Golden Lay Verses

Verse 359 (சித்த வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

எட்டியுடைக் கொட்டையிலே தைலம் வாங்கி

எட்டிவே ருள்ளியெடைக் கெடையாய்ச் சேர்த்து

அட்டியிலாத் திருகுகள்ளிச் சாற்றா லாட்டி

அதனுடனே வராகனெடைத் துருசுங் கூட்டி

கெட்டியுற வேரசகற் பூரம் தன்னிற்

கெடியாகக் காற்பலந்தான் கலந்து கொண்டு

வட்டித்த தைலத்தை அனுபா னந்தான்

மாறாமல் நிழலுலர்த்தி வாங்கிக் கொள்ளே

Transliteration

ettiyudaik kottaiyilE tailam vaangi

ettivE rulliyedaik kedaiyaays sErttu

attiyilaath thirugukallich chaaRRa laatti

athanudanE varaaganedait thurusung kootti

kettiyuRa vErasakaR pooram thanniR

kediyaakak kaaRpalanthaan kalanthuk koNdu

vattiththa tailaththai anupaa nanthaan

maaRaamal nizhalularththi vaangik koLLE

Literal Translation

From the hard seed/kernel of “etti” obtain (or take) the oil.

Add the root of etti and garlic, joining them in the stated weight/measure.

Churn/agitate it with the expressed juice of the twisting “kalli” plant, (in a way that is) “without atti” (i.e., without curdling/thickening—word is cryptic).

Along with that, add “thurusu” in the measure/weight of a “varākan” (a coin/standard weight).

In/with firm “vīra-rasa-karpūram”, mix in a quarter-palam.

Take the thickened oil as the anupānam (adjuvant/vehicle); dry it in the shade without change, and then take/collect (and use) it.

Interpretive Translation

Draw the “oil/essence” from a hard, potentially poisonous seed (etti), and temper it with the plant’s own “root-force” and the heating, penetrating principle symbolized by garlic. Churn it with the caustic sap/juice of the twisting kalli (often read as a latex-bearing Euphorbia), carefully controlling the moment when the mixture “sets” (the obscure ‘atti’ may hint at coagulation or a critical phase in processing). Add thurusu (commonly blue vitriol/copper sulphate) in a fixed, coin-like measure (varākan), then incorporate a small, exact dose of “vīra-rasa-karpūram” (a mercurial ‘camphor’/sublimate-type substance in Siddha usage). Let the medicated oil mature slowly by shade-drying—no forced heat, no alteration—and take it with that oil itself serving as the carrier (anupānam).

Philosophical Explanation

This recipe reads like a typical Siddhar strategy: transform “poison” into “medicine” through measured combination, controlled phases, and patient maturation. Etti is frequently associated with a powerful/toxic potency that must be mastered rather than rejected; garlic signifies a sharp, mobilizing heat (digestive fire, vāyu-moving action) that drives penetration and circulation. The kalli-juice suggests an acrid, catalytic sap (and, symbolically, a “twisting” power that turns substances—and the practitioner—toward transformation). Thurusu and vīra-rasa-karpūram introduce mineral/rasavāda elements: metals/salts as agents of fixation, purification, and transmutation.

The insistence on precise measures (varākan-weight; quarter-palam) and shade-drying points to discipline: potency is controlled by restraint, not by excess heat or haste. In an inner (yogic-alchemical) reading, the “oil” becomes the conserved bodily essence (sāram), the “churning” is the regulated agitation of prāṇa, and the “shade” suggests slow, non-violent refinement—an insistence that siddhi arises from controlled transformation, not from abrupt forcing.

Key Concepts

  • etti (seed/kernel; potent/toxic botanical)
  • etti root (vēr)
  • garlic (uḷḷi)
  • tirugu kalli juice/sap (likely a latex-bearing Euphorbia; catalytic plant juice)
  • thurusu (commonly copper sulphate/blue vitriol in Siddha parlance)
  • varākan edai (coin/standard weight; precise dosing)
  • vīra-rasa-karpūram (mercuro-chemical ‘camphor’/sublimate-type preparation; rasavāda)
  • kāl-palam (quarter-palam measure)
  • tailam (medicated oil)
  • anupānam (vehicle/adjuvant taken with a medicine)
  • nizhal-ularthal (shade-drying; slow maturation/refinement)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • ‘etti’ can denote different potent plants across regions/traditions (often identified with nux-vomica), and the verse does not specify botanical markers.
  • ‘attiyilāt’ is cryptic: it may mean “without curdling/thickening,” “without ‘atti’ (fig/latex/curd)”, or “without forming lumps,” indicating a critical processing instruction that is intentionally veiled.
  • ‘tirugu kalli’ could be a specific Euphorbia (e.g., tirucalli) or a broader class of twisting latex plants; the medicinal and symbolic implications change accordingly.
  • ‘thurusu’ is commonly read as copper sulphate, but some Siddha contexts use similar terms for other sharp mineral salts; the verse does not clarify the exact mineral identity.
  • ‘varākan edai’ may be a literal coin-weight standard, or a coded way to say “fixed, small, authoritative measure”; it may also carry a Vaishnava/alchemical resonance (Varāha) without being purely metrological.
  • ‘vīra-rasa-karpūram’ is not univocal: it can indicate different mercurial sublimates/calxes in Siddha usage; translating it simply as “mercuric chloride/calomel” would be overly narrowing without corroborating context.
  • ‘kettıyura … pūram’ is textually opaque: it might refer to a particular prepared ‘karpūram’ variety, a container/process-stage, or an epithet meaning “well-fixed/firm,” and cannot be forced into a single technical term.
  • The final instruction can be read as (a) the oil itself is taken as the anupānam, or (b) the medicine is taken with the thickened oil as its vehicle; the grammar allows both.
  • Whether the preparation is intended for internal use, external application, or both is not explicitly stated; Siddhar texts often omit route-of-administration while emphasizing processing.