தொடைகாணாத் தேனெடுக்கும் துய்ய மார்க்கம்
சோனகனை யேதழுவிச் சொந்தம் பாடிக்
குடமாடும் குசவனுடன் உறவு கொண்டே
கும்மாள மாயிடைய னோடே கூடி
மடமான மடையனுடன் சடையன் தன்னை
மால்குடைய னொடுவிலக்கி மடைய னாகி
கடமான கும்பத்துக் கள்ளிப் பாலை
கரந்துசுரந் துண்பதுவே யோக மாகும்
thodaikaaNaath thEnedukkum thuyya maarkkam
sOnaganai yEthazhuvis chontham paadik
kudamaadum kusavanudan uRavu koNdE
kummaaLa maayidaiya nOdE koodi
madamaanamadaiyanudan sadaiyan thannai
maalkudaiya noduvilakki madaiya naaki
kadamaana kumbaththuk kaLLip paalai
karanthusuranth uNbathuvE yOga maakum.
The pure path that takes honey without seeing the thigh;
Embracing the Sonagan and singing of one’s own kin;
Forming a bond with the potter who makes the pot-dance;
Joining also with the in-between herdsman in the revel;
With the dull, foolish fellow, taking along the matted-haired one;
Separating from Māl-the-umbrella-bearer, becoming a fool;
Hiding it, then milking and letting it ooze—the cactus-milk in the hard pot—
And drinking it: that indeed becomes yoga.
Yoga is the “pure way” of extracting inner sweetness (nectar) without falling into sense-contact;
uniting with what is treated as “foreign/outside” (the Sonagan) and turning it into one’s own song (inner utterance/mantra);
learning the art of the “pot” (kumbha: vessel/breath-retention/body) from the potter, and joining the keeper-of-herds (the mind that drives the senses) without getting lost in mere revelry;
discarding proud distinctions—Śaiva/Vaiṣṇava labels, the respectable umbrella of Māl, and the cleverness of the ego—becoming ‘simple’ like a fool;
then drawing out the secret, bitter/poison-like latex (kaḷḷi-pāl) from the hard vessel (the body/head), letting it flow as an elixir, and “drinking” it inwardly as one’s yogic attainment.
This verse is written in Siddhar code: a chain of socially marked figures (Sonagan/foreigner; potter; herdsman; fool; the matted-haired ascetic; Māl/Vishnu with umbrella) are not merely people but symbolic handles for inner operations. The apparent antinomian social mixing can be read as a deliberate rejection of caste/sect boundaries, while simultaneously functioning as a map of yogic physiology and method.
1) “Taking honey without seeing the thigh” (thodai) works on two levels: (a) a chastity/withdrawal teaching—obtain bliss without the gaze and grasp of sensuality; (b) an alchemical-yogic extraction—honey/nectar is taken from within without ‘looking outward.’ Siddhar “honey” often points to amṛta/inner rasa (subtle secretion, ojas).
2) “Embracing the Sonagan” (often ‘Yavana/foreign’) can be read as embracing what orthodox culture treats as outside: foreigner, impurity, or heterodox practice. In yogic cipher it may indicate prāṇa that feels ‘not-me’ until mastered, or an alien (unrefined) current that must be integrated rather than rejected. “Singing one’s own” suggests converting that ‘foreign’ force into a disciplined inner sound/identity (mantra, nāda, or self-recognition).
3) The potter and the pot evoke kumbha: the vessel-body and especially kumbhaka (breath held like water in a pot). “Pot-dance” implies rhythmic control—breath cycles, bandha locks, and the turning/spinning of inner currents (cakra imagery).
4) The herdsman (idaiyan) commonly symbolizes the mind that herds the senses (cows). Joining him “in the revel” is ambiguous: it can warn that one must enter the field of mind without being captured by it; or it can imply that even the play of mind is harnessed into practice.
5) “The fool” and “becoming a fool” invert worldly intelligence: Siddhar yoga often requires the death of socially rewarded cleverness (ego-strategy). ‘Foolishness’ here can mean radical humility, secrecy, or non-conformity—becoming uninteresting to the world so the work can proceed inwardly.
6) “Separating from Māl-the-umbrella-bearer” can mean dropping reliance on protective orthodoxies (sectarian shelter, ritual status, worldly dharma) or going beyond dualistic deity-identities. The verse juxtaposes the matted-haired one (Śiva/ascetic principle) and Māl (Viṣṇu/maintenance principle) to hint that yoga is not merely choosing a sect, but surpassing dependency on any outward banner.
7) The final image—milking cactus latex in a hard pot and drinking—fits Siddhar rasavāda and kuṇḍalinī symbolism. Kaḷḷi-pāl (Euphorbia latex) is bitter, caustic, and potentially poisonous; Siddhar medicine/alchemy repeatedly uses ‘poison transformed into medicine’ as a model for yoga: what burns and binds at the gross level becomes elixir when processed correctly. The “hard pot” (kadamāna kumbam) can be the body as a sealed vessel, or specifically the head/skull (where amṛta is said to drip). “Hidden, then made to ooze” points to secrecy and controlled extraction: the yogin causes an inner secretion/nectar to descend (or be retained) and “drinks” it—i.e., internalizes the amṛta rather than dissipating it.
Overall, the verse teaches that yoga is not respectable affiliation but a covert, disciplined transmutation: withdrawal from outward desire, integration of the ‘foreign’ current, breath-vessel mastery, mind-herding, ego-simplification, and finally the conversion of a harsh inner substance into drinkable nectar.