Here is the eighteenth mantra of the first part of the Thirumandiram.
அதிபதி செய்து அளகை வேந்தனை
நிதிபதி செய்த நிறைதவம் நோக்கி
அதுபதி ஆதரித்து ஆக்கமது ஆக்கின்
இதுபதி கொள்என்ற எம்பெரு மானே. 18.
18: Munificent
The Supreme Lord saw Alagai King's penance devout,
Much pleased, He made the King Lord of all Riches;
Even so, approach the Lord, noble deeds performing;
For thus says the Lord, "Hold this lordship!"
Com - Much pleased, The Supreme Lord saw Alagai King's penance devout As Siva was much pleased with the pure tapas (penance) undertaken by Kubera in order to become the Lord of all riches He made the King Lord of all Riches The King of Alagapuri (Kubera) was installed as the regent of the Northern direction/quarter, and made the Lord of all riches. Even so Keeping that in mind, and orienting yourself to the Northern direction, approach the Lord, noble deeds performing if you began to cultivate that pure tapas (penance) by performing the noble deed – namely, the concentration of sperm by taking up celibacy For thus says the Lord, "Hold this lordship!” The Lord Siva says, here, you too hold this lordship and become the Lord of all riches, the Lord of the North.
* The word ‘pure tapas’ (penance) is used here as a secret reference to a particular type of Yoga. It is the process of concentration of the sperm and subsequently its transformation into light. Continuing from the previous mantra, the Vibration is sensed and felt in the lower northern part of the head (the Isaana direction near the left eye). This is the area called Speech Centre. Due to its being the place where the thought energy is expressed as its fruit (namely speech/sound), hence described as the Northern quarter to which the performer of this yoga is recommended to orient to. The author says that the performance of the yoga of conservation of the sperm (as Kubera did) will lead to the unfolding of the Light Mandala.(sphere of light) in the individual. [A more detailed description of this yogic process is given later in the text].
The above mantra is one of my personal favourites as it brings forth many stories and thoughts and meditating on them somehow gives me great clarity. Even though this mantra has a highly codefied and secret interpretation (like the one mentioned in my commentary above, regarding the conservation of sperm) it is not only about that. To get a better understanding of this, we have to first understand who Kubera is and what his connection to the north and to Alagapuri is - so, as usual, I will launch myself into the story that is not about this mantra but is quite connected to its essence.
Kubera is known to most Hindus (and others perhaps) as the Lord of riches or wealth. And most shops and houses in India (of late) would have a picture of him along with his wife and Lakshmi (or a form of her called Kubera Lakshmi), to fulfill their desire for wealth and grains. But this is a very simplistic understanding about one of the more puzzling deities of the hindu pantheon. In reality Kubera is of the Yaksha clan (the yakshas are a semi human and semi elemental beings) and not only is he of that clan, but he is the king of the Yaksha clan. The yakshas are often rude and dangerous beings (much like the european trolls) and often they are associated with nature spirits being of a more generous disposition. Either way, they are nowhere near the calibre of the other gods and deities who are almost always of a high birth and (with the exception of a few) are almost always stunning to behold. But Kubera is a dwarf in his physical form and is said to be very ugly and deformed. He is said to have three legs and only eight teeth!
Kubera is the son of the sage Vaishrava ( see how the mantra pushpam ends with a reference to Kuberaya vaishravanAya mahArAjayavai namaha) and so is a half brother to Ravana the legendary king of Lanka ( of Ramayana lore). And originally Kubera was the ruler of Lanka as the city (commonly associated with him) Alagapuri was then not yet created. There are various conflicting legends as to how this dwarf king of the yaksha clan suddenly became the Lord of wealth and a guardian of the quarters (i.e. directions) and here I will mention one that is connected to the above mantra.
