காய்ச்சியிறக் கிட்டகஷா யத்தை யோர்காற்
கணத்திற்கோர் முறைகண்ணிற் கலிக்கம் போட
காய்ச்சலுடன் பேய்ச்சுரங்கள் கணைகள் வெப்புக்
காமாலைக் கருமேகம் குணபே தங்கள்
வீழ்ச்சிதரும் குட்டங்கள் குறைகள் சோகை
வித்தழிக்கும் வெப்புநரை திரையாம் மூப்பாம்
தாழ்ச்சியெலாம் தவிடுபொடி யாகுங் கண்டாய்
தவக்கமின்றிக் கஷாயத்தைத் துவக்கு வாயே
KaaychchiyiRak kittakashaa yaththai yoarkaaR
kaNaththiRkoar muRaikaNNiR kalikkam pOda
kaaychchaludan pEychchurangaL kaNaigaL veppuk
kaamaalaik karumEgam guNabE thangaL
veeLchchitharum kuTTangaL kuRaigaL sOkai
viththazhikkum veppunarai thiraiyaam mooppAm
thaazhchchiyelaam thavidupoDi yaagung kaNdaay
thavakkaminRik kashaa yaththaith thuvakku vaayE.
When it has been boiled down (reduced) into the “kiṭṭa-kaṣāyam” decoction, once at each (set) interval put/apply the “kalikkam” into the eye. Fevers along with “pey-fevers” (possessing/delirious fevers), darting pains and heat, jaundice, “black-cloud” (karu-mēkam), and derangements of bodily qualities (kuṇa-bhētam) — the skin/“kuṣṭha”-type afflictions that bring decline, defects and wasting, the heat-born grey hair that destroys seed (vitta), the “film/curtain” (tirai) and old age — all such low states will, you see, become like bran-powder (crumbled away). Without austerity (tavam), begin/commence the decoction and set it to work (use it).
Prepare the medicine by boiling it to a concentrated state, and (in the prescribed rhythm) apply the ocular preparation. It is claimed to drive away not only ordinary fevers but the “possessing” kinds of feverish delirium, burning disorders, jaundice-like yellowing, darkening/“clouding” conditions, and systemic imbalance. It also counters chronic degenerations—wasting, collapse, skin afflictions, loss of reproductive essence, premature ageing signs, and the veil that covers vision. When used correctly, these degradations are said to crumble into nothing; one need not rely on severe austerities—begin the regimen directly.
This verse speaks in the characteristic Siddhar double register: (1) an external medical instruction and (2) an inward yogic-alchemical hint.
1) Medical/Siddha-therapeutic layer: - “Kaṣāyam” is a decoction; “boiled down/reduced” implies concentration (iṟakku/kiṭṭa state), suggesting a potent extract rather than a thin brew. - “Kalikkam” commonly denotes an eye-application (collyrium/ointment/powder prepared for ocular use). Placing it “in the eye” points to a topical ophthalmic practice, while the decoction is ingested or used as part of the regimen. - The disease-list spans acute and chronic categories: fevers (including “peyccuram,” which can denote delirious/possessed states), burning heat disorders, jaundice (kāmālai), “karu-mēkam” (dark clouding—possibly an eye condition, a systemic heaviness, or a metaphor for obscuration), “kuṇa-bhētam” (imbalance of bodily qualities/dōṣa-like states), skin afflictions (kuṭṭam/kuṣṭham cluster), wasting/consumption (cōkai), and premature senescence markers (greying, “tirai” as film/veil, “mūppu” old age). - “Vittazhikkum” (destroying seed) is a classical Siddha warning about heat (veppu) drying or burning reproductive essence; the claim is that the remedy cools/regulates that destructive heat and supports rejuvenation.
2) Yogic/philosophical layer: - The “eye” is also the seat of insight (inner seeing). An eye-application becomes a cipher for clearing perception—removing “tirai” (veil/film) that obstructs direct knowing. - “Peyccuram” can be read not only as clinical delirium but as intrusive, alienating mental forces (obsessive drives, destabilizing affects). The remedy then signifies a discipline/medicine that stabilizes mind and prāṇa. - “Bran-powder” imagery (taviṭu-poṭi) emphasizes reduction of heavy karmic/physiological burdens into something dry, lightweight, and easily scattered—an alchemical rhetoric of disintegration of impurity. - “Without austerity (tavam)” is not necessarily an anti-spiritual statement; it can imply that right method (marundu/rasavāda technique) functions as a shortcut, or that grace/lineage knowledge makes harsh asceticism unnecessary. It may also be read pragmatically: the remedy is effective even for those who cannot sustain austerities.
Overall, the verse frames a potent preparation as both therapeutic and transformative: it restores bodily balance, preserves vitality/essence, and clears the “cloud/veil” that dims vision—outerly the eyes, inwardly awareness.