Golden Lay Verses

Verse 331 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஓம் ஜம் ஜம் ஜங்காரிண் யை நம ஓம்

ஓம் ஞம் ஞம் ஞானரூப் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் டம் டம் டங்க ஹஸ்தா யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் டம் டம் டங்காரிண் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் டம் டம் டாமர்யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் டம் டம் டங்காரிண் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் ணம் ணம் ணாமின் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் தம் தம் தாமஸ்யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

Transliteration

Om jam jam jangkaariṇ yai nama om

Om ñam ñam ñānarūp yai nama om om

Om ḍam ḍam ḍanka hastā yai nama om om

Om ḍam ḍam ḍankāriṇ yai nama om om

Om ḍam ḍam ḍāmar yai nama om om

Om ḍam ḍam ḍankāriṇ yai nama om om

Om ṇam ṇam ṇāmin yai nama om om

Om tham tham thāmasyai nama om om

Literal Translation

1) "Om, jam jam—(to) Jangāriṇī, salutations; Om."

2) "Om, ñam ñam—(to) Jñāna-rūpā (the form of wisdom/knowledge), salutations; Om Om."

3) "Om, ḍam ḍam—(to) Ḍaṅga-hastā (she whose hand holds a staff/club), salutations; Om Om."

4) "Om, ḍam ḍam—(to) Ḍaṅgāriṇī, salutations; Om Om."

5) "Om, ḍam ḍam—(to) Ḍāmarī / Dāmarā (the Damaru-drum one / the Dāmarī one), salutations; Om Om."

6) "Om, ḍam ḍam—(to) Ḍaṅgāriṇī, salutations; Om Om."

7) "Om, ṇam ṇam—(to) Ṇāminī / Ṇāmin (the ‘naming’ one / the ‘named’ one), salutations; Om Om."

8) "Om, tham tham—(to) Tāmasī / Tāmasyā (the tamasic one / she of tamas), salutations; Om Om."

Interpretive Translation

By repeating seed-syllables (jam, ñam, ḍam, ṇam, tham) the verse performs an interior worship: it salutes a fierce Śakti whose powers appear as (i) a roaring/commanding force (Jangāriṇī), (ii) consciousness as knowledge itself (Jñāna-rūpā), (iii) disciplined control and chastening force symbolized by the staff (Ḍaṅga-hastā), (iv) a power identified with “ḍaṅga/ḍaṅgā” (club/rod or a resonant ‘ḍaṅ’ sound) and thus with striking, breaking, or awakening, (v) a drum-power (Ḍāmarī) that regulates rhythm—breath, pulse, mantra-meter, (vi) repetition of the striking power (Ḍaṅgāriṇī) to intensify its effect, (vii) a mysterious power of naming/identity (Ṇāminī) that binds things into form by giving them “name,” and (viii) the tamasic power (Tāmasī) either to be mastered/transmuted or—more cryptically—to be invoked as a necessary force in transformation.

Philosophical Explanation

This passage is primarily mantric rather than discursive: meaning is carried as much by sound (nāda) as by dictionary semantics. In Siddhar usage, such strings of bīja-akṣaras are often treated as a “medicine of vibration,” intended to affect prāṇa, mind, and subtle centers through regulated repetition.

The epithets point to a Śakti-spectrum that includes: - Knowledge (Jñāna-rūpā): not merely intellectual learning, but a claim that awareness itself is the deity’s “form.” - Rod/club/staff symbolism (Ḍaṅga-hastā, Ḍaṅgāriṇī): the staff can signify discipline, correction of the wandering mind, or the yogic ‘rod’ of spinal steadiness (a hint toward suṣumṇā-alignment and inner control). It also suggests a fierce protective force that “strikes” impurities. - Drum symbolism (Ḍāmarī): the damaru is a tantric emblem of rhythmic creation/withdrawal; in yogic reading it can point to breath-regulation (prāṇāyāma), mantra-meter, and the subtle inner sound (anāhata-nāda). - “Naming” (Ṇāminī/Ṇāmin): Siddhar and tantric texts frequently treat nāma (name) as a binding principle that crystallizes experience into fixed identity; invoking the ‘naming power’ can mean gaining mastery over forms (rūpa) by mastering the word/sound that calls them. - “Tamas” (Tāmasī): tamas can be a fetter (inertia, dullness) or an alchemical fuel—what must be heated, churned, or transformed. Some traditions invoke fierce/tamasic Śakti not to remain in darkness but to convert darkness into power and steadiness.

Overall, the verse can be read as an operative mantra: a sequence of sonic keys paired with deity-names, mapping a movement from raw force (striking/roaring) to knowledge, to disciplined control, to rhythmic regulation, to the re-making of identity through name, and finally to confrontation/transmutation of tamas.

Key Concepts

  • Bīja-akṣara (seed syllables)
  • Nāda (sound as power/medicine)
  • Śakti-invocation
  • Jñāna-rūpā (knowledge as the deity’s form)
  • Ḍaṅga-hastā (staff/club symbolism; discipline/protection)
  • Ḍāmarī / Damaru (rhythm, breath, inner sound)
  • Nāma (name/identity as binding principle)
  • Tamas (inertia/darkness; to be mastered or transmuted)
  • Repetition for intensification (mantric emphasis)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Jangāriṇī” may derive from the sense of roaring/commanding (jangāra/jankāra) or may be a specific tantric name; the text does not clarify whether it is a known goddess-form or a functional epithet.
  • “Ḍaṅga/Ḍaṅgā” can be read as a literal staff/club, or as an onomatopoetic ‘ḍaṅ’ (a striking sound), shifting the focus from weapon to sonic shock/awakening.
  • “Ḍāmarī” may mean ‘she of the damaru drum,’ or refer to a specific deity-class (Dāmarī) found in certain tantric lists; both readings remain possible.
  • “Ṇāminī/Ṇāmin” is unclear in Tamil orthography here: it may mean ‘the one who names,’ ‘the named one,’ or a proper name whose etymology is intentionally obscured.
  • “Tāmasī/Tāmasyā” can indicate a power to be overcome (subduing tamas) or a power to be invoked (using tamas as transformative force); Siddhar-style crypticness allows both.
  • The distribution of bījas (jam/ñam/ḍam/ṇam/tham) could correspond to subtle centers, elements, or a lineage-specific code; without the surrounding sections of the source, the exact mapping cannot be fixed.