பொன்னுருகும் வெய்யிலிலே மின்னுருகும் மழையினிலே
தன்னுருகும் தனியினிலே தனையுருகக் கண்டேனே
ponnurugum veyyililē minnurugum mazhaiyinilē
thannurugum thaniyinilē thanaiyurugak kaṇḍēnē
In the scorching sunlight where gold melts,
In the rain where lightning melts,
In the solitude where the self melts,
I saw myself melt (away).
Just as even “gold” yields to heat and even “lightning” vanishes into rain, in solitary inwardness my own hardened sense of “I” dissolved; I witnessed the melting of myself—ego, mind, and fixed identity—into a subtler state.
The verse turns on the repeated verb “uruku” (to melt/dissolve/soften), using three images to point from outer phenomena to inner transformation.
1) “Gold melts in the hot sun” (பொன் + வெய்யில்): On the surface this is an alchemical/physical observation—metal liquefies under heat. In Siddhar idiom, “gold” can also symbolize what is considered most stable and precious: the body’s substance, perfected essence, or a firm identity. If even gold can be made fluid, then no solidity is absolute.
2) “Lightning melts in the rain” (மின்னல் + மழை): Lightning is already momentary; saying it “melts” intensifies impermanence and also sets up a pairing of opposites—fire/flash and water/rain. This can imply that extremes resolve into each other: intensity collapses into coolness; brilliance disappears into downpour. Read yogically, “lightning” can hint at a sudden surge of prāṇa/kuṇḍalinī-like energy or a flash of insight, while “rain” can suggest cooling grace, nectar-like flow, or the settling of that surge into stability.
3) “The self melts in solitude” (தனி): The pivot is the move from external conditions (sun, rain) to an inner condition (solitude). “Solitude” in Siddhar usage is not mere isolation but inner withdrawal (turning inward), where the mind’s boundaries soften. The “self” (தன்) that melts may be the ego-sense (ahamkāra), the habitual mind, or the embodied person’s fixed self-image.
4) “I saw myself melt”: The final line preserves a crucial witness-position: the speaker both undergoes dissolution and observes it. This can indicate meditative clarity (the witnessing awareness remains) while the constructed “I” liquefies. It can also hint at the paradox of spiritual realization: the seeker is undone, yet awareness is not extinguished.
Overall, the verse can be read as an alchemical metaphor for transformation (solid → liquid), a yogic metaphor for ego-dissolution in interiority, and a philosophical reminder of the contingency of what appears most enduring. The imagery keeps intentional crypticness: it does not specify whether the melting culminates in union, emptiness, compassion, or death of individuality—only that the dissolution is directly “seen.”