Golden Lay Verses

Verse 237 (ஞான வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

மண்சித்தி மனசித்தி மதியும் சித்தி

மண்புனல்தீ மாருதம்வான் யாவும் சித்தி

கண்சித்திக் கலைசித்திக் கணுவும் சித்தி

கதிசித்தி விதிசித்திக் கதிரும் சித்தி

விண்சித்தி வெளிசித்தி விரிவும் சித்தி

வினைசித்தி நாட்கோள்க ளனைத்தும் சித்தி

எண்சித்தி எட்டெட்டாம் சித்தி யாவும்

எட்டிநின்றான் கட்டிநின்றான் சித்தன்தானே

Transliteration

Maṇsitti manasitti matiyum sitti

Maṇpuṉaltī mārutamvāṉ yāvum sitti

Kaṇsittik kalaisittik kaṇuvum sitti

Katisitti vitisittik katirum sitti

Viṇsitti veḷisitti virivum sitti

Viṉaisitti nāṭkōḷkaḷ aṉaittum sitti

Eṇsitti eṭṭeṭṭām sitti yāvum

Eṭṭiniṉṟāṉ kaṭṭiniṉṟāṉ sittantāṉē.

Literal Translation

Earth-siddhi; mind-siddhi; and “madi” (moon / intellect)-siddhi.

Earth, water, fire, air, and sky—everything is siddhi.

Eye-siddhi; kala-siddhi; and even “kanu/anu” (the minute particle/seed)-siddhi.

Gati-siddhi; vidhi-siddhi; and “kathir” (ray / radiance)-siddhi.

Sky-siddhi; space/void-siddhi; and expansion/spreading-siddhi.

Karma-siddhi; and all the planets / days (naṭkōḷ) are siddhi.

Number-siddhi; all the eight siddhis and the ‘eight-times-eight’ siddhis—

He who has reached (stood at) the eight, and he who has stood bound/contained—he indeed is the Siddhan.

Interpretive Translation

Mastery is claimed over the gross elements (earth through space), the mind and the moonlike/intellectual principle, the senses (especially vision), subtle arts/energies (kalai), the infinitesimal (anu), movement and destiny, radiance, the expanse of space, karma, and even the governing influences of time and planets.

Yet the mark of the true Siddha is not merely possessing these attainments, but “standing bound/contained” in them—holding them under discipline, not being held by them.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse is structured as a sweeping inventory of “siddhi” (attainment/power/perfection), moving from the tangible to the subtle and cosmic.

1) Pañcabhūta (five-element) mastery: “Earth, water, fire, air, sky” can be read as dominion over the external elements and (Siddha-yogic/medical) the same elements as internal constituents of the body. In Siddha discourse, controlling the elemental balance implies control over health, longevity, and the possibility of kāya-siddhi (body-perfection).

2) Mind and “madi” (moon/intellect): “Manas-siddhi” points to yogic mastery of thought, desire, and attention. “Madi” can mean the moon (cooling, soma-like principle) or intellect/discernment. Either way, it signals command over the subtle regulating principle that governs mental steadiness, bodily cooling/heat, and inner rhythm.

3) Sense and subtle-structure mastery: “Kaṇ-siddhi” (eye-siddhi) may suggest heightened perception (inner seeing, clairvoyant-like insight) or mastery over the organ of sight. “Kalai-siddhi” is intentionally broad: it may mean arts/skills, yogic kalās (subtle divisions/energies), or technical mastery of inner methods. “Kanu/anu-siddhi” evokes the minutest unit—suggesting penetration into the subtle, the atomic, or the seed-state of phenomena.

4) Fate, motion, radiance: “Gati” (movement/way/trajectory) and “vidhi” (fate/ordinance/method) together point to control over the seeming compulsions of life—how one moves through the world and what appears decreed. “Kathir” (ray/radiance) can indicate solar power, inner tejas, or luminous yogic awareness.

5) Space, expansion, and cosmology: “Vinn/veli” (sky/space/outer expanse) and “virivu” (expansion) suggest the yogic experience of vastness (inner space) and powers associated with extension, pervasion, or subtle travel. “Naṭkōḷ” commonly refers to the planets or day-lords influencing time; listing them as “siddhi” implies transcendence of astrological/time-bound constraints (or, alternatively, mastery of them).

6) Eight and ‘eight-times-eight’: The verse explicitly invokes “eṇ-siddhi” (the eight siddhis) and “eṭṭeṭṭām” (eight-times-eight), often understood as 64 siddhis in later enumerations. The text does not list them; instead it signals completeness: from the foundational aṣṭa-siddhis to the expanded catalog.

7) The culminating criterion—restraint: The closing line—“he who has reached the eight, and he who has stood bound/contained”—turns the enumeration into a warning. Siddhis can be achievements, temptations, or distractions; the Siddha is the one who both attains and binds them (disciplines/contains them), standing established rather than scattered by powers.

Key Concepts

  • Siddhi (attainment/power/perfection)
  • Pañcabhūta (earth, water, fire, air, space)
  • Manas-siddhi (mind mastery)
  • Madi (moon / intellect principle)
  • Kaṇ-siddhi (vision/perception mastery)
  • Kalai (arts/skills or subtle energies/divisions)
  • Aṇu/Kanu (minute/atomic/seed principle)
  • Gati (movement/way/trajectory)
  • Vidhi (fate/ordinance/method)
  • Kathir (ray/radiance/tejas)
  • Veli/Vin (space/sky/expanse)
  • Virivu (expansion/pervasion)
  • Vinai (karma)
  • Naṭkōḷ (planets/day-lords; astrological time-forces)
  • Aṣṭa-siddhi (eight siddhis)
  • Eṭṭeṭṭām (64 siddhis—possible reference)
  • Discipline/containment of powers (kattinindraan)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “மதியும் (madiyum)” can mean the moon (cooling/soma principle) or intellect/discernment; both fit Siddha-yogic and medical symbolism.
  • “கணுவும் (kanuvum)” may point to “anu” (minute particle/atom), a ‘seed’ principle, or a subtle locus (cryptic usage varies across Siddhar corpora).
  • “கலைசித்தி (kalai-siddhi)” could denote worldly arts/skills, yogic kalās (subtle energies/divisions), or technical mastery of inner methods.
  • “கதிசித்தி (gati-siddhi)” may be speed/travel powers, control over one’s life-course/trajectory, or liberation-oriented ‘gati’ (state/destination).
  • “விதிசித்தி (vidhi-siddhi)” can be mastery over fate/ordinance or mastery of ‘method’ (vidhi) itself; the verse leaves it open.
  • “கதிரும் (kathirum)” can mean sun-ray, radiance, tejas, or a more general luminous potency.
  • “நாட்கோள்கள் (naṭkōḷgaḷ)” can be read as planets (grahas), day-lords, or time-determining forces; ‘all are siddhi’ may mean mastery over them or transcendence beyond them.
  • “எட்டெட்டாம் (eṭṭeṭṭām)” is commonly taken as 64 siddhis (8×8), but could also be an emphatic doubling indicating ‘every class of eightfold attainments.’
  • “கட்டிநின்றான் (kattinindraan)” can mean ‘stood bound/contained’ (self-restraint) or ‘stood having bound (them)’ (having subdued/controlled siddhis); the grammar allows both, and the teaching may intentionally include both senses.