Golden Lay Verses

Verse 302 (மந்திர வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

சோகமடா சோகமெலாம் தீரும் தீரும்

சாகமடா சாகாத தலைமைக் கேகும்

போகமடா சிவபோகம் சக்தி யோகம்

போதாந்த வேதாந்தம் புதுவை போகம்

யோகமடா ஊமத்தா னுமையாள் யோகம்

உன்மணியின் சைய்யோக மூமை யோகம்

ஏகமடா ஏகாந்தத் தேறி யீசன்

இன்பமடா அஜபாவி னியல்பைச் சொன்னேன்

Transliteration

Sookamadaa sookamelaam theerum theerum

Saagamadaa saagaatha thalaimaik keagum

Pookamadaa sivapookam sakthi yogam

Pothaantha vedhaantham pudhuvai pookam

Yogamadaa oomaththaa numaiyaal yogam

Unmaṇiyin saiyyoga moomai yogam

Eekamadaa eekaanthath theri yeesan

Inbamadaa ajapaavi niyalpaich sonnaen

Literal Translation

“Sorrow, man—sorrow will all be ended, ended.

Death, man—(you) will reach the leadership/state that does not die.

Enjoyment, man—the divine enjoyment of Śiva; the yoga of Śakti.

Bodhānta and Vedānta; a ‘Puduvai’ (new/Puducherry) enjoyment.

Yoga, man—the yoga of Ūmattāṉ (datura/‘the mute one’) and the yoga with Umā.

The yoga of ‘sai-yoga’ of your inner gem; the yoga of muteness/silence.

Oneness, man—rising in solitude, (you reach) Īśan (the Lord).

Bliss, man—I have spoken the nature of Ajapā.”

Interpretive Translation

All grief is said to dissolve through yogic attainment; the verse points toward a deathless condition (possibly the ‘head/crown’ state) reached by inner discipline. It links liberation not to ordinary pleasures but to “Śiva-bhoga” (divine enjoyment), achieved through Śakti-yoga and through the Śiva–Umā (consciousness–power) union. The speaker gestures to multiple doctrinal lenses—(Bodhānta?) and Vedānta—while also hinting at an alternative or ‘new’ mode of fruition (“puduvai”). The cryptic references to Ūmattāṉ (datura/“the mute one”) and to “mute/silent yoga” suggest either herbal/iatro-alchemical aids used in Siddha practice or the deliberate sealing of speech (mouna) and secrecy (ūmai). Culminating in ekānta (solitary absorption), the practitioner realizes Īśa, and the core method implied is Ajapā—the spontaneously continuous mantra of the breath (often understood as so’ham / haṁsa), whose “nature” the poet claims to have revealed.

Philosophical Explanation

1) From sorrow to ‘deathlessness’: The opening couplet reads like assurance: suffering (śoka) and the fear of death (śāka/śāgam) are not final; they “end” through a shift of state. “Sākādā talamai” can be read as (a) a deathless ‘supreme rank’ (liberative attainment), or (b) the ‘head-state’—a yogic allusion to ascent to the crown (sahasrāra), where the ordinary cycles of decay are transcended in experience.

2) ‘Bhoga’ as spiritual fruition: “Śiva-bhoga” is not sensual indulgence but the siddha notion of tasting consciousness itself—abiding as Śiva. Coupling this with “Śakti-yoga” points to a non-dual or integrative path: liberation is not by rejecting power/energy, but by yoking it so it reveals Śiva.

3) Doctrinal pointers (Bodhānta/Vedānta) and ‘puduvai’: “Vedānta” is explicit. “Bodhānta” is less clear: it may be a variant term implying ‘the end of bodha (knowledge/awakening)’, a school-label, or a siddhar’s playful shorthand for a realization beyond discursive knowing. “Puduvai” can be read literally as a place-name (Puducherry/Puduvai, relevant to certain siddha lineages) or adjectivally as ‘new/renewed’; either way, it signals an additional “bhoga”—a distinct mode of fruition beyond standard categories.

4) Ūmattāṉ / ‘ūmai’ (mute) motifs: secrecy, silence, and siddha pharmacology: Ūmattai (datura) is a known siddha herb: potent, dangerous, and often tied (in lore) to altered states and to certain ritual/medical preparations. The text’s pairing of “Ūmattāṉ” with “Umāyāḷ” allows multiple layers: a plant-based reference, a coded name for a practitioner/adept, and the theme of “ūmai” (mute, silent, cryptic speech). Siddhar verses frequently use “ūmai” to signal esoteric instruction that must be ‘heard’ inwardly rather than publicly spoken.

5) The ‘inner gem’ and union-yoga: “Un maṇi” (your gem) is a common siddha image for the indwelling essence—jīva-light, bindu, or the subtle elixir. “Saiyoga” can suggest “sāyujya” (intimate union), or a state of merging/settling. The sequence implies: find the inner essence, enter the union-state, and guard it through silence/innerness.

6) Ekānta and Ajapā: Ekānta (solitude/one-pointed aloneness) is the contemplative condition in which Īśa is realized. The closing claim—“I told the nature of Ajapā”—frames Ajapā as the practical key: the unceasing mantra that rides the breath without deliberate repetition. In siddha-yoga, this is both a method (attention to the breath-mantra) and a sign (spontaneous continuity indicating stabilized practice).

Key Concepts

  • śoka (sorrow) and its cessation
  • deathlessness / immortal state
  • talaimai as ‘supreme state’ or ‘head/crown’ attainment
  • Śiva-bhoga (divine fruition/bliss)
  • Śakti-yoga (yoking power/energy)
  • Śiva–Umā (consciousness–power union)
  • Vedānta (and possible Bodhānta as a cryptic doctrinal pointer)
  • Puduvai (place-name or ‘new mode’ of fruition)
  • Ūmattai / Ūmattāṉ (datura; also possible coded epithet)
  • ūmai / mouna (silence, secrecy, esoteric speech)
  • inner gem (unmaṇi: subtle essence/bindu/jīva-light)
  • ekānta (solitary absorption)
  • Īśan (the Lord)
  • Ajapā (spontaneous breath-mantra; so’ham/haṁsa)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “மடா (madā)” can be a colloquial address (“man/hey”) or an emphatic particle; the tone oscillates between intimate instruction and ecstatic proclamation.
  • “சாகாத தலைமைக் (sākāta talamaikku)” may mean a deathless ‘supreme rank’ (mokṣa/siddhi) or specifically a ‘head-state’ (crown-center realization).
  • “போதாந்தம் (bodhāntam)” is unclear: it may denote a doctrinal category, a pun on ‘the end/limit of knowledge (bodha)’, or a siddhar’s coded reference to a realization beyond scripture.
  • “புதுவை (puduvai)” may be literal (Puducherry/Puduvai linked to a locale/lineage) or adjectival (‘new/renewed’ enjoyment/fruition).
  • “ஊமத்தான் (ūmattāṉ)” can be read as (a) the datura plant, (b) a person/adept by epithet, or (c) ‘the mute one’—a thematic echo of secrecy/silence.
  • “சைய்யோகம் (saiyogam)” could imply sāyujya (union), a specific yogic absorption, or simply ‘the yoga of merging/settling’; the verse keeps the technical referent unstated.
  • “மூமை/ஊமை யோகம் (mūmai/ūmai yōgam)” may mean literal muteness, disciplined silence (mouna), or ‘coded/silent’ esoteric instruction that resists straightforward exposition.
  • Ajapā may be understood narrowly as breath-mantra (so’ham/haṁsa) or broadly as the effortless continuity of practice itself; the verse does not pin it to one formula.