Golden Lay Verses

Verse 109 (மணி வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சும்மாத்தான் அம்மாத்தான் சுகத்தே நின்றாள்

சொக்கிவிழக் கம்மாக்கள் பலவே கண்டீர்

உம்மாத்தான் உம்மாச்சி உறங்குகின்றான்

உலகத்துக் குதவாதே அவன்றன் தூக்கம்

எம்மாத்தான் எம்மாவைக் கேட்டா லுந்தான்

ஏதுரைப்பாள் வாய்மூடி யிருப்பாள் வாளாய்

பொம்மாத்தான் பொம்மக்காள் புவன மெல்லாம்

பொம்மையவள் ரூபமடா பணிந்து கொள்ளே

Transliteration

Summaaththaan ammaaththaan sugaththe nindraாள்

Sokkivizhak kammaakkal palavE kandheer

Ummaaththaan ummaachchi urangugindraan

Ulagaththuk kuthavaathE avandran thookkam

Emmaaththaan emmaavaik kettaa lundhaan

Ethuraippaal vaaymoodi yiruppaal vaaLaay

Pommaaththaan pommakkaaL buvana mellaam

PommaiyavaL roopamadaa paNinthu koLLE.

Literal Translation

“The ‘Summa’-one, the Mother, stood firm in bliss.

You have seen many ‘kammā’ ones that make (one) swoon and fall.

The ‘Umma’-one, the ‘Ummācci’, is sleeping;

his sleep is of no use to the world.

If you ask our mother—our ‘Emmā’—then,

whatever she might say, she will shut her mouth and remain, sword-like.

The ‘Pomma’-one, the ‘Pomma-kāl’, (is) all the worlds;

it is her doll-form indeed—bow and take (this in).”

Interpretive Translation

In the state of “summa” (still, effortless abiding), the Supreme Mother stands as bliss itself. Yet beings repeatedly “swoon and fall” for the many manifestations of karmic/desire-binding forces. The principle that ought to awaken and help the world remains asleep—its sleep does not serve liberation. When one questions the inner Mother, her instruction is often silence: a wordless, sharp, cutting clarity that leaves nothing to argue with. All realms are her puppet-play—forms like dolls animated by Śakti/Māyā—therefore recognise her agency and bow (with discernment).

Philosophical Explanation

This verse is built from a deliberately repetitive word-play on “ammā/ummā/emmā/pommā,” which can be read as a Siddhar’s cryptic teaching rather than ordinary family terms.

1) “Summa…sukaththē ninrāl” — “summa” in Siddhar usage frequently points to mauna (inner stillness), sahaja (effortless state), or the non-doing awareness in which bliss (sukham) is stable. Calling it “Mother” aligns with Śakti as the ground of experience and the support of realization.

2) “Sokki vizha…kammākkal” — the image of “swooning/falling” suggests fascination, infatuation, or the loss of discrimination. “Kammākkal” is intentionally unclear: it can point toward (a) kāma (desire) as seducers, or (b) kamma/karma as binding forces producing repeated falls into embodiment and confusion. The line warns that many such ‘agents’ are seen in the field of experience.

3) “Ummā…urangugindrān” — “sleep” here is not ordinary rest but a symbol for spiritual unawareness (avidyā) or yogic-nidrā-like latency: the light that could guide remains unmanifest. The poet’s critique—“of no use to the world”—targets a state/principle that is inert for liberation when it stays ‘asleep’.

4) “If you ask our Mother…she closes her mouth” — the teaching method shifts from speech to silence. The Mother’s ‘answer’ is mauna: the kind of instruction Siddhars often consider superior to discourse. “Sword-like” implies incisive, non-negotiable clarity (silence that cuts through mental proliferation), not mere muteness.

5) “All worlds are her doll-form” — the cosmos is compared to dolls/puppets (pommāy), a common Indic metaphor for māyā: forms appear animated and independent, yet move by an unseen power. Bowing here can mean devotion to Śakti as the operative reality, but it can also mean acknowledging her role so that one stops being deceived by the puppet-show.

Overall, the verse juxtaposes (i) the Mother as blissful stillness, (ii) the multitude of binding attractions (desire/karma), (iii) the ‘sleep’ of liberative awareness, and (iv) silence as the Mother’s ultimate instruction, culminating in the māyā–puppet metaphor for the universe.

Key Concepts

  • Summa (inner stillness / non-doing)
  • Sukham (bliss)
  • Śakti as “Mother”
  • Kāma (desire) and/or Karma (binding action) as seducing forces
  • Spiritual sleep (avidyā / latency; possible yogic-nidrā metaphor)
  • Mauna (silent instruction)
  • Silence as a ‘sword’ (cutting through thought)
  • Māyā as puppet/doll-show (pommāy)
  • Surrender/bowing with discernment

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “கம்மாக்கள் (kammākkal)” may be read as kāma (desire-powers), karma (binding deeds), or a purposely blurred term covering both: attractions that cause “swooning/falling.”
  • “உம்மாத்தான் உம்மாச்சி (ummāththān ummācci)” is unclear: it may hint at a deity in ‘sleep’ (e.g., a cosmic preserver in yogic slumber), or it may be an internal principle—consciousness/awareness—remaining dormant in ignorance.
  • “எம்மாத்தான் எம்மாவைக் கேட்டால் (if you ask our Mother…)” can be taken as instruction about a guru/inner-Śakti who teaches by silence, or as a critique that verbal questioning cannot reach the truth.
  • “வாளாய் (sword-like)” may indicate sharp, decisive silence that cuts delusion, but it can also imply danger: speaking is withheld because truth cannot be safely expressed in ordinary language.
  • “பொம்மாத்தான்…பொம்மையவள் ரூபம் (doll-form)” can be read devotionally (Śakti as the manifested universe worthy of bowing) or as a discriminative warning (the universe is a puppet-show; do not be fooled by appearances).
  • The chain of near-homophones (summa/amma/umma/emma/pomma) may encode stages of manifestation—stillness → attraction/binding → dormancy → silence → form—yet the verse does not force a single fixed mapping.