Golden Lay Verses

Verse 47 (ஆன்ம வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சித்தர்மனம் மலர்ந்திட்டா லதுவே போதும்

வெத்துவெறும் விளையாட்டும் சித்தி யாகும்

துத்தியெனும் பணத்துத்தி யிலையின் சாற்றில்

துரிசறுத்துத் தவஞ்செய்வார் தவத்தின் போக்கில்

வேதமுழங் கிடஞான வீறு கொண்டே

வித்திதெனும் விந்துவுடன் நாதங் கூட்டி

துத்தமறத் தானொடுங்கத் தூய்மை பெற்ற

துப்புறவே சித்திக்காம் துறவு கோலே

Transliteration

siththarmanam malarnthittaa lathuve pothum

veththuverum vilaiyaattum siththi yaagum

thuththiyenum panaththuththi yilaiyin saattril

thurisaruththuth thavancheyvaar thavaththin pokkil

vethamuzhang kidagnaana veeru konde

viththithenum vindhuvudan naathang kootti

thuththamarath thaanodungath thooymai petra

thuppurave siththikkaam thuravu kole.

Literal Translation

If the Siddhar’s mind has blossomed, that alone is enough.

Even mere, empty play becomes a siddhi.

In the expressed juice of the leaf called “paṇa-tutti / panat-tutti,”

In the course of their tapas, those who perform austerity by cutting away dross/impurity,

With the glory of left-side (iḍa) knowledge resounding like the Vedas,

Uniting nāda with the bindu called “vitti/vindu,”

With “tuttam” removed, as the self subsides/withdraws, purity is obtained—

Thus indeed, the emblem/discipline of renunciation will bring siddhi.

Interpretive Translation

When awareness has truly flowered in the Siddhar’s mind, nothing more is required: even what appears to be “mere play” becomes spiritual accomplishment. Yet this is not laxity—it is the result of a hidden regimen: purification that cuts away inner dross, aided (cryptically) by a medicinal/alchemical “leaf-juice” practice, and by yogic union of nāda (inner sound) with bindu (seed/essence). As the iḍa-current’s wisdom reverberates like scripture within, base heaviness (“tuttam,” read as lead or coarse impurity) is removed; the ego/self contracts into stillness; and that purified renunciant’s way becomes the very means of siddhi.

Philosophical Explanation

The verse holds two layers in tension.

1) Mind-flowering as the sufficient cause: “Mind blossoming” signals the ripening of inner knowing (jñāna) beyond mere discipline. From that standpoint, ordinary activity can become “siddhi” because the doer-sense and craving for results have thinned; action is no longer bondage. The line about “empty play” (veṭṭhu-veṟum viḷaiyāṭṭu) points to a Siddhar motif: what outsiders dismiss as frivolity may be the spontaneous functioning of realization (līlā), or the effortless display of powers that are no longer sought.

2) The hidden technology behind that spontaneity: Immediately, the poem turns technical—tapas, dross-removal, iḍa-jñāna, nāda–bindu, and removal of “tuttam.” This indicates that the ‘spontaneous’ state is supported by yogic and alchemical purification. - “Cutting away dross/impurity” (turisu aṟuttu) can be read ethically (cutting passions and impurities), medically (clearing bodily toxins), and alchemically (separating slag from metal). - The “panat-tutti leaf juice” functions as a coded medicinal aid. Siddhar texts often embed herb-lore inside spiritual instruction: a plant-preparation that purifies nerves, breath, semen-essence, or digestion can be simultaneously a metaphor for extracting the ‘essence’ of practice. - “Veda resounding” alongside “iḍa-jñāna” suggests inner audition: the subtle sound-current in the left channel (iḍa) or the lunar current’s cooling clarity, experienced as a kind of internal scripture. - “Nāda with bindu” is classic haṭha/tantric vocabulary: the union of inner sound (nāda) with seed/essence (bindu, often semen/ojas) implies conservation, sublimation, and upward refinement of vital essence. - “Tuttam removed” can be literal alchemy (tuttam = lead/base metal to be purified/transmuted), and/or bodily psychology (removing heaviness, inertia, tamas). When that coarse element is removed, “the self subsides” (tāṉ oṭuṅka) can mean the ego collapses, or the prāṇa withdraws inward—yielding “purity.”

Thus renunciation (turavu) is not merely social withdrawal: it is a precise inner distillation—ethical, yogic, medicinal, and alchemical—culminating in a mind that has ‘flowered’ and therefore turns even play into siddhi.

Key Concepts

  • siddhar-mind ‘blossoming’ (inner ripening of awareness)
  • siddhi arising without striving
  • līlā / ‘play’ as realized functioning
  • tapas (austerity) and purification
  • turisu (dross/impurity) as moral, bodily, and alchemical residue
  • panat-tutti / paṇa-tutti leaf-juice (coded herbal/medical reference)
  • iḍa (left subtle channel) and iḍa-jñāna
  • inner ‘Veda’ as resonant sound/authority within
  • nāda–bindu (sound–seed/essence) union
  • bindu as semen/ojas/essence; ‘vitti’ as seed/essence/causal germ
  • tuttam (lead/base metal) removal; transmutation metaphor
  • ego subsiding/withdrawal (tāṉ oṭuṅkal)
  • turavu (renunciation) as inner discipline/emblem

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “panat-tutti / paṇa-tutti” is not uniquely identifiable from the verse alone: it may refer to a specific Siddha herb (e.g., a pennywort/brahmi-like plant) or be intentionally coded; the medicinal action implied (nervine, detoxifying, semen-preserving, etc.) is therefore uncertain.
  • “veṭṭhu-veṟum viḷaiyāṭṭu” can mean (a) trivial play that nonetheless becomes siddhi after realization, or (b) apparent play that is actually deliberate yogic performance/testing of powers.
  • “turisu aṟuttu” may denote (a) cutting away moral/mental impurities, (b) removing bodily toxins and residues through regimen, or (c) the metallurgical separation of slag—each supports a different shade of meaning.
  • “Veda muzhang iḍa-jñāna” can be read as (a) the left-channel wisdom resounding like the Vedas internally, or (b) iḍa’s vibration itself taking on the authoritative ‘Vedic’ tone; the verse preserves the possibility that scripture is internalized as sound-experience.
  • “vitti” and “vindu” overlap: “vitti” can mean seed/cause/karma-germ, while “vindu/bindu” can mean semen-drop/essence; the line may imply joining nāda to causal-seed (karmic) rather than only sexual essence.
  • “tuttam aṟa” can be literal (lead removed in alchemical work) or figurative (removal of heaviness/tamas/impurity). The poem does not force a single choice.
  • “tāṉ oṭuṅka” can mean ego subsiding, prāṇa withdrawing inward, bodily contraction in yogic absorption, or the cessation of outwardness—kept deliberately multivalent.
  • “turavu kōl” can be the literal ascetic’s staff/emblem, or a figurative ‘discipline/way’ of renunciation; both readings fit the closing claim about attaining siddhi.