Golden Lay Verses

Verse 2 (காப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

ஊனெடுத்த பிணிபலவு மொடுங்கி யோடும்

உத்தமனே எண்சித்தி யாவுங் கூடும்

மோனெடுத்த முப்பூவின் முறையுண் டாகும்

முன்வினையின் தொல்லையெலாம் முழுதும் போகும்

தானெடுத்த யோகநெறி தழைந்தூ டாடும்

தன்னைத்தா னறிந்திழையும் சமாதி கூடும்

கானடுத்த சித்தர்பலர் கவடு சொன்னார்

காண்போர்க்கு வெட்டவெளி யிந்த நூலே

Transliteration

Ūneṭutta piṇipalavu moṭuṅki yōṭum

Uttamanē eṇsitti yāvuṅ kūṭum

Mōneṭutta muppūviṉ muṟaiyuṇ ṭākum

Muṉviṉaiyiṉ tollaiyelām muḻutum pōkum

Tāneṭutta yōkaṉeṟi taḻaintū ṭāṭum

Taṉṉaittā ṉaṟintiḻaiyum samāti kūṭum

Kānaṭutta cittarpalar kavaṭu soṉṉār

Kāṇpōrkku veṭṭaveḷi yinta nūlē.

Literal Translation

The many diseases that have taken hold of the flesh-body will shrink and run away.

O excellent one, all the eight siddhis will also come together.

The proper method of the “three flowers” taken up in silence will arise.

All the ancient troubles of prior karma will completely depart.

The yogic path you have taken will flourish and dance (within you).

Samādhi will also join—where one knows oneself as oneself.

Many Siddhars who dwelt in the forests spoke in “forked/veiled” words.

For those who truly see, this very book is the open, cut-through expanse (the vast sky-like space).

Interpretive Translation

When disciplined yogic practice ripens, bodily illness loses its grip, and the practitioner gains mastery traditionally called the eight siddhis. A silent inner rite—hinted as the “three flowers”—becomes operative, dissolving the drag of former karmic residues. The chosen yogic way begins to thrive with inner movement and ease, culminating in self-recognizing absorption (samādhi). The Siddhars deliberately transmit this knowledge in riddling, double-edged speech; yet to the initiated eye, the text itself becomes “open sky”—direct and unobstructed instruction.

Philosophical Explanation

The verse links three Siddhar concerns: (1) medicine of the embodied condition, (2) yogic technology, and (3) cryptic transmission.

1) Medical/yogic claim (“diseases run away”): In Siddha frames, illness is not only physiological but also karmic, breath-related, and doṣa-related. The line suggests that when prāṇa and internal balance are corrected through yoga/discipline, “flesh-born” afflictions subside.

2) Attainment (“eight siddhis come together”): The eight siddhis (aṣṭa-siddhi) function here as a shorthand for yogic mastery—ranging from subtle capacities to steadiness of body-mind. The verse does not specify display of powers; it can also be read as inner competencies (control of breath, mind, senses, and elements).

3) “Three flowers” in silence: The phrase “mūppū / three flowers” is a coded instruction. “Flower” in Siddhar usage can point to subtle centers, offerings of breath, or inner psycho-energetic signs. “Taken up in silence” indicates an inward, non-verbal, contemplative or prāṇāyāma-based method rather than external ritual.

4) Karma exhausted: “Old trouble of prior deeds” leaving suggests that practice is framed as a purificatory fire—reducing saṁskāra load and loosening binding tendencies that manifest as suffering.

5) Yogic path “flourishes and dances”: This imagery implies the inner current becomes lively and continuous—practice stops feeling forced and becomes spontaneous, pervading daily life.

6) Samādhi of self-knowing: “Knowing oneself by oneself” points to reflexive awareness—awareness not taking an object, but resting as its own ground. The verse keeps it understated, consistent with Siddhar reluctance to over-define samādhi.

7) Veiled speech and “open sky”: “Kavadu” indicates forked/double meaning—intentional ambiguity used to protect powerful techniques, prevent misuse, and require experiential confirmation. Yet for the capable reader, the same text is “veṭṭaveḷi” (open expanse/void/sky): transparent, direct, and liberating—suggesting that clarity depends on the reader’s preparedness.

Key Concepts

  • uṇam (flesh-body) and disease
  • aṣṭa-siddhi (eight siddhis)
  • mouna (silence) as method
  • mūppū / three flowers (coded yogic symbol)
  • karma (mun-vinai) and purification
  • yoga-nēri (yogic path/discipline)
  • samādhi and self-knowing awareness
  • kavadu (veiled/double-edged speech)
  • veṭṭaveḷi (open sky/void; unobstructed clarity)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Three flowers” (mūppū) may refer to (a) three nāḍīs (iḍā, piṅgalā, suṣumṇā) and their harmonization, (b) three inner lotuses/centers activated in practice, (c) three breaths/phases (inhalation–retention–exhalation) offered inwardly as ‘flowers,’ or (d) three guṇas (sattva–rajas–tamas) being brought into a higher balance; the verse does not fix a single referent.
  • “Eight siddhis come together” can mean literal occult capacities, or more conservatively the convergence of yogic attainments (steadiness, health, control of prāṇa, clarity of mind) that tradition labels as siddhi.
  • “Forest-dwelling Siddhars” may be literal (ascetics in wilderness) or symbolic of those who dwell in ‘inner solitude’ (withdrawn senses/mind).
  • “Kavadu” can mean a riddle, a double path, or forked speech; it also hints that the teaching is intentionally split into exoteric and esoteric layers.
  • “Veṭṭaveḷi” can be read as (a) the vast open sky/space, (b) the void-like ground of awareness (śūnya), or (c) a state of complete openness/clarity in understanding the text—depending on whether one emphasizes metaphysics or pedagogy.