Golden Lay Verses

Verse 383 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

வெப்பெல்லாம் தீர்ந்துவிடும் வித்தை கண்டாய்

வினையெல்லாம் போக்கிவிடும் விறலே கண்டாய்

அப்பப்பா நவகோடி லிங்கம் தோன்றும்

அவற்றின்மே லாடுகின்றா என்னை யன்னை

துப்பெல்லாம் துரிசெல்லாம் சுத்தி சுத்தி

சொக்குமடா கைலாசச் சொக்க லிங்கம்

கப்பெல்லாம் நீங்குமடா காம தேனு

கறக்குமடா காயித்ரிக் கனிவாம் க்ஷீரம்

Transliteration

veppellaam theerndhuvidum viththai kandaay

vinaiyellaam pokkividum viraLe kandaay

appappaa navakodi lingam thondrum

avatrinmE laaduginRaa ennai yannai

thuppellaam thurisellaam suththi suththi

sokkumadaa kailaasach sokka lingam

kappellaam neengumadaa kaama thenu

kaRakkumadaa kaayithrik kanivaam ksheeram

Literal Translation

You have seen the technique by which all heat subsides.

You have seen the prowess that drives away all deeds/karma.

Ah! the nine-crore (countless) liṅgas appear;

upon them—does my Mother dance, O Mother?

Cleansing all impurities and all dross, again and again,

the enchanting liṅga of Kailāsa—the Sokka(-)liṅga.

All “kap” departs, O Kāma-dhenu (wish-giving cow);

it will be milked—the sweet milk called Gāyatrī, the kṣīra (milk/nectar).

Interpretive Translation

A secret discipline is hinted at: a yogic–alchemical “art” that cools destructive inner heat (bodily fever, burning passions, or excessive tapas) and dissolves karmic bonds. As purification deepens, an inner vision of innumerable Śiva-forms (liṅgas) arises, and Śakti—the “Mother”—is experienced as dancing upon/among them. Through repeated cleansing of gross and subtle impurities, the seeker becomes absorbed in the blissful Śiva-presence symbolized as the ‘Kailāsa Sokka-liṅga.’ Then what is called “kap” (phlegm-like obstruction, covering, or binding residue) falls away, and the inner wish-fulfilling source (Kāma-dhenu) yields its milk: the sweet ‘Gāyatrī-kṣīra,’ i.e., mantra-born essence/nectar (ojas/amṛta).

Philosophical Explanation

The verse compresses a whole Siddhar map of transformation into devotional images.

1) “Heat” and “technique” (வெப்பு, வித்தை): In Siddha medicine, excess heat can indicate pitta/agni imbalance, feverish inflammation, or burning toxins; in yoga, it can also signal uncontrolled tapas, lust-heat, or the turbulence of prāṇa. The “viththai” is simultaneously (a) a method/skill and (b) suggestively the “seed” (vital essence). Thus the line may point to practices that cool and stabilize the system while conserving and refining essence.

2) “Karma removal” (வினை): Siddhar poetry often treats karma not merely as moral bookkeeping but as subtle momentum stored in the nāḍī–mind complex. A practice that steadies prāṇa and purifies nāḍīs is said to weaken karma’s grip.

3) “Nine-crore liṅgas” (நவகோடி லிங்கம்): The number is likely not arithmetic but a sign of inexhaustibility—Śiva appearing in countless forms within the body-cosmos. This can be read as: visions in meditation; recognition of the liṅga as the mark of consciousness pervading all centers; or the sense that every particle/cell is a shrine.

4) “Mother dancing on them”: The dancing Mother evokes Śakti/Kundalinī. To say she dances “on” the liṅgas can mean Śakti animates consciousness, or that dynamic power plays upon the stillness of Śiva. The address “my Mother, O Mother” keeps it devotional while remaining esoteric.

5) “Cleansing impurities and dross”: Repetition (“cleaning, cleaning”) points to iterative purification—diet/medicine, breath, mantra, and inner alchemy removing both gross toxins and subtle stains (vāsanā/saṃskāra-like residues).

6) “Kailāsa Sokka-liṅga”: Kailāsa signals the summit (also readable as the crown, the ‘mountain-top’ of awareness). “Sokku” implies being dazzled/enchanted—an ecstatic stillness that captivates the mind. The liṅga here is not only an outer icon but the inner axis where awareness rests.

7) “Kap departs; Kāma-dhenu; Gāyatrī milk”: “Kap” can mean kapha-like blockage (phlegm, heaviness) or a ‘covering/binding crust’ that must be removed in alchemical work. When it drops away, the inner abundance-source—Kāma-dhenu—gives milk. “Gāyatrī” is both a mantra and, by wordplay, a ‘cow’ (that which is sung/that which protects the singer). The “milk” (kṣīra) can be read as ojas/amṛta—the refined nectar of mantra–prāṇa integration, the sweet essence of awakened consciousness.

Key Concepts

  • Cooling of inner heat (veppu): fever/pitta, lust-heat, excessive tapas
  • Viththai: method/secret technique; also “seed” (vital essence) resonance
  • Vinai (karma) removal through purification of nāḍīs and mind
  • Nava-koti liṅgas: countless manifestations of Śiva within the inner body-cosmos
  • Mother (Śakti/Kundalinī) dancing upon/among Śiva-forms
  • Repeated purification of impurities and dross (gross + subtle)
  • Kailāsa as summit/crown; Sokka-liṅga as ecstatic, mesmerizing Śiva-awareness
  • Kap (kapha/covering/obstructive residue) falling away
  • Kāma-dhenu as wish-fulfilling inner source/grace
  • Gāyatrī-kṣīra: mantra-born nectar/ojas/amṛta; also cow–milk wordplay

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “வெப்பு” can be literal fever/physiological heat (pitta) or symbolic heat of desire/tapas; the verse allows both simultaneously.
  • “வித்தை” may mean a yogic ‘technique/secret art’ and also hints at ‘seed’ (semen/vital essence), suggesting sexual–alchemical conservation without stating it openly.
  • “நவகோடி” can be read as a specific sacred count (nine crores) or simply “innumerable,” emphasizing uncountable inner liṅga-visions.
  • “அவற்றின்மே லாடுகின்றா என்னை யன்னை” can be read as (a) “Does my Mother dance upon them?” (b) an exclamation addressing the Mother, or (c) a nondual hint: the Mother who is ‘me.’
  • “துப்பு/துரிசு” can denote moral-spiritual impurity, bodily toxins, alchemical slag, or mental residues; Siddhar diction often intends all layers.
  • “சொக்க லிங்கம்” may refer to a specific deity-name (Sokkanātha/Sokka-liṅga) or a descriptive epithet meaning ‘the liṅga that enchants/mesmerizes.’
  • “கப்பெல்லாம்” may indicate kapha-dosha, obstructive mucus-like matter, or ‘covering/bondage/crust’ in inner alchemy; the line does not force one choice.
  • “காம தேனு” can be the mythic cow, a metaphor for inner grace/abundance, or a coded reference to a yogic source-point that yields amṛta.
  • “காயித்ரி/காயித்ரிக்” may be Gayatri mantra (mantric essence) and also a pun on ‘cow,’ making the ‘milking’ simultaneously literal-metaphoric and mantra-alchemical.