The yaksha king Kubera (before he became the lord of wealth) once performed a very austere tapas or penance in the Himalayan mountains for a period of one thousand years. Pleased by the dedication and the austerity of his tapas Shiva (Brahma according to some legends) bestowed on him the boon of making him the lord of wealth and commanded him to be in charge of the distribution of wealth to the people of this world. Though the most common epics do not go into any great detail as to what constituted this great penance of Kubera, we can gather from the above mantra what it may have been about. Siddhar Thirumular is of the opinion that Kubera's penance was of an immense scale, in that he went against the flow of his natural state and reversed it by holding in the sperm for the duration of the tapas. Now, we all know that celibacy is often held in high regard (more than necessary if you ask me) in most religious texts, but hinduism and the system of yoga in particular have a special emphasis on this. There is a certain kind of yoga called Vajroli (of which Shiva the king of yogis is a master par excellence) and this yoga is about the reversal of the flow of the sperm in the male. I will not go into much detail about the process or what its merits are here in this post - however, the core view will be mentioned. When the sperm (that has a nature to be expelled out of the body) is kept without being spent over long periods of time, it undergoes a physiological change. The sperm is said to solidify (I say ''is said to'' as I have no experience of this technique myself) and condense into a glowing 'ball of light'. This then reveals the 'oli mandalam' or the sphere of Light to the sadhaka and increases ojas (life force) and thus impacts directly on the longevity of the sadhaka. This process is a highly difficult one and is perhaps accomplished only by the greatest masters.
As a result of Kubera's performance of this yoga (tapas) successfully for a period of 1000 years, he was elevated to the level of a god, the god of wealth. Personally, I think the 'wealth' that he is the lord of, is not to be understood in terms of gold and gems and money. The wealth is but a metaphor of the sperm or 'the currency of life' that he saved and saved until he had it in all abundance and became the lord of it. This is the 'pure tapas' the sage Thirumular refers to.
Like I mentioned before, this process awakens the sadhaka to the sphere of light, and this sphere of light is located in the head region which again is located in the north of the body! Thus he became the lord of the northern quarter (as he has become completely established in the sphere of light in the north). And it is to this direction (north) and this tapas or penance (that of withholding the sperm) that the sage points our understanding through the first two lines of the above mantra. In the last two lines of the same mantra, he explains (and urges) that on the sadhaka following such a path (tapas) he/she will reach the same end (the lordship over wealth and the northerly quarter). Meaning that Shiva will bestow on the sadhaka the boon of being established in the sphere of light in the north of the body (the head region) when the sadhaka practises the yoga of withholding the sperm and transmuting its essence into a glowing ball of light.
I dont want to draw this post out any longer as I fear your attention will no longer be held, but there are still a few thoughts that may be of some use. So, I hope that my recent addition of the music player( and the playlist) to this site will hold you a while longer!
Previously I mentioned in passing that Kubera's original kingdom was Lanka. But once Ravana (Kubera's half brother) attacked the kingdom and took control of Lanka and the many treasures that Kubera controled, most notably the Pushpaka vimana (a swan shaped craft of giant proportions, wrought in the finest gold, capable of taking the occupant anywhere in the three worlds by way of flying through space. Boeings and Jumbojets, stand aside!). Then, the displaced Kubera approached Vishvakarma the celestial architecht and requested him to create a new city. Vishvakarma conceded and built a beautiful and magical city in the majestic and tranquil setting of the Himalayas. This new city with its legendary gardens and perfumed breezes was named Alagapuri and Kubera became the king of this new city in the Himalayan mountains and still rules from there. The reason for me mentioning all this is to illustrate to you a chain of thought I often have when thinking of this mantra.
Kubera originally is a dwarf and is also ugly and deformed and is the lord of nothing, so at the first stage he is a metaphor of the unenlightened and primitive human being - that is, us : you and me and all of us who are still connected and stimulated by the more baser instincts (part animal, part goblin, part human and part divine). At that state/stage of being the kingdom of Kubera is Lanka : which if we observe, happens to be in the south or southerly direction (in context to India, not the world). In the context of the human body, this dwarf being of mixed origin rules the south or the bottom regions namely the muladhara and swadhisthana levels. This same Kubera, by the austerities and tapas performed (of holding in the sperm) acchieves the position of being the lord of wealth and also becomes the regent of the northern quarter. This is a metaphor for the enlightened and superconscious human being, very different to the primitive one (in terms of consciousness), one who is forever established in the sphere of light or the oli mandalam. In this higher state/stage the kingdom of Kubera is Alagapuri, set in the majestic and 'tranquil' realms of the Himalayas: which again, if we observe happens to be in the north or the northerly direction. In the context of the human body, this lord of wealth rules the north or the head region! The transmutation of the sperm (by the yoga of withholding it) into light that is then sublimated throughout the body to establish the sphere of light is closely connected to the tranformation of Kubera from a deformed dwarf into the lord of wealth. This in turn is closely connected to the movement of consciousness from the mooladhara to the sahasrara. From Lanka to Alagapuri, from death to immortality, from conscious to the superconscious! Alchemy in motion!
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