Golden Lay Verses

Verse 378 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

பிந்து நாத மனாதீ கலா கலா

வந்த மூல குலாதீ யுலா துலா

முந்து மாறு கணாதீ பலா பலா - வெகு வேதை

கெந்த மார ஸஜோதி பளா பளா

மந்த்ர ரூப மசோதி தளா தளா

விந்து ராஜ ஸவேதை யுளே யுளே - மலை ஜாதி

ஐந்து மான விபாக மதே யதே

சொந்த மாம திசூத மிதே யிதே

தந்த வாலை ப்ரசாத நிதே நிதே - மக மாயி

அந்த மான கைலாச முடீ முடீ

சந்தி மாளு முலாச மe. ம௨

சிந்து ராதி விலாசம் நொடி நொடி - அவளேதான்

Transliteration

Bindhu naadha manaadhee kalaa kalaa

vandha moola kulaadhee yulaa thulaa

mundhu maaru kanaadhee balaa balaa - vegu vedhai

kendha maara sajothi balaa balaa

manthra roopa masothi thalaa thalaa

vindhu raaja savedhai yule yule - malai jaathi

aindhu maana vibhaaga madhe yadhe

sondha maama thisootha midhe yidhe

thandha vaalai prasaadha nidhe nidhe - maga maayi

andha maana kailaasa mudee mudee

sandhi maalu mulaasa me. ma௨

sindhu raadhi vilaasam nodi nodi - avalaedhaan

Literal Translation

“Bindu, nāda, the beginningless mind—kalā, kalā.

From the root, from the kula—she wanders: ulā, tulā.

Before all measures, gaṇa-ādi—strength upon strength (balā, balā) — (a) very ‘Veda’.

A radiant light that cuts/torments desire—shining: paḷā, paḷā.

In mantra-form, a stainless light—resounding: taḷā, taḷā.

Within, within: the ‘Veda’ of Vindu-rāja — mountain-born.

The fivefold human divisions: thus, thus.

One’s own great mind/measure gives birth: thus, thus.

The granted ‘tail’/end (vālai) is grace, a treasure: nithē, nithē — the great enchantress.

The measureless Kailāsa—crown, crown.

The junction (sandhi) and the root-seat (mūlāsana): …

The play of sindūra and the rest—moment by moment: noḍi, noḍi — she alone.”

Interpretive Translation

In the primordial point (bindu) and inner resonance (nāda), beyond any first beginning, the subtle powers (kalā) pulse.

From the root and from the clan-seat (kula)—the root-center where the lineage-energy dwells—She moves with a rocking, wavering ascent.

Before all counting and measures, as the host of inner faculties awakens, vital force multiplies; a “Veda” (revealed knowing) manifests inside.

As the spontaneous inner Light, She scorches desire.

As mantra itself—sound become form—She shines as a stainless radiance.

This is the Veda of the “King of the Seed/Drop” (Vindu-rāja): present within; also “mountain-born,” hinting at Pārvatī.

In the human body She differentiates into fivefold divisions (elements / senses / breaths), yet remains one.

By Her grace the mind turns inward, giving rise to its own true measure.

She is Mahā-māyā: the power that both binds and liberates.

When She reaches the crown, it is Kailāsa itself.

At the joints (sandhi) and at the root-seat (mūlāsana), Her play—red like sindūra—unfolds instant by instant.

It is She, and only She, being described: the Goddess as Kundalinī and inner Light.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse is written in a Siddhar idiom that deliberately blends mantra-sound, yogic anatomy, and devotional iconography. The repeated syllables (kalā kalā, ulā tulā, balā balā, etc.) function like rhythmic cues: they imitate pulsation, rocking ascent, and the intensification of inner experience rather than adding conventional lexical meaning.

1) Bindu–Nāda–Kalā framework: In Siddha yoga and Śaiva-tantric registers, bindu (a “drop/point”) and nāda (inner sound/resonance) are paired principles of manifestation and realization. “Kalā” can denote subtle powers/parts (often counted as 16) by which consciousness differentiates and later re-integrates. Thus the opening gestures toward a pre-conceptual source where point, sound, and subtle capacities arise.

2) Mūla–Kula imagery: “Mūla” (root) suggests the root-center (mūlādhāra) and also the “root” of mind and breath. “Kula” can mean clan/lineage, but in yogic code it frequently points to the bodily seat of Kuṇḍalinī (kula-kuṇḍalinī), the immanent Śakti that belongs to embodied existence. “Ulā tulā” (swinging/rocking) evokes the oscillatory movement of breath, prāṇa, or rising energy through the channels.

