Golden Lay Verses

Verse 384 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

போகரஸம் பேட்டையிலே பெண்ணோடேசம்

போகரஸக் கோட்டையிலே புண்ணாகாமல்

யோகரஸம் பேட்டையிலே யுயிரோடேசை

யோகரஸக் கோட்டையிலே யுணர்வு கொண்டே

ஏகரஸம் பேட்டையிலே எந்தா யோடே

இன்பரஸக் கோட்டையிலே புக்கே னந்த

நாகரஸம் பேட்டையிலே நான்கண் டுய்ந்த

ஞானரஸக் கோட்டையினை நாட்டு வேனே

Transliteration

Pōkarasam pēṭṭaiyilē peṇṇōṭēsam

Pōkarasak kōṭṭaiyilē puṇṇākāmal

Yōkarasam pēṭṭaiyilē yuyirōṭēsai

Yōkarasak kōṭṭaiyilē yuṇarvu koṇṭē

Ēkarasam pēṭṭaiyilē entā yōṭē

Inbarasak kōṭṭaiyilē pukkē nanta

Nākarasam pēṭṭaiyilē nāṉkaṇ ṭuynta

Ñānarasak kōṭṭaiyinai nāṭṭu vēnē.

Literal Translation

In the pettai (market-town/hamlet) of Bhoga-rasa, there is the “land/region” with the woman.

In the fort of Bhoga-rasa, without becoming a wound/ulcer (without being harmed).

In the pettai of Yoga-rasa, the “land/region” of life (uyir).

In the fort of Yoga-rasa, with awareness (uṇarvu) attained.

In the pettai of Eka-rasa, along with “entāy” (my lord/my dear/parent—addressed intimately).

In the fort of Inba-rasa, I entered and became bliss.

In the pettai of Nāga-rasa, I saw and found rest/relief.

I shall establish (nāṭṭu) the fort of Jñāna-rasa.

Interpretive Translation

In the outward sphere where “bhoga-rasa” operates, the feminine power/sexual field appears; yet when that same force is held within a disciplined, sealed “fort,” enjoyment does not turn into injury or corruption.

In the sphere of “yoga-rasa” lies the seat of life-breath; when it is contained and stabilized, awareness arises.

From there one moves toward “eka-rasa,” the taste of oneness—abiding with the inner Lord/beloved principle.

Having entered the citadel of “inba-rasa,” one is absorbed as bliss.

In the field of “nāga-rasa,” the serpent-force is beheld and one attains repose/settling.

Then the siddhar speaks of founding the final, stable citadel: “jñāna-rasa,” the irreversible essence of knowing.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse stacks a sequence of “rasas” (essences/tastes/elixirs), each with a “pettai” and a “kottai.” In Siddhar diction, this pairing can read simultaneously as:

1) Inner-yogic geography: - “Pettai” suggests the open, mixed, worldly zone where energies mingle (desire, breath, impressions). - “Kottai” suggests an inner citadel—contained practice, guarded mind, stabilized prāṇa—where the same energies no longer leak or injure.

2) Alchemical laboratory imagery: - “Kottai” can also imply the sealed vessel/retort or protected furnace-space in which “rasa” (often mercury/elixir) is processed so it does not become “puṇṇu” (ulcer/toxicity/defect). - “Pettai” can imply the preliminary, exposed stage where materials are still “in the open,” liable to contamination.

Across the sequence, “bhoga → yoga → eka → inba → nāga → jñāna” reads like the transmutation of raw desire into liberated knowing: - Bhoga-rasa: the sensual/pleasure-current (also potentially mercury-rasa). “The woman-region” can name literal woman/sexual union, or Śakti—the feminine force in the body. If uncontained it wounds; when disciplined it becomes fuel. - Yoga-rasa: life is refined into yogic current; “uyir” points to prāṇa/jīva. The ‘fort’ yields “uṇarvu,” not mere sensation but lucid awareness. - Eka-rasa: the taste of non-separation; companionship with “entāy” hints at an intimate address to the indwelling deity/guru-principle (or, less mystically, a beloved). - Inba-rasa: bliss becomes a stable abode (“entered the fort”), suggesting absorption rather than episodic pleasure. - Nāga-rasa: the serpent imagery strongly evokes kuṇḍalinī/nāga-śakti (or, alternatively, a specific mineral/poison-based siddha medicine). Seeing it and “resting/being relieved” implies the settling of the inner turbulence once the serpent-force is rightly guided. - Jñāna-rasa: the final “fort” is not a momentary state but an established citadel—gnosis made steady.

The verse deliberately keeps the two registers (yogic body and alchemical work) interwoven: the body is the furnace, prāṇa the fire, desire the raw material, and “rasa” the product that becomes jñāna when fully cooked and sealed.

Key Concepts

  • rasa (essence/taste; also mercury/elixir in Siddha alchemy)
  • bhoga (enjoyment; sensual energy as raw material)
  • yoga (discipline; prāṇa refinement; awareness)
  • eka-rasa (oneness/nonduality as a ‘single taste’)
  • inba-rasa (bliss as stabilized absorption)
  • nāga (serpent-force; kuṇḍalinī; also possible medicinal/alchemical substance)
  • jñāna-rasa (knowledge-essence; irreversible gnosis)
  • pettai vs kottai (open field vs fortified/contained state; also open handling vs sealed vessel)
  • puṇṇu (ulcer/wound; defect/toxicity; moral-spiritual injury)
  • uyir (life/breath/soul—prāṇa/jīva)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Bhoga-rasa” may mean (a) the ‘essence of enjoyment/desire’ in yogic psychology, or (b) an actual alchemical rasa (often mercury) attributed to/associated with Bhogar or with bhoga-operations.
  • “Peṇṇōṭēcam” (“the woman-region/land with the woman”) can denote (a) literal sexual partner and sexual practice, (b) the yoni/sexual center in the subtle body, or (c) Śakti as the feminine power-field necessary for transmutation.
  • “Puṇṇākāmal” can mean (a) without physical ulceration/toxicity (a medical-alchemical warning), (b) without defect in the preparation, or (c) without karmic/moral ‘wounding’ arising from unrefined pleasure.
  • “Uyirōṭēcai” can be heard as the ‘region of life’ (prāṇa), or more metaphysically the ‘country of the jīva/soul.’
  • “Entāyōṭē” hinges on “entāy”: it can be an intimate address meaning ‘my lord/beloved/parental one,’ leaving open whether the companion is a deity, guru, or human beloved; the verse preserves that deliberate doubleness.
  • “Nāga-rasa” may refer to (a) kuṇḍalinī/serpent power, (b) a substance/compound in Siddha materia medica (sometimes involving potent minerals/poisons), or (c) a stage-name for a refined ‘rasa’ in alchemical sequence.
  • “Nānk kaṇṭu uy̱ntēn” may mean ‘I saw and rested,’ or ‘I saw and was saved/relieved’—either a calm settling after nāga-force awakening, or liberation from a dangerous phase.
  • “Nāṭṭuvēnē” can mean ‘I will establish/found’ (a stable attainment), or ‘I will plant/point out/indicate’ (a teaching to others), allowing the line to be both autobiographical and instructional.