Golden Lay Verses

Verse 264 (இல்லற வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

அப்பனே பொன்தட்டின் நடுவிலேதான்

அழியாத சுழிவட்ட மதனைப்போடு

செப்பினே னடியொட்டி மதியில்நின்றே

சேர்த்தறுபத் தறுகோணச் செப்பிடாயே

ஒப்புமா றங்குலந்தான் கோணக்காட்சி

உற்றதரை யங்குலந்தான் சூலநீட்சி

கொப்புடன் காத்தாயி யவள்தம் நாமம்

கோப்பேகாட் சரத்தினெழுத் தாணிபூசை

Transliteration

appanē ponthattin naduvilēthān

aḻiyātha suḻivaṭṭa mathanaippōṭu

seppinē naḍiyoṭṭi mathiyilninrē

sērththaṟupath thaṟukōṇach seppiḍāyē

oppumā ṟaṅkulandhān kōṇakkāṭchi

uṟṟatharai yaṅkulandhān sūlanīṭchi

koppuṭan kāththāyi yavaḷtham nāmam

kōppēkāṭ saraththineḻuth thāṇipūsai.

Literal Translation

O Father, right in the middle of the gold plate,

place with it the imperishable spiral-disc.

I said: fixing it at the base, standing from the “moon,”

join it and declare the sixty-and-six angles.

As for the matching measure—an “aṅgula” gives the angular display;

for what has been fitted, the aṅgula is the extension/length of the trident.

With the tuft/bud, “Kāttāyi” is her name;

(the rite is) the nail-worship of the letters in “Kōppē-kāṭ-caram.”

Interpretive Translation

The verse reads like instructions for setting a yantra or alchemical/ritual diagram: in a “gold plate” (a literal metal plate, or the purified ‘golden’ body), one places at the center an “undestroyable spiral wheel” (a chakra-like coil, a bindu-cakra, or a mercury/rasāyana pellet shaped as a spiral). The placement is to be aligned from the “moon” (cool lunar principle: mind, soma, or the lunar channel), anchored at the base, and constructed with a specified number of angles (read as 66, or 60+6). The correct geometry is measured by aṅgula-units; the figure extends like a trident (suggesting a threefold structure—three prongs/paths/channels). The configuration is sealed under the name/presence of the goddess Kāttāyi (a protective Śakti), and completed through a ritual “nailing” or fixing—letters/mantras being inscribed and pinned/sealed as worship.

Philosophical Explanation

Siddhar diction commonly overlays three levels at once: (1) an external ritual/yantra practice, (2) an inner yogic body-map, and (3) an alchemical operation.

1) Yantra/ritual layer: “Gold plate” suggests a consecrated metal base for inscribing a yantra. “Imperishable spiral-disc” points to a central bindu-cakra or a spiral emblem (a coded design rather than a mere ornament). “Angles” and “aṅgula” indicate precise construction rules (temple/yantra geometry). “Nail-worship” (āṇi pūcai) implies physically fixing the plate/yantra with nails or pegs, or ritually “pinning down” the power of the mantra so it does not ‘move’—a common logic in protective rites.

2) Yogic-body layer: The “gold plate” can be the subtle body (śarīra as the precious vessel). The “moon” is the lunar current (iḍā), soma, and the mind’s cooling clarity. The “spiral wheel” resonates with kuṇḍalinī imagery (coil/spiral) and chakra symbolism (wheel/disc). “Trident” naturally suggests the triple current (iḍā–piṅgalā–suṣumṇā) or a threefold ascent of force. Measuring by aṅgula then becomes not only geometry but “subtle proportion”—discipline of posture, breath, and inner alignment.

3) Alchemical layer: Gold imagery can mark the perfected state, but also a literal metal substrate used in rasāyana work. The “spiral-disc” may hint at a prepared pellet or amalgam (often tied to lunar symbolism when mercury is intended). “Fixing at the base” and “sealing with nails/letters” can describe containment, sealing, and stabilization—both materially (closing an apparatus) and ritually (stabilizing volatile forces).

Across these layers, Kāttāyi functions as Śakti: the protecting and activating force that makes the diagram/body/apparatus ‘hold’ the power without dissipation.

Key Concepts

  • pon-thaṭṭu (gold plate / precious vessel)
  • aḻiyāta suḻi-vaṭṭam (imperishable spiral-disc / chakra-wheel)
  • madi (moon; soma; mind; lunar channel)
  • aṅgula (fingerbreadth measure; subtle proportion)
  • kōṇam (angles; yantra geometry)
  • “aṟupat-taṟu” (read as 66, or 60+6)
  • sūlam / triśūla (trident; threefold structure)
  • Kāttāyi (protective Śakti/goddess-name)
  • ezhuttu (letters; mantra-bīja)
  • āṇi pūcai (nail-worship; fixing/sealing rite)
  • yantra-vidhi (diagrammatic method)
  • kuṇḍalinī / coil symbolism

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Gold plate” may be a literal metal plate for a yantra, or a coded name for the body as the ‘golden vessel’.
  • “Imperishable spiral-disc” can be read as a chakra/kuṇḍalinī coil, a central bindu in a yantra, or an alchemical pellet/amalgam shaped/understood as a spiral.
  • “Madi (moon)” can indicate the lunar current (iḍā), soma/nectar, the mind’s reflective principle, or (by alchemical association) mercury’s lunar quality—none is forced by the text.
  • “aṟupat-taṟu kōṇam” is cryptic: it may mean 66 angles, or ‘sixty and six’ as a coded count of divisions, tattvas, nāḍī-junctions, or construction steps.
  • “Aṅgula” can be ordinary physical measurement, temple/yantra proportional canon, or an inner yogic ‘measure’ (breath/spacing/placement).
  • “Trident extension” may refer to literal trident proportions in a diagram, the three nāḍīs (iḍā–piṅgalā–suṣumṇā), or a threefold alchemical/ritual operation.
  • “Kāttāyi” could be a specific local deity-name, a generic protective Śakti, or a coded epithet; “koppu” may be a bud/tuft/topknot marker rather than a botanical detail.
  • “Kōppē-kāṭ-caram” is unclear: it might be a place-name/lineage marker, a technical term for a garland/sequence (caram) of letters, or a cryptic mantra-title; the verse does not disambiguate.