3) “Veda” as inner revelation: When the text says “very Veda,” it need not mean scripture as book; Siddhar usage often treats “Veda” as the direct, interior revelation that dawns when prāṇa and mind are refined. The “gaṇa-ādi” phrase can be read as “the host (gaṇa) of faculties” (senses, inner functions) awakening; “balā balā” then signals accumulating power/ojas.

4) Sahaja-jyoti and mantra-rūpa: The “natural/spontaneous light” (sahaja-jyoti, implied by the phrasing) is a common Siddha pointer to awareness that illuminates without effort once obstructions thin. Calling it “mantra-form” means the light is inseparable from vibration: sound (nāda/mantra) and light (jyoti) are two faces of the same realization.

5) Mahā-māyā and Kailāsa: Naming Her “Mahā-māyā” affirms the paradox that the same power that projects multiplicity is also the vehicle of liberation when known. “Kailāsa” can be read outwardly as Śiva’s abode and inwardly as the cranial summit (sahasrāra / crown), where Śakti’s ascent culminates in union with Śiva-consciousness.

6) Sindūra and alchemical undertones: “Sindūra” is devotional (vermilion adornment of the Goddess) but may also carry a Siddha-alchemical shadow: red mineral substances (e.g., cinnabar-like associations) and the redness of awakened heat (uṣṇa/tapas). The verse’s constant shining and pulsing can simultaneously describe yogic radiance and alchemical “glow” of transformed essences.

Overall, the passage can be read as a cryptic identification: the Goddess (Pārvatī/Śakti) is not merely worshipped externally but recognized as the embodied, rising power (Kuṇḍalinī), revealing a living “Veda” within the practitioner.

Key Concepts

  • Bindu (seed/point/drop)
  • Nāda (inner sound/resonance)
  • Kalā (subtle powers/parts; differentiation of consciousness)
  • Mūla (root-center; origin)
  • Kula (embodied seat/lineage; kula-kuṇḍalinī)
  • Kuṇḍalinī ascent (implied)
  • Sahaja-jyoti (spontaneous inner light)
  • Mantra-rūpa (sound-form; vibration as form)
  • Veda as inner revelation (not merely text)
  • Pañca-vibhāga (fivefold division: elements/senses/breaths/levels)
  • Mahā-māyā (power of projection and liberation)
  • Kailāsa as crown/summit (sahasrāra; Śiva’s abode)
  • Sandhi (junctions; energetic joints)
  • Mūlāsana / root-seat (foundation posture/seat)
  • Sindūra (vermilion; redness of Śakti/heat; possible alchemical hint)
  • Moment-by-moment unfolding (noḍi noḍi)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Kalā” may mean the 16 lunar/Śakti kalās, generic ‘parts/powers,’ or subtle phases of practice; the verse does not pin down a single count.
  • “Ulā tulā” can be read as literal ‘wandering/swaying,’ breath’s oscillation, the wavering rise of kuṇḍalinī, or the rocking motion of subtle currents in iḍā–piṅgalā.
  • “Gaṇa-ādi” might indicate ‘the host (gaṇa) of faculties’ (senses, inner functions) or a Śaiva allusion to Gaṇas/Gaṇapati; context allows both.
  • “Vindu-rāja” can be ‘king of bindu (seed/drop)’ (semen/ojas/creative essence) in yogic physiology, or an alchemical ‘kingly seed’ (mercury-like principle); both readings are plausible.
  • “Malai-jāti” literally ‘mountain-born’ strongly evokes Pārvatī, but could also hint at a mountain herb/mineral source (Siddha materia medica).
  • The ‘fivefold division’ can map to five elements (pañca-bhūta), five prāṇas, five senses, or five sheaths (pañca-kośa); the verse preserves openness.
  • “Vālai” (tail/end) may indicate the ‘end’ of the path (culmination), the posterior channel/region, or a cryptic code for a particular nāḍi/energetic feature; it remains unclear.
  • “Sindūra” may be purely devotional ornamentation of the Goddess, or a coded reference to red alchemical substances/inner heat; the text supports deliberate double-entendre.
  • “Kailāsa—crown, crown” can be an external mythic place, the cranial summit (sahasrāra), or both simultaneously (microcosm–macrocosm equivalence).