Golden Lay Verses

Verse 333 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஓம் பம் பம் பத்ராயை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் யம்யம் யசஸ்வின்யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் ரம் ரம் ரமராம்யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் லம் லம் லாவண் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் வம்வம் வரதாயை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் ஸம் ஸம் ஸ்ரீமத்யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் ஷம் ஷம் ஷண்டிகா யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

ஓம் ஸம் ஸம் ஸரஸ்வத் யை நம ஓம் ஓம்

Transliteration

Om bam bam badhraayai nama om om

Om yamyam yasasvinyai nama om om

Om ram ram ramaraamyaai nama om om

Om lam lam laavan yai nama om om

Om vamvam varadhaayai nama om om

Om sam sam sreemathyai nama om om

Om sham sham shandikaa yai nama om om

Om sam sam sarasvath yai nama om om

Literal Translation

“Om pam pam—salutations to Bhadrā (the Auspicious One). Om om.

Om yam yam—salutations to Yaśasvinī (She who is possessed of fame/glory). Om om.

Om ram ram—salutations to Ramarāmā (the Delightful/Playful Rāmā). Om om.

Om lam lam—salutations to Lāvaṇyā (She who is beauty/grace). Om om.

Om vam vam—salutations to Varadā (the Boon-giver). Om om.

Om sam sam—salutations to Śrīmatī (She who possesses śrī: prosperity/splendor). Om om.

Om śam śam—salutations to Ṣaṇḍikā/Śaṇḍikā (the fierce/disciplining Goddess, Chandi-like). Om om.

Om sam sam—salutations to Sarasvatī (Goddess of speech, learning, wisdom). Om om.”

Interpretive Translation

By repeating seed-syllables (bīja) and sealing them with “Om,” the text invokes eight goddess-powers—auspiciousness, renown, delight, beauty, boon-bestowal, prosperity, fierce protection/discipline, and Sarasvatī’s lucid speech and knowledge—so these qualities become internalized as awakened śakti within the practitioner rather than remaining merely external deities.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse is structured as a mantra-chain: (1) “Om” opens the field of sound-consciousness (nāda), (2) a repeated bīja-syllable concentrates a specific vibration, (3) a feminine dative name ending in “-yai” directs that vibration toward a śakti-aspect of the Goddess, and (4) “namaḥ” (here shortened as “nam”) yields the ego’s claim over the force being invoked; the closing “Om om” functions like a seal.

Siddhar traditions often treat letters and sounds not as mere symbols but as operative medicines: sonic alchemy that refines the inner body. The listed names read less like separate mythic persons and more like “installed qualities” of a single Śakti manifesting in multiple modes. In yogic terms, the repeated bījas can be read as attempts to tune different strata of the subtle body—some syllables resemble common chakra/bhūta bījas (lam/vam/ram/yam), suggesting a progressive activation of embodied elements (earth, water, fire, air) while the remaining syllables (pam/sam/śam) may indicate higher or auxiliary centers, protective sheathes, or specific goddess-keys outside the standard modern chakra list.

The concluding address to Sarasvatī frames the entire sequence as ultimately oriented toward purified vāk (speech): not just eloquence, but the clarity of knowing that arises when inner impurities (tāmasa dullness, rājas restless desire) are tempered by śrī (ordered abundance), varadā (grace), and even śaṇḍikā’s fierce cutting power (the capacity to sever delusion). Thus the mantra can be read as a practical inner regimen: auspicious alignment → social/inner radiance (fame) → joy → beauty/rightness of form → receiving boons (siddhi) → stable prosperity → protective severity → wisdom-speech.

Key Concepts

  • mantra
  • bīja (seed syllable)
  • Śakti
  • Sarasvatī / vāk (speech, wisdom)
  • Bhadrā (auspiciousness)
  • Yaśas (fame/glory)
  • Lāvaṇya (beauty/grace)
  • Varadā (boon-giving grace)
  • Śrī (prosperity, splendor)
  • Śaṇḍikā/Chandi-like fierce protection
  • nāda (sound as consciousness)
  • subtle-body activation (yogic reading)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • Whether these are eight distinct goddesses or eight epithets/forms of one Goddess invoked through different bījas remains intentionally open.
  • The mapping of the bījas (pam, yam, ram, lam, vam, sam, śam, sam) to chakras/elements is suggestive but not standard; “pam” and “sam/śam” may indicate non-classical Siddhar correspondences (protective layers, matrikā-letter powers, or sectarian bīja assignments).
  • “Ramarāmā” can be read as “Rāmā who delights” (a Lakṣmī-like epithet) or simply “the charming/playful one,” shifting the emphasis between prosperity-erotic charm and devotional sweetness.
  • “Lāvaṇyā” literally means beauty/grace, but it also echoes “lavaṇa” (salt); in Siddhar/alchemical contexts, readers sometimes hear mineral/essence resonances beneath aesthetic terms without the text committing explicitly.
  • “Ṣaṇḍikā/Śaṇḍikā” is close to “Caṇḍikā/Chandi”; the spelling can imply either a conventional fierce Devi identity or a more cryptic ‘disciplining/cutting’ śakti-function rather than a mythic name alone.
  • The repeated closing “Om om” may function as a ritual seal, a rhythmic intensifier, or a marker of breath-cycle completion—each yields a different practical instruction without changing the surface meaning.