தாகமதை வெட்ட நாகமதைக் கட்ட
வேகமிக எட்ட வீரியமும் ஒட்டப்
பாகமதை நாட்டப் பாத்திரமுங் காட்ட
யாகமதை வேட்டே காகமதைக் கூட்டே
thaagamathai vetta naagamathaik katta
veegamiga etta veeriyamum ottap
paagamathai naattap paaththiramung kaatta
yaagamathai veettae kaagamathaik koottu.
Cut away the thirst; bind the serpent.
With great speed, reach the eight; let the vital potency also cling (remain joined).
Set (fix) the “pākam”/portion; and show the vessel.
Perform the yajña (sacrificial working); gather (bring together) the crow.
Sever craving and the drive of the senses, and restrain the “serpent”—whether it is the inner kuṇḍalinī current or the unstable mercurial force.
Advance swiftly into the “eight” (eightfold discipline/attainments), and preserve the life-essence (vīriyam) so it does not spill but becomes yoked to the work.
Fix the proper measure and maturation (pākam) of the compound, in the right vessel—either the body-as-vessel or the alchemical container.
Carry out the inner/outer sacrifice (yāgam)—the heating, offering, and transformation—until the ‘crow’ state (the blackening/lead-like stage, or the sign of death/ego) is gathered and harnessed as part of the completion.
The verse speaks in the Siddhar’s double-register: yogic discipline and rasavāda (alchemical) procedure are overlaid.
1) “Thirst” (தாகம்) can be plain bodily thirst, but more typically points to rāga—craving, compulsive desire, and sensory urgency. To “cut” it is not mere suppression; it implies a decisive severing of the causes of agitation so the system becomes fit for higher work.
2) “Snake” (நாகம்) is a standard cipher. Yogically it is the serpent-power (kuṇḍalinī) and the prāṇic current that must be ‘bound’—stabilized, directed, prevented from dispersing into lower channels. Alchemically it can indicate mercury (restless, mobile, ‘serpentine’) that must be bound/fixed (கட்டுதல்) so it can undergo transformation.
3) “Reach the eight” (எட்ட) preserves intentional ambiguity. It may refer to aṣṭāṅga-yoga (eight limbs), aṣṭa-siddhis (eight powers), or eight stages/measures in an operative regimen. The phrase “with great speed” (வேகமிக) suggests intensity and uninterrupted practice/processing rather than casual progress.
4) “Vīriyam” (வீரியம்) is both reproductive essence and generalized bio-potency/medicine-strength. “Let it cling/join” (ஒட்ட) implies retention and integration: in yoga, brahmacarya/essence-conservation so ojas accrues; in pharmaceutics, potency adhering to the compound rather than volatilizing.
5) “Pākam” (பாகம்/பாகமதை) is a crucial Siddha term: portion/dose, and also the ‘cooking’ or maturation of a preparation (the right degree of processing). “Set/fix it” (நாட்ட) indicates establishing the correct proportion or properly ‘setting’ the processed state.
6) “Vessel” (பாத்திரம்) again doubles: the crucible/container in laboratory practice, and the human body-mind as the vessel that must be shown/verified as fit—clean, sealed, capable of holding the transformed force.
7) “Yāgam” (யாகம்) is sacrificial language used for both inner offering (ego, craving, breath) and outer heating/operations. “To hunt/perform” (வேட்டே) suggests active pursuit: the work is not symbolic alone; it is an operation.
8) “Crow” (காகம்) is a typical Siddhar cipher. It can indicate a blackening phase (kāka-varṇa / nigredo-like stage) in alchemy, or a ‘lead/black’ principle; it can also signify death, impurity, or the ego-shadow that must be gathered, contained, and transmuted rather than feared or rejected. The instruction “gather the crow” implies collecting that black stage/product or integrating the ‘dark’ residue into the completed transformation.
Overall, the verse outlines a condensed program: eliminate craving, stabilize the serpent-force, proceed through an eightfold method, conserve and bind potency, perfect proportion and vessel, and complete the sacrificial transformation through the dark/black stage into a stable attainment or medicine.