Golden Lay Verses

Verse 374 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

வந்தனை யும்வழி பாடுகளும்

வாகுற வேமுன் னும்பலவே

சிந்தனை யேசுழி முனைநாடி

சேர்ந்திட வேமுக் கண்ணாடும்

Transliteration

vandanai yumvazhi paadugalum

vaagura vēmum mun numbalavē

sintanai yēsuzhi munainaadi

sērndida vēmuk kaṇṇāḍum

Literal Translation

Salutations, and the disciplines of the path—

Many even in earlier times have spoken (of them).

By thought (meditation) seek the tip/edge of the whirl (suzhi),

So that, upon joining/merging, the Three‑Eyed One dances (or: the three eyes move).

Interpretive Translation

Reverence the tradition of worship and yogic observances taught by the elders. Turn the mind inward to locate the subtle “spiral-point”—the turning-junction where the currents of breath, mind, and vital force coil and reverse. When awareness merges at that point, the inner “three-eyed” vision (Śiva-consciousness/third-eye awakening) manifests as ecstatic movement—an inner dance of realization.

Philosophical Explanation

The verse places two strands side by side: (1) external forms—"vandanai" (devotional salutations) and "vazhipāḍu" (ordered disciplines, observances, methods); and (2) an internal, technical directive—"cintanai" (focused contemplation) applied to a subtle anatomical-symbolic locus called "suzhi munai".

In Siddhar idiom, "suzhi" (whirl/spiral) commonly signals cyclic or coiling dynamics: the spiral of prāṇa in nāḍīs, the coiled kuṇḍalinī power, or the vortex-like movement of breath and attention. "Munai" (tip/edge/point) hints at a precise, almost surgical “point” where the spiral resolves into stillness—often the bindu-like nexus where dual currents are gathered into a single channel, or the experiential ‘turning point’ where mind and breath become one-pointed.

The final image—"mukkaṇ āḍum"—keeps Siddhar ambiguity: it can mean Śiva (the Three-Eyed Lord) dancing, or the “three eyes” (two outer + one inner) becoming active/moving in perception. Either way, it signifies a transition from practice-as-method to realization-as-presence: when the seeker ‘joins’ (cērndiṭa) at the subtle junction, the divine principle is no longer merely worshipped outwardly but appears inwardly as living, dynamic awareness. The “dance” is thus a marker of nondual integration: egoic fixity dissolves, and consciousness is experienced as rhythmic, self-luminous, and spontaneously expressive.

Key Concepts

  • வந்தனை (vandanai) — salutation/devotion
  • வழிபாடு (vazhipāḍu) — disciplined path/observance
  • முன்னோர் மரபு — authority of earlier adepts
  • சிந்தனை (cintanai) — focused contemplation
  • சுழி (suzhi) — whirl/spiral/vortex (prāṇa–mind dynamics)
  • முனை (munai) — tip/point/junction
  • சேர்தல் (cērthal) — union/merging
  • முக்கண் (mukkaṇ) — the Three-Eyed (Śiva / inner third eye)
  • ஆடல் (āṭal) — dance (ecstatic manifestation / cosmic rhythm)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • "வாகுறவே" can be read as “as (they) utter/say” (spoken teaching), or as an emphatic connective (“indeed/assuredly”), shifting whether the line stresses lineage testimony or certainty of the method.
  • "வழி பாடுகள்" may mean general devotional ‘ways of worship,’ or more specifically yogic observances/techniques (niyama-like disciplines), depending on whether the verse is read as primarily bhakti-oriented or yogic-instructional.
  • "சுழி முனை" can indicate (a) the subtle center/tip of a vortex (bindu-like still point), (b) the coiled kuṇḍalinī’s ‘tip’ or awakening point, (c) a nāḍī junction where currents turn/merge, or (d) the turning-point in breath (kumbhaka threshold) where mind becomes steady.
  • "முக் கண்ணாடும்" may be parsed as “mukkaṇ āḍum” (the Three-Eyed dances), or as “muk kaṇ āḍum” (the foremost/inner eye(s) move/activate), preserving whether the subject is explicitly Śiva or the practitioner’s awakened triadic vision.
  • "சேர்ந்திட" may refer to union with the divine (ontological nonduality), or to a technical ‘joining’ of prāṇa and apāna / iḍā and piṅgalā into the central channel, with the theological reading layered onto the physiological process.