கோடியிலே ஒருத்தியடா குலப்பெண் ணாத்தாள்
குவலயத்தின் கோடியிலே குடியாய் நிற்பாள்
ஓடியுளே பிடிக்கவென்றா லோடிப் போவாள்
ஒருவருக்குஞ் சிக்காம லொளித் திருப்பாள்
மாடியிலே யெழுமாடிக் கப்பால் மாடி
மச்சினிலே உச்சிமுடி மனைக்குள் ளேதான்
காடியிலே நாடியிலே கண்ட ஞானக்
கட்டினிலே கணிகைதனைக் கட்டி டாயே
kōḍiyilē oruttiyaḍā kulappeṇ ṇāttāḷ
kuvalayattiṉ kōḍiyilē kuḍiyāy niṟpāḷ
ōḍiyuḷē piḍikkaveṉṟā lōḍip pōvāḷ
oruvarukkuñ cikkāma loḷit tiruppāḷ
māḍiyilē yeḻumāḍik kappāl māḍi
maccinilē uccimuḍi manaikkuḷ ḷētāṉ
kāḍiyilē nāḍiyilē kaṇḍa ñāṉak
At the “kōṭi” there is a certain woman—she is the clan-lady (a noble woman).
At the “kōṭi” of the wide world (kuvalayam) she stands, as one who has taken residence.
If you say you want to catch her by running, she will run away.
Without getting trapped by anyone, she will remain hidden.
In the upper-storey—beyond seven storeys—there is yet another storey;
In the attic (loft) her topknot is—indeed, inside the house itself.
In the “kāṭi,” in the nāḍi, in the wisdom-knot that is seen—
Bind that courtesan (kanikai), bind her!
A subtle feminine power is spoken of as an elusive “woman”: she resides at the extreme end (kōṭi) of the world, yet also within one’s own “house” (the body). When pursued outwardly—by restless effort—she slips away and hides.
The “house” has seven levels (suggesting the inner centers), and beyond them is a higher level; her “topknot” is in the loft—hinting at the summit of consciousness. The instruction is not to chase, but to “bind” her within the inner channels (nāḍi) and at the “knot” of wisdom—i.e., to stabilize and contain the moving force through yogic restraint and insight, so that it becomes available for realization rather than remaining a seducing, ungraspable power.
1) Body as a multi-storeyed house (microcosm): The verse treats the human body as a “house” with storeys. “Seven storeys” readily map to the commonly taught layered inner centers (cakra schema), while “beyond seven” points to a further, subtler station (often associated with the crown/transcendent locus). The “topknot in the attic” is a vivid image for the peak: what seems ‘highest’ is still “inside the house”—the transcendent is intimated as immanent.
2) The elusive woman as Shakti / mind / prāṇa: She cannot be seized by “running” (external pursuit, agitation, sensory chasing). Siddhar idiom often personifies the moving powers of mind and breath as a woman who entices, escapes, and hides. The instruction implies that attainment is not by pursuit but by containment—stilling, gathering, and fixing.
3) “Binding” as yogic and alchemical technique: The command “bind the courtesan” can be read as: - Yogic: bind/contain the wandering force through discipline (breath regulation, inner locks/bandha, directing prāṇa into the central pathway), and through piercing/understanding the “knot” (granthi) that obstructs ascent of consciousness. - Alchemical (Siddha rasavāda resonance): volatile substances (notably mercury-like principles) are frequently described as fickle, escaping, and requiring “binding/fixation” (bandhana) to make them transformative. The “courtesan” image fits something that cannot be held by ordinary grasping but can be fixed by correct method.
4) “Knot of wisdom” (ñāna-k-kattu / granthi): The “knot” suggests a crucial inner constriction where movement and knowing are tied. To ‘see’ the knot is itself a spiritual threshold: recognition of the binding point in the subtle body/psyche. The verse recommends working precisely there—where channel (nāḍi) and knowing (ñānam) intersect—rather than dispersing effort outward.
Overall teaching: What is sought at the world’s far edge is already within. The sought power hides from outward chase; it yields to inward method—stabilization, channeling, and insight—until the fickle becomes fixed, and the seducing becomes illuminating.