சளசள வென்றும் வளவள வென்றும்
சாற்றுசண் டாளர்கள் பலபேர்
சதிமதி யென்றும் விதிகதி யென்றும்
சதிசெய்கா மிண்டர்கள் பலபேர்
உளதில தென்றும் உருவரு வென்றும்
உளறிடும் உலுத்தர்கள் பலபேர்
உங்குவங் கென்றும் அங்குசங் கென்றும்
உத்திசொல் லெத்தர்கள் பலபேர்
saLasaLa venRum vaLavaLa venRum
saaRRusaN DaaLargaL palabEr
sathimathi yenRum vithikathi yenRum
sathiseygaa miNdargaL palabEr
uLathila thenRum uruvaru venRum
uLaRidum uluththargaL palabEr
unguvaNG kenRum angusaNG kenRum
uththisol leththargaL palabEr.
“‘Saḷa-saḷa’ (rattling) and ‘vaḷa-vaḷa’ (babbling),
many are the proclaiming outcast-scoundrels.
Saying ‘cunning-intelligence’ and saying ‘fate/appointed-course’,
many are the fools who commit treachery/intrigue.
Saying ‘it is not/there is nothing’ and saying ‘forms arise/come to be’,
many are the raving babblers.
Saying ‘unguvaṅ’ and saying ‘aṅkucaṅ (ankusha/hook)’,
many are the sophists who utter “strategem-words.””
Many people only make noise with their tongues, dress up deceit as “intelligence” or “destiny,” argue opposites like “nothing exists” versus “forms exist,” and even parade esoteric-sounding jargon as if it were wisdom. The Siddhar’s point is not to settle those debates in words, but to expose speech that lacks inner realization and ethical substance.
This stanza is built as a catalogue of “many (பலபேர்)”—types of people the Siddhar dismisses as spiritually unripe.
1) **‘Saḷa-saḷa / vaḷa-vaḷa’** are onomatopoeic: the sound of incessant talk, gossip, and performative proclamation. In Siddhar ethics, uncontrolled speech is not merely social vice; it signals an uncontrolled mind (the tongue as an outward extension of mental restlessness). The critique targets those who *announce* (சாற்று) and make a spectacle, yet are “சண்டாளர்” (a term used for the dharma-less/outcaste in a moral sense, not a biological claim).
2) **‘Cleverness’ and ‘fate’ as excuses**: “சதிமதி” (cunning/plotting intelligence) and “விதிகதி” (destiny/ordained course) become rhetorical shields for unethical action—either “I am smart, so I may manipulate,” or “it was fated, so I am not responsible.” The Siddhar condemns such talk as *sathi* (intrigue/treachery), not wisdom.
3) **Metaphysical babble without realization**: “உளதிலது” (it is not / non-existence) versus “உருவரு” (form comes / manifestation) evokes common poles—nihilistic denial and form-affirming ontology. The Siddhar’s criticism is not necessarily of either doctrine, but of those who merely *ul̤ar* (ramble/rave) about ultimate matters without direct yogic knowing (experience in the body-mind).
4) **Esoteric jargon as counterfeit siddhi**: “உங்குவங்” and “அங்குசங்” read like (a) nonsense syllables, (b) corrupted technical terms, or (c) deliberately cryptic markers of mantra/weapon/yantra vocabulary. “அங்குசம்/அங்குசம்” (ankusha, elephant-hook) is a known symbol for *control*—especially of the elephant-like mind. The verse implies that many merely repeat “control-words” and “trick-words” (உத்திசொல்) while lacking the actual discipline that the hook symbolizes (restraint, inner governance).
Overall, the stanza enacts a Siddhar stance: **speech can be a form of spiritual fraud** when it replaces tapas (discipline), inner silence, and embodied transformation. The repeated “பலபேர்” underscores the rarity of true attainment amid crowds of talkers.