Golden Lay Verses

Verse 9 (குருபரம்பரை வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

பாம்பாட்டிச் சித்தர்பதம் சிரமேல் வைத்தேன்

படுநீக்கும் கடுவெளியார் கமலன் கைலை

வீம்பாக்கும் வான்மீகன் நவகண்டத் தான்

வீறியநா தாந்தர்ஜம தக்னி நாதக்

கூம்பாக்கும் நாதமுனி பரிமீன் சோதர்

குருபுசுண்டர் சதுரமுனி குதம்பைச் சித்தர்

ஆம்பாக்கி யங்கள்தரும் போகர் மச்சர்

அதிசட்டர் ரோமரிஷி ராம தேவர்

Transliteration

pāmpāṭṭic cittarpatam ciramēl vaittēṉ

paṭunīkkum kaṭuveḷiyār kamalaṉ kailai

vīmpākkum vāṉmīkaṉ navakaṇṭat tāṉ

vīṟiyaṉā tāntarjama takṉi nātak

kūmpākkum nātamuni parimīṉ cōtar

kurupucuṇṭar caturamuni kutampaiċ cittar

āmpākki yaṅkaḷtarum pōkar maccar

aticcaṭṭar rōmariṣi rāma tēvar

Literal Translation

“I placed the ‘state/feet’ (padam) of Pāmbāṭṭi Siddhar upon my head.

[He who] removes what befalls (suffering/affliction): Kaṭuveḷiyār; Kamalan; Kailai (Kailāsa).

Vānmīkan (Vālmīki?) who causes swelling/expansion (vīmpākku[m]); he of the ‘navakaṇḍam’ (nine-knots/nine-sections).

The forceful Nāda—antar-jama (inner restraint/inner pressure?)—the fire (agni) of nāda.

Nādamuni who makes [it] curl/contract (kūmpākku[m]); Parimīn Sōdar.

Guru Pucuṇṭar; Caturamuni; Kudambai Siddhar.

Bōgar who grants ‘aam’ (ambrosia? affirmation?) and powers (yaṅgaḷ); Macchar (Matsya/Matsyendra?).

Ati-caṭṭar; Rōma-riṣi; Rāma Devar.”

Interpretive Translation

I bow by placing the attainment (or sacred feet) of Pāmbāṭṭi Siddhar on my crown—signifying surrender and the rise of the serpent-force. Then I invoke a chain of adepts, each hinted through a function: the one who removes affliction in the stark ‘outer/void-space’ (kaṭu-veḷi), the lotus–Kailāsa principle (crown-lotus, summit of consciousness), the master of the ‘nine knots’ (the yogic blockages/sections to be pierced), and the discipline where inner restraint turns into the heat of inner fire and the resonant current of nāda. Through kumbhaka-like contraction and nāda-yoga, the lineage (Nādamuni and others) leads to the siddhi of nectar/immortality and perfected powers—associated with Bōgar and the fish-lineage (Macchar/Matsya)—culminating in a remembered assembly of siddhars and ṛṣis (Ati-caṭṭar, Roma-riṣi, Rāma Devar) who stand as witnesses and guides.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse reads primarily as a guru–paramparā salutation, but it is not merely a list of names. Siddhar verses often encode yogic physiology and inner alchemy in the form of proper nouns and epithets.

1) “Placed on my head” (siramel vaittēn) is the standard mark of taking refuge in the guru’s feet, yet in Siddhar idiom it also suggests the ‘ascent’ to the crown-center: the teaching is enthroned at the summit of awareness.

2) Pāmbāṭṭi (the “snake-dancer”) naturally evokes kuṇḍalinī imagery: a controlled, awakened serpentine energy that can ‘dance’ rather than bite—i.e., become a vehicle of liberation rather than disturbance.

3) Kaṭu-veḷi (“harsh space/terrible void/outside expanse”) can indicate the frightening experiential void met in meditation, or the world-space of suffering. “Removing what befalls” frames the siddhar as one who cuts disease/karma/mental affliction.

4) “Lotus / Kailāsa” compresses two vertical symbols: the lotus as the subtle center (especially crown-lotus), and Kailāsa as the absolute summit (Śiva’s seat). Together they gesture to the final station of yogic ascent.

