வாயோட்டு மைந்தெழுத்தின் மகிமை சொல்வோம்
மன்னவனே நமசிவயம் தூல மார்க்கம்
மாயோட்டும் சிவயநமச் சூக்கம் சூக்கம்
மற்றென்னே சிவயசிவம் காரணந்தான்
பேயோட்டும் சிவயசியம் மனுவாம்தாரம்
பெயருக்கு ளிச்சகர மிகர மிவ்வா
நாயோட்டும் மந்திரந்தான் பூரணங்காண்
நமனோட்டும் மூச்சிகரம் நாதம் பிந்து
Vaayoottu maindhezhuththin mahimai solvōm
Mannavanē namasivayam thūla mārkkam
Maayōttum sivayanamach chūkkam chūkkam
Matrennē sivayasivam kāraṇanthān
Pēyōttum sivayasiyam manuvāmthāram
Peyarukku ḷichchagara mikara mivvā
Naayōttum manthiranthān pūraṇangāṇ
Namanōttum mūchchikaram nātham pinthu.
We shall speak of the glory of the five-letter (mantra) that is joined with the mouth/breath.
O king, “Namaśivāya” is the gross (tūla) path.
“Māyā”-driving “Śivāyanamaḥ” is subtle—subtle.
What more? “Śivāyaśivam” indeed is the causal (kāraṇa).
“Śivāyaśiyam/Śivāyaśiyāṃ” drives away spirits; it is (for) the Manvantara.
Within the name are the ‘i’-letter and the ‘ma’-letter—so.
It is the mantra that drives away the dog; see—(it is) fullness/perfection.
The breath-letter that drives away Yama (death) is Nāda and Bindu.
The Siddhar presents the “five-letter” as a graduated yogic formula. Recited outwardly as “Namaśivāya,” it functions on the gross level; rearranged inwardly as “Śivāyanamaḥ,” it works on the subtle level and cuts through māyā. Still subtler/cosmic permutations (“Śivāyaśivam,” “Śivāyaśiyam…”) are spoken of as causal and time-spanning (Manvantara).
He hints that the mantra is not merely phonetic: specific seed-sounds/letters (notably i- and ma-) are embedded and operative. When made complete, it expels ‘ghosts’ (afflictive forces) and even the ‘dog’ (base instinct/mind), and—when fused with the breath—becomes the nāda–bindu practice that overcomes death’s compulsion.
1) Five-letter doctrine (maind-eḻuttu): In Siddhar/Śaiva usage this points to the Pañcākṣara, conventionally “na-ma-śi-vā-ya.” The verse praises not only the mantra but its “joining” with vāy/vaay—read as mouth (articulation) and/or vāyu (breath). That doubling is typical: mantra is sound, but its siddhi is breath-bound.
2) Permutation as levels of reality: The text maps different orderings of the same sacred syllables onto tiers of experience: - “Namaśivāya” as tūla-mārga: devotion/recitation aimed at purification in embodied life. - “Śivāyanamaḥ” as sūkṣma: an inward-turning formula that ‘drives māyā away,’ suggesting mental/energetic refinement. - “Śivāyaśivam” as kāraṇa: a move toward causal awareness where Shiva is not an object of address but the ground. By presenting these as gradations, the Siddhar implies that “meaning” is not fixed to one word-order; the mantra is an alchemical instrument whose effect depends on how it is installed in body–breath–mind.
3) Exorcistic language as inner physiology: “Driving away spirits” (pey-ōṭṭum) can be taken literally (warding hostile entities) and also as the removal of intrusive vāsanās, delusion, and disease-forces in the subtle body. Likewise “driving away the dog” (nāy-ōṭṭum) can signify curbing the mind’s scavenging tendencies—restlessness, lust for sensory scraps, and habitual wandering.
4) Letter-hints (i-kāram, ma-kāram): The line about the i-letter and ma-letter points to a bijic/phonetic anatomy within the name/mantra. It can be read as a technical reminder: certain vowels/consonants are the ‘active’ carriers of śakti in practice (sound → breath → inner resonance). The verse does not fully disclose the rule, consistent with Siddhar crypticism.
5) Nāda–Bindu and conquering death: The closing line shifts from spoken mantra to the “breath-letter” (mūcchikāram), culminating in nāda (inner sound) and bindu (luminous point/seed). This is a classic siddha-yogic endpoint: when mantra becomes continuous with breath and attention, it yields inner auditory/light phenomena and the loosening of Yama’s hold—i.e., fear of death, karmic compulsion, and the sense of mortality tied to breath.