மண்ணறிவான் வானறிவான் தனக்குள் நின்ற
மதியறியான் விதியறியான் மர்மம் காணான்
எண்ணறிவா னெண்ணாத கோடி யெண்ணி
எண்ணமுறு மெண்ணத்துக் கெண்ணம் காணான்
ஒண்ணொளிக ளொளிநிழல்கள் ஒலிகள் மின்னல்
ஊசிமுனைக் காந்தநெறி தாது வித்தை
கண்ணுரஸா யனம்பூத பௌதி கங்கள்
கண்டறிவான் தனக்குள்ளாம் காட்சி காணான்
maṇṇaṟivān vāṉaṟivān taṉakkuḷ niṉṟa
matiyaṟiyān vitiyaṟiyān marmam kāṇān
eṇṇaṟivā ṉeṇṇāta kōṭi yeṇṇi
eṇṇamuṟu meṇṇattuk keṇṇam kāṇān
oṇṇoḷika ḷoḷiniḻalkaḷ olikaḷ miṉṉal
ūsimuṉaik kāntaneṟi tātu vittai
kaṇṇurasā yaṉampūta pauti kaṅkaḷ
kaṇṭaṟivān taṉakkuḷḷām kāṭci kāṇān.
He knows the earth; he knows the sky—yet, standing within himself,
he does not know the mind/discernment; he does not know destiny/law; he does not see the secret.
He knows numbers; he counts crores that cannot be counted,
(yet) in the thought that takes form as thought, he does not see the (root) thought.
Bright lights; shadows of light; sounds; lightning—
a needle-point magnetic path; the science of minerals/metals—
(eye-)rasāyana (chemical elixir/medicine); the elemental and the material—
though he is one who “finds/knows,” he does not see the vision that is within himself.
Even if a person masters “earth-knowledge” and “sky-knowledge” (worldly sciences), mathematics, and the study of sensory phenomena—light, sound, lightning; even if he understands magnetism, metallurgy/alchemy, and chemical medicines and speaks expertly of elements and physical nature—without inner discernment he still misses the core secret. He cannot recognize the source of thought within thought, and therefore fails to see the inward vision that alone completes knowledge.
The verse contrasts external mastery with inward realization. “Earth” and “sky” suggest comprehensive worldly knowing—what is below and what is above—yet the Siddhar says such knowledge can still be blindness if one does not know what “stands within oneself.”
Two axes are emphasized: 1) Epistemic axis (knowledge vs. knowing): The speaker lists domains that represent rigorous cognition—counting immeasurable crores (mathematics), phenomena of light and sound (optics/acoustics), lightning (electricity or sudden illumination), magnetism (kānta), minerals/metals (tātu), and rasāyana (chemical/alchemical medicine, rejuvenation). This catalogue resembles a map of “complete” science, but it is treated as insufficient.
2) Yogic axis (mind vs. source): “He does not see thought within thought” points to the failure of meta-awareness—seeing the arising-point of thought, the knower behind the mind. In Siddhar and yogic frames, discerning the mind’s root is prerequisite for marma-jñāna (the ‘secret’), inner vision (kāṭci), and liberation. Thus, what appears as encyclopedic learning remains partial because it does not culminate in direct inner seeing.
The verse also implies that certain “sciences” named—magnetic path, rasāyana, mineral knowledge—can be read as both outer disciplines and inner yogic/alchemical processes. If they remain merely external (technique, theory, display), they do not produce the decisive “vision within.”