Golden Lay Verses

Verse 5 (குருபரம்பரை வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

மால்பரசு ராமன்ஸ்ரீ ராமன் கண்ணன்

வளையான ஸ்ரீசக்ரன் லோப முத்ரை

கோல்கொண்ட மாதங்க ளெனவே வந்த

குருநாதர் பரம்பரையைப் போற்றி போற்றி

ஏல்தவத்தா ரிருபத்தி யேழு சித்தர்

எண்ணறியா ராதிமரே சந்த்ர சேனர்

வேல்தவத்து விசாரதர்கோ மன்கா பாலீ

வினையறுத்த மத்தர்மாண் டவ்யர் பாதம்

Transliteration

Mālparasu Rāman-srī Rāman Kaṇṇan

Vaḷaiyāṇa Srīcakran Lōpa Mudrāi

Kōlkoṇḍa Mātaṅga ḷenavē Vanta

Kurunāthar Parambaraiyaip pōṟṟi pōṟṟi

Ēltavattā rirupatti yēḻu Siddhar

Eṇṇaṟiyā Rādimarē Candra Sēnar

Vēltavattu Vicāradarkō Mankā Pālī

Vinaiyaṟutta Mattarmāṇ Ṭavyar Pātam

Literal Translation

Māl (Vishnu)—Paraśurāma, Śrī Rāma, and Kaṇṇan (Kṛṣṇa);

The rounded/encircling Śrīcakra and the Lopā-mudrā;

Those who came as “the staff-bearing Mātaṅga-s” (or as Mātaṅga, bearing the staff);

Praising, praising the lineage (paramparā) of the Guru-Lord.

The noble ascetics—the twenty-seven Siddhars;

The uncountable primordial ones; Chandra-sēnar;

The adept/examiner of “spear-like” tapas (Vēl-tavam)—Vicāratār; Kōmankā-pālī;

And the feet of Mattar, and Māṇṭavya, who cut away karma.

Interpretive Translation

An invocation that gathers multiple strands of authority—Vaiṣṇava avatars (Paraśurāma, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa), Śākta-tantric geometry (Śrīcakra), and yogic/seer tradition (Lopāmudrā)—and then anchors them in a specific Siddha-guru lineage. The poet praises the guru-paramparā and salutes a company of realized beings: “twenty-seven Siddhars” (suggesting an ordered cosmic set), primordial/unnamable adepts, and named masters (Chandra-sēnar, Vicāratār, Kōmankā-pālī, Mattar, Māṇṭavya), especially those whose feet (grace/teaching) sever the bonds of karma.

Philosophical Explanation

1) Syncretic authority-signs: The opening string—Paraśurāma/Rāma/Kṛṣṇa under “Māl” (Vishnu)—is not merely devotional; it signals that the Siddhar path can “inherit” multiple orthodox streams without being confined to one. In Siddha literature, such lists often function as a seal of legitimacy and as an assurance that the teaching transcends sectarian boundaries.

2) Śrīcakra and “Lopā-mudrā”: The Śrīcakra (Śrīyantra) points to Śākta-tantric cosmology: body-as-diagram, breath-as-ritual, and the mapping of consciousness through interlocking triangles. “Lopā-mudrā” can simultaneously evoke (a) the Vedic seer Lopāmudrā (associated with tapas, mantra, and disciplined union), and (b) a yogic “mudrā” (seal) that ‘hides’ (lopa = elision/vanishing) or internalizes outward ritual—typical Siddha strategy: take the outer rite and turn it inward.

3) “Staff-bearing Mātaṅga”: The phrase suggests an ascetic identity (kōl = staff, emblem of renunciation and authority). “Mātaṅga” itself is multivalent: it can be read as a particular sage/tradition (often linked to liminal/outcaste power), or as an elephant-associated symbolism (strength, removal of obstacles), or more simply as a class of mendicants. In Siddha idiom, the “staff” is also the axis/column of the body (spine/suṣumṇā) that the yogin ‘takes up’.

4) The “twenty-seven Siddhars”: Twenty-seven naturally echoes the 27 lunar mansions (nakṣatras), implying a complete circuit of time/psyche; the verse may be hinting that siddhi is not private attainment but a harmonization with cosmic cycles. Yet the text also immediately mentions “uncountable primordial ones,” preserving the tension between a fixed canon and an immeasurable field of realized beings.

5) “Feet that cut karma”: Ending with “the feet” (pādam) frames liberation as transmission: the guru’s grounding-point, practice-base, and grace. “Vinai aṟutta” (“cut karma”) signals a core Siddha aim: not merely merit-making, but surgical removal of causal bondage—often through inner alchemy (breath, mantra, heat/tapas) rather than external rites alone.

Key Concepts

  • Guru paramparā (lineage praise)
  • Syncretism of Vaiṣṇava, Śākta-tantric, and Siddha-yogic frames
  • Śrīcakra (Śrīyantra) as inner cosmology/body-diagram
  • Mudrā as “seal” and as esoteric internalization (Lopā-mudrā)
  • Twenty-seven Siddhars and the suggestion of cosmic completeness (nakṣatra resonance)
  • Karma (vinai) severed through guru’s feet/teachings

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “வளையான ஸ்ரீசக்ரன்” (vaḷaiyāna Śrīcakra) may mean ‘rounded/circular Śrīcakra,’ or ‘encircling/protective Śrīcakra,’ or may hint at a ring/bracelet-like enclosure (protective yantra).
  • “லோப முத்ரை” can be read as Lopāmudrā (the seer) or as a yogic ‘lopa-mudrā’ (a ‘vanishing/elision seal’ that internalizes ritual); the text does not force a single choice.
  • “மாதங்க(ள்)” can be a proper name (Mātaṅga), a category of ascetics, or an elephant-symbol reading; “கோல் கொண்ட” (‘bearing the staff’) supports an ascetic reading but does not exclude symbolic spine/axis imagery.
  • “இருபத்தி ஏழு சித்தர்” might refer to a recognized set of 27 Siddhars, or function symbolically (27 = full cycle, lunar mansions), especially since it is paired with “எண்ணறியா” (‘uncountable’) primordial adepts.
  • The sequence of names—“ஆதிமரே சந்த்ர சேனர் / விசாரதர் கோமன் கா பாலீ / மத்தர் மாண்டவ்யர்”—may be a list of specific masters, or a compressed set of epithets and titles; spacing and sandhi make the segmentation uncertain.
  • “வேல்தவத்து” could literally be ‘spear-tapas’ (vēl = spear), but also an idiom for ‘sharp/penetrating austerity’ or a Murugan-associated ascetic power; the verse keeps the metaphor open.