சுண்டிட்ட மையரைத்துச் சீலை வாங்கிச்
சுணையிட்டுச் சாணளவாம் திரியுண் டாக்கி
பண்டிட்ட சக்கரமா மறுகோ ணத்தில்
பசுநெய்யா மகலேற்றிப் பார்த்தி டாயே
மண்டிட்ட தழலேறுங் கரிதா னண்ட
மண்முட்டச் சுரண்டிட்ட கருவி னோடு
கொண்டிட்ட சவ்வாதும் புனுகும் தானே
கொழித்திட்டுச் சமமாகக் குழைத்தி டாயே
suṇḍiṭṭa maiyaraic cīlai vāṅkic
suṇaiyiṭṭuc cāṇaḷavām tiriyuṇ ḍākki
paṇḍiṭṭa cakkaramā maṟukō ṇattil
pasuneyyā makalēṟṟip pārtti ḍāyē
maṇḍiṭṭa taḻalēṟuṅ karitā ṉaṇḍa
maṇmuṭṭac curaṇḍiṭṭa karuvi ṉōṭu
koṇḍiṭṭa cavvātum punukum tāṉē
koḻittiṭṭuc camamāk kuḻaitti ḍāyē.
“Taking a strip of cloth, and rubbing/grinding the ‘mai’ (black soot/ink),
Twisting it, make a wick of about one sāṇ (a handspan) in length.
In the prepared ‘sakkaram’ (circle/wheel) at the opposite corner,
Light it with cow’s ghee and keep watch.
When the flame rises and thickens, the black ‘kari’ (soot/black deposit) forms;
With the scraping instrument, scrape it down until it heaps up (fills/accumulates).
What is thus collected is ‘savvāthu’ and ‘punugu’ (fragrant essences, e.g., musk/civet),
Let it thicken and then mix/knead it evenly into one uniform mass.”
Construct the lamp of practice: prepare the wick (discipline and the measured breath), set it within the circle/wheel (the body’s mandala or a ritual/alchemical arrangement), and feed it with clarified ghee (refined vitality/ojas). As inner heat (agni) rises, a subtle black essence is ‘deposited’—the extracted concentrate of the process. Scrape and gather it with the proper tool (method, discernment, and apparatus), until the essence is sufficient. What appears as mere blackness is re-described as perfume—savvāthu and punugu—hinting that from burning and residue comes a higher, more subtle potency. Finally, mature it and blend it into a single, stable preparation (medicine/collyrium or an alchemical concentrate).
The verse reads simultaneously as a practical recipe and as a coded yogic-alchemical instruction.
1) External / technical layer: It resembles the well-known method of producing lampblack (kajal/mai): a ghee lamp is lit, soot is deposited on a surface and then scraped off, later compounded into a paste. The insistence on cow’s ghee and a measured wick suggests controlled combustion and a particular quality of soot. “Sakkaram” and “opposite corner” can indicate a specific placement in a set-up (a circular stand/mandala-like arrangement) used to optimize soot deposition.
2) Symbolic / yogic layer: The lamp is the embodied field (microcosm). The wick is disciplined conduct and prāṇa made measurable (“one sāṇ” implies regulated measure). Ghee is refined life-force (ojas/tejas). The rising flame is awakened inner fire (agni/kundalinī). The “black deposit” can signify the concentrated byproduct of transformation—what remains after the burning away of grossness. “Scraping” then becomes viveka (discriminative extraction): gathering the subtle from the gross.
3) Alchemical reversal: Calling the collected soot “savvāthu and punugu” (high-value fragrances) reverses ordinary valuation: the residue of burning becomes precious. This is typical Siddhar rhetoric—transforming what looks impure/valueless into potency, paralleling rasa processes where seemingly base substances yield medicine.
The final instruction to thicken and mix evenly emphasizes stabilization: whether a literal preparation (an ointment/collyrium) or an inner attainment, the essence must be homogenized—integrated—so it becomes usable and steady rather than volatile.