இருப்பதுவே கருத்திலுறப் பொருப்பதுவே பொறுப்பதடா
குருப்பொதுவே திருப்பதடா திருப்பதமே தருப்பதடா
iruppaduvē karuthiluṟap poruppaduvē poṟuppadaḍā
kuruppoduvē thiruppadaḍā thiruppadamē tharuppadaḍā.
“To ‘be/exist’ itself—let that be held firmly in the mind.
To ‘bear/carry’ itself— that is indeed the bearing of responsibility (endurance), O!
The Guru, being ‘common/for-all’—is the sacred turning/holy step, O!
The ‘holy feet/holy state’ itself—bestows (what is to be given), O!”
“Make simple ‘being’ your steady inner contemplation.
Taking up what must be borne—patiently and responsibly—is itself the true duty.
The Guru-principle that is available to all is what turns the seeker toward the sacred way.
And that very ‘holy feet’ (the realized station one surrenders to) grants the needed grace.”
This verse is built on tightly-linked wordplay (இருப்பு/being, பொருப்பு/bearing, பொறுப்பு/responsibility; திருப்பு/turning, திருப்பதம்/holy feet or holy station). The first movement points to an interior practice: not adding new concepts, but letting “iruppu” (mere being, abiding) become established “karuthil” (in thought/intent, i.e., as the mind’s settled orientation). In Siddhar idiom this can indicate sahaja-nilai (natural abidance) or the mind’s resting in the witnessing sense of “I am,” rather than chasing outer supports.
The second movement links spirituality to stamina and duty: what is “to be borne” (life’s weight, karmic consequences, disciplined practice, bodily austerity) is precisely “poRuppu” (responsibility/forbearance). The verse does not separate yogic realization from ethical endurance; the same act of “bearing” becomes the measure of maturity.
The third and fourth movements place the “Guru” as the pivot. “Kuru-ppodu/podhu” can mean the Guru who is “common to all” (not private property) or the Guru’s “bodha/teaching” as the shared medicine. That Guru-factor is what “thiruppu” does: it turns the mind back from outward-going tendency toward the inner (a reversal akin to pratyāhāra/introversion). Finally, “thiruppatham” can be heard as “holy feet” (the object of surrender and grace) or “holy station/abode” (the attained state). Either way, the text says that the sacred turning and the sacred feet/state are not separate: the very movement toward that reality is itself what “gives” (bestows insight, protection, liberation).