ஓடிக் கெடாத மூலிகையே கூடக் காய மது சித்தி
பாடித் தொடாத காடியதே பாயடி முடியா மாதி யடா
நாடிக் கொடாத நாடி மது நாடிய நிட்டை யோகமடா
தேடப் படாத வெடியுப்பே சேர்மதி சூத நாதமடா
Oodik kedaadha mooligaiye koodak kaaya madhu siththi
Paadith thodaadha kaadiyadhe paayadi mudiyaa maadhi yadaa
Naadik kodaadha naadi madhu naadiya nittai yogamadaa
Thedap padaadha vediyuppe chaermadhi soodha naadhamadaa
“O herb that does not ‘run off’ and perish—when joined (with the body / in combination) it becomes the honey-like siddhi that ripens the body.
That ‘acid/ferment’ (kāḍi) which is not reached by singing/reciting—O mind, its ‘step/measure’ cannot be completed.
The ‘honey’ of the nāḍi(s) that does not get handed over even when one seeks—this is the steadfast (niṭṭai) yoga that is sought.
That ‘exploding salt’ (veḍiyuppu) which is not to be searched for—join, O mind, with the sūtha-nāda (mercury-essence / mercurial sound).”
The Siddhar hints at a “medicine” that is not merely an external herb or chemical: it is an imperishable inner catalytic principle that, when properly united with the body, “ripens” it into kāya-siddhi (a perfected, death-resisting bodily state). This cannot be grasped by mere devotional recital or outward technique. It is approached through inner discipline: stabilizing the nāḍi-current (subtle channels), entering niṭṭai (unbroken steadiness), and aligning the mind with nāda (inner sound) and sūtha (the mercurial, ever-moving principle—often a symbol for mind/prāṇa/mercury). The “exploding salt” points to a volatile igniting agent—externally known in alchemy, but here redirected inward as a secret catalyst not found by ordinary searching.
This verse uses Siddha double-language, where botanical and chemical terms can simultaneously denote yogic processes.
1) Body as alchemical vessel (kāya-siddhi): “kāyam madu siddhi” reads as an attainment that “ripens” (kāy- / kāya as “to mature/cook” and also “body”) into a honey/nectar-like fruition. In Siddha thought, the body is not rejected; it is refined. The “honey” can be read as amṛta/ojas—an inner essence associated with longevity and clarity.
2) Critique of merely external religiosity: “pāḍi toṭāta” (“not touched by singing/reciting”) signals that the sought principle is not obtained by verbal performance alone. The Siddhar does not deny mantra outright; he stresses that without inner transformation (nāḍi-practice, steadiness, and subtle perception) words cannot ‘touch’ the core.
3) Nāḍi and niṭṭai: “nāḍi madu” can be the nectar that ‘flows’ through or is revealed by the nāḍis when prāṇa is disciplined. “niṭṭai yoga” (abiding steadiness) implies sustained absorption rather than intermittent practice. The line also warns that this nectar is not something a guru simply “hands over” as an object; it is disclosed through lived yogic maturation.
4) Sūtha and nāda as paired symbols: “sūtha” (mercury) in Siddha alchemy symbolizes volatility, mobility, and the need for fixation/stabilization; yogically, it can mirror the restless mind or prāṇa. “nāda” is the inner resonance (anāhata / subtle sound) used as a contemplative anchor. “Join, O mind, with sūtha-nāda” can thus mean: stabilize the mercurial principle by merging attention into inner sound—an inner ‘fixation’ analogous to fixing mercury in alchemical operations.
5) Veḍiyuppu (“exploding salt”): literally a reactive salt (often associated with saltpeter in later usage), it functions here as a sign of a powerful catalyst—something that can ignite transformation. By saying it is “not to be searched for,” the Siddhar may be redirecting the seeker from literal procurement of reagents toward an inner ‘salt’—a catalytic condition (heat/tapas, breath-control, awakened energy) that arises within disciplined practice.
Overall, the verse frames Siddhi as an inner alchemy: the ‘ingredients’ are not merely purchasable substances but coded pointers to prāṇa, essence (amṛta/ojas), steadiness (niṭṭai), and the contemplative absorption into nāda that ‘fixes’ the mercurial mind-energy.