Golden Lay Verses

Verse 390 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ராசமன்னார் க்ஷேத்திரத்தில் வந்ததாலே

ரங்கென்ன ராவிருளைப் போக்க வேதான்

ராசகோ பாலனவன் செல்வ மீந்தான்

ராமநாதன் வாக்கின் வித்தை தந்தான்

ராசலக்ஷ்மி தான்வளர்த்தா ளிந்தப் பிள்ளை

ராகவனே காரைநகர்ச் சித்தன் னானே

ராசரஸ வாதவித்தை யோக வித்தை

ரம்யமுறுங் கனகவைப்பைக் கழறினேனே

Transliteration

Raasamannaar kshethraththil vanthathaale

rangenna raavirulaip pokka vethaann

raasako paalanavan selv meen-thaan

raamanaathan vaakkin viththai thanthaan.

raasalakshmi thaanvalarththaa lindhap pillai

raagavane kaarainagarc chiththan naane

raasarasa vaathaviththai yoga viththai

ramyamurung kanakavaippaik kazharinene.

Literal Translation

Because I came to the kṣetra (sacred field/holy place) of the “Rāsa-mannar” (the King of Rasa/mercury, or a king so named),

Ranga—(or the one called Ranga)—came to drive away the dark night.

Rāsa-Gopālan gave (bestowed) wealth.

Rāmanāthan gave the “word’s art” (the potency/technique of speech).

Rāsa-Lakṣmī herself raised this child;

I am Rāghavan—the Siddhan of the city of Karai.

The arts of rasa-alchemy and the art of yoga—

I have spoken out / disclosed, and (thus) extracted the lovely store of gold.

Interpretive Translation

Having entered the “field” where Rasa (mercury / the subtle essence) rules, the deep darkness of ignorance was dispelled by the sovereign presence named “Ranga.”

The sustaining power called “Rasa-Gopālan” granted true prosperity, and “Rāmanāthan” conferred the siddhi of the Word (mantra, incisive speech, or awakened vāṅmayam).

Nourished by “Rāsa-Lakṣmī” (the śakti of Rasa/wealth), this embodied seeker matured;

I—Rāghavan, the Karai-nagar Siddha—have set forth both rasavāda (alchemical discipline) and yoga,

revealing the “gold-treasure”: either literal transmuted gold, or the inner, luminous wealth born of perfected practice.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse reads like a Siddhar’s self-situating prologue: he names a sacred kṣetra, divine/guru agencies, and the twin sciences he transmits—rasavāda (mercury-centered alchemy) and yoga. In Siddhar idiom, “dark night” typically signals avidyā (ignorance) and the heaviness of embodied limitation; its removal suggests initiation or awakening. “Rāmanāthan” strongly evokes the Śiva-form at Rāmeśvaram; the “art of speech” can mean mantra-dīkṣā, mastery of vākk-siddhi (speech that ‘becomes true’), or an esoteric method where sound/vibration catalyzes inner transformation. “Rāsa-Lakṣmī” fuses alchemical ‘rasa’ with Lakṣmī (prosperity), pointing both to material success in laboratory work and to a subtler prosperity: ojas/tejas, stabilized prāṇa, and the flourishing of inner śakti.

“Kanaka-vaippu” (a deposit/hoard of gold) is a classic double-sign: it can be a literal claim of transmutation (mercury → gold), but also a metaphor for the ‘gold’ of perfected consciousness—immortality-aimed kāya-siddhi, refined bodily essences, or the imperishable wealth of realization. The verse intentionally keeps both readings available, consistent with Siddhar cryptic pedagogy: outwardly alchemical, inwardly yogic, with the same vocabulary serving both domains.

Key Concepts

  • kṣetra (sacred field / holy place)
  • rasa (mercury; also ‘essence’)
  • Rasa-mannar (King of Rasa/mercury; or a named king)
  • dark night / rāv-iruḷ (ignorance, obstruction)
  • Ranga (sovereign/divine name; possible Vaiṣṇava/royal reference)
  • Rāsa-Gopālan (Krishna-form or a coded ‘protector of rasa’)
  • Rāmanāthan (Śiva of Rāmeśvaram; initiating deity/guru principle)
  • vākk-vittai (art/siddhi of speech; mantra potency)
  • Rāsa-Lakṣmī (alchemy-śakti; wealth/prosperity principle)
  • Karai-nagar Siddhan identity claim
  • rasavāda-vittai (alchemical science)
  • yoga-vittai (yogic science)
  • kanaka-vaippu (gold hoard; transmutation; inner treasure)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Rāsa-mannar kṣetra” may be a literal pilgrimage site, a guru-lineage domain, or the ‘field’ of the body where rasa/essence is mastered.
  • “Ranga” could be (a) Lord Ranganātha (Vaiṣṇava), (b) a royal ‘king’ principle, or (c) a coded name for the presiding power that dispels ignorance.
  • “Vēdān” in the line may be read as “came” (a variant/orthographic form) rather than as a named person; if taken as a name, it could imply a hunter/deity epithet (Vedan) or a ‘knower of Veda.’
  • “Rāsa-Gopālan” can be Krishna (Gopāla) explicitly, or a cryptic expression meaning ‘protector/shepherd of rasa (mercury/essence).’
  • “Wealth” (selvam) can mean material prosperity from alchemical success, or spiritual wealth (ojas, prāṇic abundance, siddhi, inner contentment).
  • “vākk-in vittai” can mean mantra initiation, rhetoric/poetic craft, or vākk-siddhi (speech-act efficacy).
  • “kanaka-vaippu” can denote literal gold produced/found, a hidden cache, or the inner ‘gold’ of perfected consciousness/body (kāya-siddhi).
  • The verse’s autobiographical tone (“this child,” “I am…”) may be literal biography, a lineage-credentialing convention, or a stylized ‘speaker’ persona typical of Siddhar texts.