5) “Navakaṇḍam” (nine sections/knots) is a cryptic technical marker. In yogic–Siddha contexts it can align with: nine granthis (knots), nine bodily ‘cuts’/segments, or nine internal gates/processes that must be mastered. The phrase implies systematic piercing/untying rather than a single mystical leap.

6) “Nāda… agni” and “inner restraint” point to the core Siddha method where breath/attention is restrained inwardly, producing inner heat (agni) and the perception of nāda (inner sound). This maps to breath-retention (kumbhaka), nāda-yoga, and subtle metabolic transmutation—where ‘fire’ cooks impurities and stabilizes the mind.

7) “Kūmpākku(m)” (to make contract/curl) resonates with kumbhaka (retention) and with the inward drawing of prāṇa. The verse thus hints: contraction → inner heat → nāda → ascent.

8) References to Bōgar and “Macchar” (fish-associated figure) bring in the Siddha-alchemical tradition: medicines, rasāyana, and immortality motifs (nectar/ambrosia). The ‘fish’ also carries yogic symbolism (life in the waters of prāṇa; a lineage marker; or a cipher for a specific adept).

Overall, the verse blends (a) reverence to named siddhars/ṛṣis, (b) a coded map of inner practice (knots, restraint, heat, nāda), and (c) the promise of siddhi/rasāyana (powers, nectar, transformation). The cryptic density is typical: the names function both historically (as a lineage) and technically (as signposts of inner stages).

Key Concepts

  • guru-parampara (lineage invocation)
  • padam (feet/state/attainment)
  • Pāmbāṭṭi Siddhar (kundalini/serpent symbolism)
  • kaṭu-veḷi (harsh space/void; world-space)
  • lotus (cakra imagery, especially crown)
  • Kailāsa (Śiva’s summit; final station)
  • navakaṇḍam (nine sections/knots; granthi-like obstacles)
  • antar (inner) restraint/pressure (possible yogic technique marker)
  • agni (inner fire; yogic heat; alchemical cooking)
  • nāda (inner sound current; nāda-yoga)
  • kumbhaka-like contraction (breath retention; inward drawing of prāṇa)
  • Bōgar (Siddha alchemy/medicine; rasāyana)
  • siddhi (powers; perfected capacities)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “padam” can mean the guru’s physical feet (devotional sense) or the guru’s attained ‘state/step’ (technical yogic sense).
  • “kaṭu-veḷiyār” may be a proper name/title of a siddhar, or a descriptive epithet meaning ‘one of the terrible void/outer space’—a reference to a meditative domain.
  • “Kamalan kailai” can be read as (a) a person named Kamalan connected to Kailāsa, or (b) ‘the lotus (kamalam) of Kailāsa’—i.e., the crown-lotus/summit center.
  • “vīmpākku(m)” can imply ‘to swell/expand’ (growth of inner power, prāṇa, or ego—depending on context). The verse does not specify which, preserving the Siddhar-style ambiguity.
  • “navakaṇḍam” is unclear: it may indicate nine granthis (knots), nine bodily sections, nine vows/disciplinary cuts, or a specific Siddha technical taxonomy.
  • “antarjama” is uncertain in segmentation and meaning; it may point to an ‘inner pressing/bridling’ (a breath/attention technique) rather than a person’s name.
  • “agni nādak” could be parsed as ‘fire-and-nāda’ (a compound of inner heat and sound) or as a title/epithet; the grammar is intentionally compressed.
  • “kūmpākku(m)” may simply mean ‘to bend/curl/contract’ in ordinary Tamil, but it also strongly suggests kumbhaka (breath retention) in a yogic-alchemical reading.
  • Several items (Parimīn Sōdar, Guru Pucuṇṭar, Ati-caṭṭar, Roma-riṣi) may be (a) historical/legendary names, (b) localized siddhar titles, or (c) encoded technical terms masquerading as names.
  • “Macchar” may refer to a fish-associated siddha (Matsya/Matsyendra lineage), or function symbolically (life sustained in the ‘waters’ of prāṇa/nectar).
  • The verse can be read as a straightforward roll-call of revered adepts, or as a staged inner-practice itinerary (void → lotus/Kailāsa → nine knots → restraint → fire → nāda → siddhi/rasāyana).