Golden Lay Verses

Verse 10 (குருபரம்பரை வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

நந்தீசர் திருமூலர் நம்மை யாண்டான்

நாடரிய காலாங்கன் நவில்மா லாங்கன்

தொந்தமறும் தன்வந்த்ரி சுகுமா ரன்நீள்

தொல்லைதரு மல்லலகற் றிடுங்கல் லாடர்

பந்தமறுங் கல்லுளியார் விளையாட் டீசர்

பரநின்ற கோரக்கர் அழுகண் ணீசர்

விந்தைமிகுஞ் செயமுனியார் பதஞ்ச லிப்பார்

வியாக்கிரனார் யூகிமுனி வாம தேவர்

Transliteration

nandhIsar thirumUlar nammai yANdAn

nAdariya kAlAngkan navilmA lAngkan

thondhamarum thanvanthri sugumA ranniIL

thollaidharu mallalagar RRidumngal lAdar

pandhamarum kalluliyAr viLaiyAd dIsar

paranindra kOrakkar azhugaN NnIsar

vindhaimigunj seyamuniyAr padhanjjalippAr

viyAkkiRanAr yUkimuni vAma dhEvar

Literal Translation

Nandhīśar (Nandi) and Tirumūlar ruled (or guided) us.

Kālaṅgan, unknown to the world, and the much-spoken-of (renowned) Mālaṅgan.

The affliction-removing Dhanvantari; the gentle (or “Sukumāran”), long-enduring.

Kallādar, who cuts away the ancient, trouble-giving delusions/sorrows.

Kalluḷiyār; and the playful Īśar (Lord) who removes bondage.

Gōrakkar, who stands as the Supreme; and Aḻukaṇ-Īśar.

Seyamuniyār, rich in wonder; and the Patanjali.

Vyākkiranār, Yōgimuni, and Vāmadevar.

Interpretive Translation

A garland of Siddhar–guru names is invoked: Nandi and Tirumūlar as the primal Saiva-yogic guides; the cryptic Kālaṅga/Mālaṅga figures linked with time, transformation, and hidden arts; Dhanvantari as the siddha physician whose medicine removes deep affliction; masters who “cut away” long-standing delusion and bondages; Gorakkar as the one established in the Supreme; and the classical yoga authorities (Patanjali and allied yogins). The verse functions less as biography and more as a map of powers—yoga, medicine, tapas, and liberating knowledge—embodied in a lineage.

Philosophical Explanation

This passage operates as a *paramparā*-invocation (lineage remembrance). In Siddhar works, naming is not merely historical; it is a technique: calling the “names” is a way of aligning oneself with their *śakti* (power/attainment).

1) Guru as inner sovereignty: “Nandhīśar Tirumūlar nammai yāṇḍān” can mean they “ruled” (disciplined) the aspirant—suggesting that yogic realization requires an inner governance where the guru principle becomes the ruler of the mind and senses.

2) Time and transformation: epithets like Kālaṅgan (“one of time / time-marked”) hint at mastery over *kāla* (time)—a recurring Siddhar aim tied to longevity and *kāya-siddhi* (perfection of the body). Mālaṅgan, paired with him, may indicate a complementary force: ordered pattern/garland (*mālai*) or a second adept in a twin-tradition. The verse keeps this deliberately opaque.

3) Medicine as liberation: Dhanvantari’s placement among yogins underscores Siddha medicine’s philosophical premise: bodily purification and stabilization are not separate from liberation. “Affliction-removing” can refer both to disease and to *tōntam/tondam* as entrenched karmic residue.

4) Cutting delusion and bondage: “cutting away ancient troubles/delusions” and “removing bondage” express the core soteriology: *mala* (impurity), *pāśa* (bond), and *avidyā* (ignorance) must be severed. The imagery of cutting suggests alchemical separation/purification as well as psychological deconditioning.

5) Gorakkar and supreme-abidance: “paranindru” (“standing/abiding as the Supreme”) presents realization not as a journey but as stable abidance—an accomplished state. Gorakkar, in Siddhar memory, often stands for intense tapas, radical bodily discipline, and transmutation.

6) Patanjali and classical yoga: including Patanjali and other yogins integrates the Siddhar stream with pan-Indic yoga discourse, while still placing it inside a Saiva-Siddha horizon: yoga, medicine, and alchemy converge toward freedom from limitation, including limitation by time.

Key Concepts

  • Siddhar lineage (paramparā) invocation
  • Guru as inner ruler / disciplining sovereignty
  • Saiva yoga (Nandi, Tirumūlar)
  • Mastery over time (kāla) and longevity motifs
  • Siddha medicine and Dhanvantari
  • Removal of bondage (pāśa) and impurity (mala)
  • Cutting delusion/affliction as purification (yogic + alchemical)
  • Abidance in the Supreme (para-nilai)
  • Integration with classical yoga (Patanjali)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “நம்மை யாண்டான்” can mean “ruled over us,” “governed/discipled us,” or “graciously guided us,” shifting the tone from authority to blessing.
  • Kālaṅgan / Mālaṅgan may be specific Siddhar names, symbolic pairings (time/order), or coded references to alchemical stages; the text does not disambiguate.
  • “தொந்தமறும்” can point to removal of disease/affliction, removal of karmic residue, or both simultaneously (common Siddhar double-sense).
  • “சுகுமாரன் நீள்” may be an epithet (“gentle, long-enduring”) or a compound personal name; the grammar allows either.
  • “மல்லல” and “கல்லாடர் / கல்லுளியார்” appear as either proper Siddhar names or descriptive epithets (one who cuts/works stone; one who plays in/with ‘stone’), possibly hinting at bodily ‘stone’ (hardness) or alchemical mineral work.
  • “அழுகண் ஈசர்” could be a distinct adept-name or a descriptive title of Śiva (“Lord with… eyes”), but the exact lexical sense of “அழுகண்” is unclear without corroborating variants.