’ham’ breathing mantra; the verse intentionally compresses these traditions.