கருவுரைப்பேன் காசினிக்கிக் கருவைச் செப்பேல்
கர்ணிகரே இளக்கிடுவார் கனகம் தன்னை
மருவின்றிப் பத்தரையாம் மாற்று மாகும்
மன்னவனே சினமில்லா மனம்பொற் சிலை
கருவதனைக் குறுக்கிமதிக் குழியிற் போட்டுக்
கனலேற வேறெரித்துக் களைந்து பார்க்க
வருவதுகா ணெருக்கம்பூ வண்ண மாக
வாதமிலா வாதமதன் சுருக்கம் சொன்னேன்
karuvuraippēn kācinikki(k) karuvaic ceppēl
karṇikarē iḷakkiṭuvār kanakam tannai
maruviṉṟip pattaraiyām māṟṟu māhum
maṉṉavaṉē cinamillā maṉampoṟ cilai
karuvataṉaik kuṟukkimaṯik kuḻiyiṟ pōṭṭuk
kaṉalēṟa vēṟerittuk kaḷaintu pārkka
varuvatukā ṇerukkampū vaṇṇa māka
vātamilā vātamataṉ curukkam coṉṉēn
“I shall speak of the *karu* (seed/ore/essence). If you would set right (work/refine) that *karu* for the world/earth (*kāsinikku*),
O *karṇikara*, those who soften/melt it will obtain gold itself.
Without admixture, it becomes the *pattarai* measure/grade of fineness.
O king, (keep) a mind without anger—(like) a golden image.
Compress that *karu* and put it into the *mathik-kuḻi* (pit/crucible).
Raise the fire, burn it intensely, remove/separate (the impurities) and examine.
What comes forth, you will see, is of the colour of the *erukkam* flower.
I have spoken the concise essence of that *vātham*-less *vātham* (that which has no ‘vātham’ / that which cures ‘vātham’).”
“I am indicating an alchemical ‘seed’ and its correct handling. When the subtle core is properly softened and purified, it yields ‘gold’—either literal transmuted metal or a perfected, incorruptible essence. The work must be done without foreign admixture and brought to a definite standard (*pattarai*).
But the operator too must be ‘golden’: the mind must be without anger, steady like an unmoving idol. Then the *karu* is compressed, sealed in a special pit/crucible (the ‘lunar’ chamber), fired strongly, and the slag is removed. The sign of completion is a characteristic colour likened to the *erukkam* flower.
This is also a medical-yogic hint: a preparation or distilled essence whose ‘wind/defect’ is removed—thus it is “vātham-less,” and/or it is the very essence that subdues *vātham* (vāta).”
The verse moves in a typical Siddhar double register: (1) laboratory metallurgy/rasavāda and (2) inner transformation.
1) Outer (alchemical/technical) layer: - *Karu* functions like a “seed-substance” (ore, mineral kernel, or mercurial/rasāyana base) that must be softened, compacted, and cooked in a controlled vessel/pit (*kuḻi*). The insistence on “without admixture” points to avoiding contamination, incorrect catalysts, or improper alloying. - “Raise the fire; burn; remove and see” describes repeated firing/calcination and separation of dross. The “erukkam-flower colour” is a coded endpoint-marker used in Siddha praxis (colour-signs indicating the stage of purification, calcination, or maturation). - “*Pattarai*” can be read as a fineness/assay grade (a measure of purity) or as the attainment of touchstone-like converting power.
2) Inner (yogic/ethical) layer: - The operator’s mind is part of the apparatus: anger is treated as a contaminant that destabilizes the work. “Mind like a golden idol” implies immobility, non-reactivity, and steadiness—qualities needed for both siddhi and safe rasāyana. - The *mathik-kuḻi* can suggest not only a physical furnace-pit but also a subtle “moon-chamber” (cool, stabilizing locus) where the ‘seed’ (bindu/prāṇa/attention) is compressed and held. The “fire” then reads as tapas (disciplined heat), prāṇāyāma-agni, or kuṇḍalinī heat that burns impurities (vāsanā/āṇavam). - The closing pun “vātham-less vātham” preserves Siddhar cryptic style: it can mean (a) a process freed from the defect called *vātham* (airiness/volatility/dosha imbalance), and simultaneously (b) a medicine/essence that cures *vātham* (vāta disorders).