பெண்ணாத்தாள் பெண்ணோடே புணர்ந்தா என்னை
பெற்றெடுத்தாள் சிவமென்னும் பேயன் தன்னை
விண்ணோடே விளையாடும் வேதத் தாயாய்
வேதாந்தச் சிவனிதய மகளாய் வந்தாள்
கண்ணோடே கருத்தோடே காத்து நின்றாள்
காலமில்லாச் சிவனுக்கே மனைவி யானாள்
எண்ணோடே சித்தமுடி யேறிப் பார்த்தால்
யாவுமவள் செய்யுமிந்த்ர ஜாலங் கண்டாய்
Peṇṇāttāḷ peṇṇōḍē puṇarntā eṉṉai
peṟṟeṭuttāḷ civameṉṉum pēyaṉ taṉṉai
viṇṇōḍē viḷaiyāḍum vēdat tāyāy
vēdāntac civanitaya makaḷāy vantāḷ
kaṇṇōḍē karuttōḍē kāttu niṉṟāḷ
kālamillāc civanu kkē maṉaivi yāṉāḷ
eṇṇōḍē cittamuḍi yēṟip pārttāḷ
yāvumavaḷ ceyyuminṯra jālaṅ kaṇḍāy
When Peṇṇāttāḷ united with a woman, she gave birth to me—
that very “pey(an)” called Śivam.
As the mother of the Vedas who plays with the sky,
she came as the daughter within the heart of the Vedāntic Śiva.
With eye and with thought she stood guarding.
She became the wife of the timeless Śiva.
If, with “number/counting,” you climb up to the crown of the mind and look,
you will see: everything is the Indra-jālam (magic/illusion) that she performs.
The Divine Feminine Power—named cryptically as Peṇṇāttāḷ—joins with the “female principle” and brings forth the embodied seeker who is paradoxically called “Śiva,” yet also a “peyan” (a ghost-like, deluded being).
She is simultaneously:
- the source of revealed tradition (Mother of the Vedas),
- the arising of inner gnosis (daughter born from Śiva’s heart, i.e., from the core of consciousness), and
- the inseparable consort of the timeless Absolute (wife of the time-free Śiva).
When the yogin, by disciplined measure (counting—of breath, mantra, or tattva-enumeration), raises awareness to the crown of consciousness, it becomes evident that all experienced phenomena are her Indra-jālam: her dazzling web of appearances and powers.
This verse compresses a Śaiva-Siddhar metaphysics into family-relations (mother/daughter/wife) to indicate non-separation: Śiva (pure, time-less consciousness) and Śakti (power, manifestation, māyā) are spoken of as distinct yet operate as one.
1) “Peṇṇāttāḷ … united with a woman”: On the surface it is an intentionally shocking image (female with female). In Siddhar idiom it can signal “power joining power,” i.e., prakṛti/māyā combining with another ‘female’ aspect such as the body, sense-nature, or a second subtle current. Rather than social narrative, it points to inner process or coded alchemy.
2) “Gave birth to me—the peyan called Śivam”: The seeker/jīva imagines itself exalted (“Śivam”) while functioning like a ghost (“peyan”)—driven by habit, desire, and illusion. Siddhars often use harsh terms to puncture spiritual pride: the unawakened condition is ‘spectral,’ not fully alive in truth.
3) “Mother of the Vedas … daughter of the Vedāntic Śiva-heart”: Veda (outer revelation) and Vedānta (inner consummation) are both attributed to the same power. Calling her “daughter of Śiva’s heart” frames ultimate knowledge as arising inwardly, from the depth of consciousness, not merely from text.
4) “With eye and thought she stood guarding”: This can denote (a) the vigilant Śakti that governs perception and cognition, (b) the ‘inner eye’/ājñā function that watches mind, or (c) a protective kundalinī-intelligence that ‘stands guard’ at thresholds (granthis/knots).
5) “Wife of the timeless Śiva”: The Absolute is beyond time; Śakti, though appearing as change, is inseparable from it. ‘Wife’ here encodes inseparable union rather than duality.
6) “With counting, ascend to the crown of the mind”: “Counting” fits yogic discipline—counted breath (prāṇāyāma), mantra-japa counts, or systematic ‘enumeration’ of tattvas. “Cittamuṭi” (crown of consciousness) suggests the summit of awareness (often mapped to sahasrāra). At that summit, one sees the mechanism of appearance clearly.
7) “Everything is her Indra-jālam”: Indra-jālam is a classical metaphor for dazzling illusion, conjuring, and the web of mutually reflecting appearances. The verse does not simply condemn the world; it frames the whole display—knowledge, bondage, power, and even spiritual experience—as Śakti’s ‘magic.’ Liberation is seeing the trick without being trapped by it.