கங்கைகொண்டான் மூலியது கனக வைப்பாம்
கர்மமெலாம் போக்கிவிடும் கருவூலங் காண்
சங்கையில்லா நெறிதனைச் சாற்று கின்றேன்
சாத்திரங்கள் காணாத சேதி சொல்வேன்
பங்குகொளப் பயங்கரமாய்ப் பாயும் வித்தை
பாமரர்க்குக் கூறாதே பரம வித்தை
உங்கென்ன உலகமெலாம் நடுங்கும் வித்தை
உத்தமனே உனக்குநா னுரைக்கின் றேனே
வேங்கையடா சிவக்கரந்தை வேரைக் காண்பான்
வெப்பான சிவப்பாகும் வேற்கண் மாதா
gangai koNdaan mooliyadhu kanaga vaippaam
karmamelaam pokkividum karuvoolang kaaN
sangai illaa neridhanai saatru kinren
saathirangaL kaaNaadha sedi solven
pangukoLa bayangaramaay paayum viththai
paamararkkuk kooRaadhe parama viththai
ungenna ulagamelaam nadungum viththai
uththamane unakkunaa nuraikkin rene.
vengaiyadaa sivakkaranthai verai kaaNbaan
veppaan sivappaagum verkkaN maadhaa
“The ‘root/herb’ of the one who bore the Gaṅgā is a store of gold.
Behold: it is a treasury that drives away all karma.
I proclaim the path that has no doubt.
I will tell a matter that the scriptures do not see.
A formidable art that rushes forth, seizing its share—
a supreme science; do not tell it to the ignorant.
‘What is it?’—a science by which the whole world trembles.
O noble one, to you I speak.
Like a tiger, one will see/recognize the root of the red karaṇṭai;
when heated it becomes red—the “Mother” called Vērkaṇ.”
A secret “root” (whether an actual medicinal root or the yogic Root) linked with Śiva—‘the bearer of the Gaṅgā’—is said to be a golden hoard: it purges karma and reveals an inner treasury. The speaker insists this is a doubtless path and claims to disclose knowledge not found in books. Yet it is dangerous and swift-acting, therefore not for the unprepared; it can shake one’s whole world. To a worthy disciple, the Siddhar hints at identification signs and process-marks: a particular “red karaṇṭai” root (or its inner correlate) is to be recognized; under heat it reddens—named cryptically as a “Mother” (Vērkaṇ Māthā / Vērkaṇ-Mother), suggesting a generative principle that transforms under tapas (heat) or fire-processing.
1) Two registers—herbal/alchemical and yogic—are deliberately overlaid.
• Herbal / rasavāda (iatro-alchemical) register: - “mūli / vēr” (root) is typical Siddhar code for a specific medicinal root used in kāya-kalpam (body-renovation) and/or in rasāyana/mercurial work. - “kanaga vaippu” (gold hoard) can be read literally (gold-making, metallic transmutation, or a “gold-like” rejuvenation) and medically (restoration of dhātu, vitality). - “veppāna sivappāgum” (it becomes red when heated) resembles a practical diagnostic: correct plant/mineral shows a particular color-change under roasting/calcination/decoction. - Naming “sivakkaraṇṭai” (red karaṇṭai) and “Vērkaṇ Māthā” points to encoded materia medica—either distinct plants, or a plant plus its “mother substance” (base/menstruum, carrier medium, or catalytic adjunct).
• Yogic / metaphysical register: - “Gaṅgā-bearer” (Śiva) is a common cipher for the crown/source of nectar (amṛta) and for stabilized awareness. A “root of Śiva” can simultaneously mean the yogic root-center (mūlādhāra) where power is stored. - “karuvūlam” (treasury/inner vault) can mean the hidden store of karmic seeds (saṃskāra) and the latent potency that can be converted into liberation. - “pāyum viddhai” (a science that ‘shoots/rushes’) suggests forceful pranayamic or kuṇḍalinī methods: rapid, effective, and therefore “fearsome” if done without ethical discipline and guidance. - The insistence on secrecy (“do not tell the ignorant”) is not merely elitism: in Siddhar ethics it is harm-prevention—both physiological (overheating, nervous disturbance, toxicity) and spiritual (misuse of siddhis, ego-inflation).
2) The verse’s epistemology: The Siddhar contrasts book-knowledge (“scriptures do not see this”) with direct transmission and experiment—either laboratory procedure or inner yogic verification. Authority here is not textual but realized.
3) Why ‘gold’ and ‘karma-removal’ appear together: In Siddhar idiom, “gold” is not only a metal; it is a symbol of incorruptibility: a body/mind made stable, luminous, and non-decaying. “Removal of karma” may indicate (a) relief from karmic consequences via purification and longevity practices, (b) the burning of karmic seeds through tapas (inner heat), or (c) the cessation of karmic accumulation through non-dual realization. The verse keeps these layers intentionally unresolved.
4) The final botanical clue as a spiritual metaphor: The “red karaṇṭai root” that reddens under heat can also mirror inner practice: when the practitioner applies tapas (heat/discipline), the latent ‘Mother-power’ (Śakti) reveals its signature—transforming the inner substance and making the hidden visible.