விழியப்பா மொழிகண்டு முழியுங் கண்டே
விழித்தல்லோ வினையெல்லாம் கழித்தல் வேண்டும்
அழியப்பா வழிகண்டு குழியுங் கண்டே
அழித்தல்லோ தலையுச்சிச் சுழித்தல் வேண்டும்
வழியப்பா பழிகண்டு பயனுங் கண்டே
வழித்தல்லோ புதுவழிதான் வகுக்க வேண்டும்
கழியப்பா கழியுமுன்னே தோழி யான
கனகுருவின் நாழியதைத் தழைத்தி டாயே
vizhiyappaa mozhikaNdu muzhiyung kaNdE
vizhiththallO vinaiyellaam kazhiththal vENdum
azhiyappaa vazhikaNdu kuzhiyung kaNdE
azhiththallO thalaiyuchchich suzhiththal vENdum
vazhiyappaa pazhikaNdu payanung kaNdE
vazhiththallO pudhuvazhithaan vagukka vENdum
kazhiyappaa kazhiyumunnE thOzhi yaana
kanaguruvin naazhiyathaith thazhaiththi DaayE
“Open your eyes, dear—having seen the word/speech, see also the ‘muḻi’ (the eye/closing of the eye).
Only by awakening must all deeds (karma) be cleared away.
O perishable one—having seen the way, see also the ‘kuḻi’ (pit/hollow).
Only by destroying must the crown of the head be made to whirl/turn.
O one on the way—having seen blame (fault/ill repute), see also the benefit/fruit.
Only by the right way must a new way be laid out.
Before it passes away, O companion of mine,
Make flourish/embrace the ‘nāḻigai’ (measured time/period) of the Golden Guru.”
Awaken the inner seeing: discern the secret “word” (teaching/mantra) together with the inner eye. This wakefulness is what washes out accumulated karma.
Recognize that the path includes a hidden “pit” or “hollow”—a danger, or a subtle bodily point—and therefore dissolve what must be dissolved (ego/impurity). Then the summit of the head is made to “turn,” hinting at the activation at the crown (the upward movement and flowering associated with yogic ascent).
Discern both blame and benefit, and from that discernment establish a fresh inner route—one not inherited from habit.
Do it before time/life runs out: cultivate the Guru’s secret measure of time—his disciplined timing (of breath, practice, or alchemical procedure)—through which the teaching ripens.
The verse is built on a chain of rhyming imperatives (vizhi–azhi–vazhi–kazhi), moving from perception to transformation to method and urgency.
1) Seeing and awakening (விழி / மொழி): “Word/speech” can point to mantra, oral instruction, or the Siddhars’ coded language; pairing it with “muḻi” suggests that mere hearing/reciting is insufficient—one must also obtain an inner mode of vision (or the discipline of the gaze, including inward turning). Karma is said to be removed not by external ritual alone but by “waking” (vigilant awareness).
2) Path and pit/hollow (வழி / குழி): The seeker must perceive both the route and what can swallow him. In Siddhar idiom, a “pit” can be an ethical/spiritual trap (sense-pleasures, pride, wrong company), but it can also hint at a subtle “hollow” in the body—especially near the crown (fontanelle-like “opening”) where upward energy is said to break through.
3) Destruction and crown-whirling (அழி / தலையுச்சி சுழி): “Destroying” is left cryptic: it may mean destroying karmic residues, the ego-sense, or impurities in nāḍīs. The “whirling” at the crown suggests a yogic event (often associated with the culmination of prāṇa/kundalinī ascent, or the ‘turning’/opening at the sahasrāra region). The verse does not fully commit to anatomy versus metaphor, preserving Siddhar ambiguity.
4) Blame and benefit; making a new way (பழி / பயன் / புதுவழி): Discernment is emphasized: the seeker must learn what leads to disgrace (moral fault, social blame, spiritual setback) and what yields fruit (true attainment). From this discernment one “lays a new path,” implying an inward reorientation rather than repeating inherited patterns.
5) Time urgency and the Guru’s “nāḻigai” (கழியுமுன்னே / நாழிகை): “Nāḻigai” is a precise Tamil time-unit (traditional measure), and in Siddhar contexts it can also signify correct timing in breath-discipline, medicinal preparation, or alchemical operations. “Golden Guru” (கனகுரு) can mean an actual teacher-name/title, or symbolically the perfected master associated with “gold” (kanakam) as a sign of siddhi/rasāyana perfection. The instruction is to make that measured discipline “flourish” before one’s allotted time is spent—an impermanence warning embedded in yogic pragmatism.