கேளப்பா மறுமுறையும் வெட்கம் விட்டே
கிளத்துகிறே னொருவாதக் கிளர்ச்சி தானே
மூளப்பா யிருகவசம் இருகால் மேனி
முறையப்பா துருசுமுறை முறையுஞ் சொல்வேன்
நாளப்பா மண்ணீரக் கவசம் நான்கே
நாலுக்கா றாகரஸ நயப்பும் சேர்த்தே
ஆளப்பா மூக்கான்சா றதையுங் கூட்டி
அடடாநீ புடம்போட வடடா டாடா!
Kēḷappā maṟumuṟaiyum veṭkam viṭṭē
Kiḷattukiṟē ṉoruvātak kiḷarcci tānē
Mūḷappā yirukavacam irukāl mēṉi
Muṟaiyappā turucumuṟai muṟaiyuñ colvēṉ
Nāḷappā maṇṇīrak kavacam nāṅkē
Nāluk kā ṟākarasa nayappum cērttē
Āḷappā mūkkāṉcā ṟataiyuṅ kūṭṭi
Aṭaṭānī puṭampōṭa vaṭaṭā ṭāṭā!
Listen, dear one—once again, cast off your embarrassment.
I am explaining: it is the agitation (flare) of a single vātham.
Understand, dear: (there are) two “kavacam” (protective coatings/armours) for the two-legged body.
In proper order, dear, I will also tell the procedure (murai) for turusu.
Know, dear: the “mannīrak kavacam” is four (fourfold).
Adding the āgara-rasa—(as) four-and-six (?)—and also the “softening/smoothing” (nayappu),
Then, dear, mix in the “mūkkāṉ” juice/extract as well.
Hey! You—put it into the puṭam (sealed heating/calcination) and ‘vaṭaṭā–ṭāṭā!’ (pump/beat the fire)!”
The speaker instructs a disciple to drop social shame and receive a guarded teaching aimed at a vāta-type disturbance (or vāta-dominant process). He outlines a recipe-like sequence: prepare a substance with successive protective “kavacam” coatings (first two, then a fourfold set associated with “mannīr”), incorporate a rasam/essence called “āgara-rasa” along with a “nayappu” agent that makes the mixture workable, add “mūkkāṉ sāru” (a specific herbal/mineral extract), and finally subject the whole to puṭam—sealed high heat—signalled by the rhythmic onomatopoeia of bellows or stoking. Read yogically, the same language can imply: abandon ego-shame, manage vāta/prāṇa agitation, apply “armours” (protective seals/bandhas or layered safeguards), add catalytic ‘essences’ and ‘softeners’ (skillful means), and complete the transformation through inner fire (tapas/kuṇḍalinī heat).
1) Teaching style and secrecy: The repeated “appā” (a familiar address) and the command to ‘leave shame’ fits Siddhar pedagogy—knowledge is transmitted only when the student drops social hesitation, because the instruction concerns potent rasavāda (iatro-alchemy) or subtle yogic operations.
2) Vātham as both pathology and prāṇic dynamics: “oru-vāthak kiḷarcci” can be heard in Siddha medicine as a specific vāta flare (wind-humour excitation) that causes tremor, pain, dryness, instability; but Siddhar diction also uses vāta language for prāṇa movement. Thus, the same line can simultaneously indicate a medicinal target and a yogic energetic condition.
3) “Kavacam” (armour/coating) as technical layers: In alchemical practice, “kavacam” often points to protective coatings or layering steps that prevent loss, regulate reaction, or ‘shield’ the substance during puṭam. In yogic/initiatic reading, “armour” can mean protective restraints or seals (discipline, bandha, mantra-guarding, ethical containment) that keep the force from dispersing or harming the practitioner.
4) Named materials as cryptic code: “turusu” is commonly a mineral term in Siddha usage (often interpreted as a vitriol-like salt, frequently copper-sulphate in later glosses, though Siddhar texts can shift referents). “āgara-rasa” suggests a special ‘essence’ (rasa) and may hint at mercury-class operations or a particular prepared elixir. “nayappu” indicates an agent/process that makes a compound pliable, smooth, or fit for mixing—functionally a binder/softener or ‘maturation’ step.
5) Puṭam and the alchemy of heat: The climax—‘put it into puṭam’—is the decisive transformation through sealed heating/calcination. The final “vaṭaṭā–ṭāṭā” preserves the sound-world of the workshop: bellows, rhythmic stoking, or the beating cadence of maintaining fire. Philosophically, it doubles as the metaphor of tapas: only controlled heat converts crude matter (or crude mind) into a stable, potent form.
Overall, the verse works as a compact, intentionally veiled set of instructions: a practical sequence for preparing a medicine/elixir (likely vāta-oriented) and, at the same time, a map of disciplined energetic transformation—layering protections, adding catalytic ‘essences,’ and completing the work through fire.