Golden Lay Verses

Verse 313 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சிரகச் செட்டிச்சி மாகலைச்சி

திருவள்ளி யாங்குறத்திக்கு மாமி

மாரகத் தொட்டிச்சி மாமறத்தி

மாலிதய மேறும் துரைச்சி சித்தத்

தேரகத் தொட்டச்சி சிரமணிச்சி

எவருமறி யாதொளிரும் மின்னிடைச்சி

காரகக் கொட்டச்சி கண்மணிச்சி

கமலச்சி விமலச்சி அமலச்சியே

Transliteration

Siragach chettichchi magalaichchi

Thiruvalli yaanguraththikku maami

Maaragath thottichchi maamaraththi

Maalithaya meerum thuraichchi siththath

Theragath thottachchi siramanichchi

Evarumari yaatholirum minnidaichchi

Kaaragak kottachchi kanmanichchi

Kamalachchi vimalachchi amalachchiye

Literal Translation

“O Siragac-Ceṭṭicci, O Mākalai-c-ci;

O Tiruvaḷḷi, aunt to that Kuratti;

O Marakat-toṭṭicci (emerald nurse/attendant), O great Maratti (forest/heroic woman);

O lady who ascends upon the heart (māl-idayam) within the mind;

O Terakat-toṭṭacci (Terakam’s attendant/nurse), O Siramaṇi-c-ci (head-jewel woman);

O lightning-waisted one who shines with a light unknown to anyone;

O Kārakak-koṭṭacci, O Kaṇmaṇi-c-ci (eye-jewel/dear one);

O Kamala-c-ci (lotus one), O Vimala-c-ci (pure one), O Amala-c-ci (stainless one).”

Interpretive Translation

A litany of feminine epithets invokes a single inner Power—addressed as kin (aunt), as nurturer (nurse/attendant), and as jewel-like radiance—shining secretly within. She is pictured as moving/“mounting” toward the heart and upward, becoming a head-jewel and an eye-jewel, with a lightning-like form through the body’s middle, and finally named as lotus–pure–stainless: the purified, luminous Śakti (often read as kuṇḍalinī) revealed through inner ascent.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse reads like a mantraic roll-call of “women,” but in Siddhar idiom such catalogues often conceal yogic anatomy and inner alchemy.

1) Feminine figures as coded Śakti: The repeated suffixes (-icci/-acci) can function as colloquial honorifics for village-women/tribal-women, yet also as deliberate masking for the singular Śakti-principle. Calling her “aunt,” “nurse,” “attendant” foregrounds her role as the one who rears, guides, and “feeds” the aspirant from within—i.e., prāṇa/śakti sustaining sādhanā.

2) Subtle-body ascent imagery: Phrases such as “ascending to the heart” and titles like “lightning-waisted,” “head-jewel,” and “eye-jewel” naturally align with the yogic theme of an inner current moving through the central channel. “Lightning” is a common metaphor for kuṇḍalinī’s sudden, brilliant rise; “jewel” language points to concentrated luminosity at key loci (eye/brow center; crown/head).

3) Color/alchemical hints: “Marakata” (emerald/green) can be heard literally as an ornament-name, but also as a subtle marker (green associated with heart-centered transformation). In Siddhar alchemy, gem-terms sometimes hint at refined essences and stabilized brilliance rather than external jewelry.

4) Lotus–pure–stainless closure: “Kamala / Vimala / Amala” compresses a yogic telos: the ‘lotus’ (cakra symbolism), and purification (vimala/amala) indicating the end-state of clarified mind and unobstructed inner light.

Overall, the verse can be read simultaneously as (a) devotional address to a feminine deity/village-form, and (b) esoteric address to the awakened inner energy whose ascent and purification culminate in lotus-like, stainless radiance.

Key Concepts

  • Śakti as inner power
  • Kuṇḍalinī imagery (lightning, ascent)
  • Cakra/lotus symbolism
  • Heart-center and upward movement
  • Inner luminosity (unknown, hidden light)
  • Purification (vimala, amala)
  • Siddhar cryptic naming and disguise (colloquial feminine epithets)
  • Mantraic litany / invocatory catalogue

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • The many “-icci/-acci” names may be (i) actual village/deity names, (ii) playful colloquial addresses to one goddess, or (iii) coded pointers to internal loci/functions of śakti in yogic anatomy.
  • “Tiruvaḷḷi … Kuratti” can be read as a direct reference to Valli (Murukaṉ’s consort, portrayed as a hill-tribal girl), or more generally as a way to signal ‘tribal/untamed’ śakti in a hidden, folk register.
  • “Marakat-toṭṭicci” may be literally an ‘emerald (adorned) attendant’ or a symbolic marker of a green, heart-related transformation (or alchemical refinement) rather than a social role.
  • “Māl-idayam mērum” is textually unclear: it can mean ‘ascending the (garlanded) heart,’ ‘rising in the heart,’ or ‘mounting the heart’s region’—each supports a yogic ascent reading but the exact nuance remains open.
  • Terms like “Terakat-toṭṭacci” and “Kārakak-koṭṭacci” are opaque: they may preserve local deity/folk titles now obscure, or function as deliberate ‘nonsense-names’ used to veil technical references (nāḍi, cakra, or prāṇa-functions).
  • “Kaṇmaṇicci” can mean ‘eye-jewel (ajñā-related)’ or simply ‘dear one’; both devotional and yogic readings can coexist without forcing a single interpretation.