Golden Lay Verses

Verse 204 (ஞான வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

தீராத புயல்களெலாம் திடுக்கென் றாடும்

தீக்கக்கு எரிமலைகள் சிரிப்புக் கூடும்

தேராத நோய்களெலாம் தினமுண் டாகும்

திசைகலங்கும் பூகம்பத் திறமே சாடும்

நேரான நெறியெல்லாம் நடுங்கி யோடும்

நெறியல்லா நெறியெல்லாம் நிறைந்தூ டாடும்

போராகக் குருதிகொப் பளித்துப் பொங்கும்

புகையாகக் புவனவளம் புகைந்து போகும்

Transliteration

theeraatha puyalgalelaam thidukken raadum

theekkakku erimalaihal sirippuk koodum

theraatha noygalelaam dinamun daagum

thisaikalangum pookambath thirame saadum

neraana neriyellaam nadungi yoodum

neriyallaa neriyellaam nirainthoo daadum

poraakak kuruthikop paliththup pongum

pugaiyaakak puvanavalam pugainthu pogum

Literal Translation

All the unceasing storms will suddenly begin to dance.

Even the fiery volcanoes will join in laughter.

Incurable diseases, every day, will come into being.

The very force of earthquakes will strike—directions will be thrown into confusion.

All straight (upright) paths will tremble and run away.

The not-straight, non-paths will overflow and dance everywhere.

As though it were war, blood will foam up and surge.

Like smoke, the world’s prosperity/abundance will be smoked out and vanish.

Interpretive Translation

When the age turns disordered, upheavals become ordinary: storms become “play,” fire mocks, and illness multiplies. The compass of human life loses its bearings; even what is “right” shakes and retreats, while crooked ways thrive openly. Violence swells until life itself boils over, and the accumulated wealth of the world dissipates like smoke—proof that what seems solid is ready to disperse.

Philosophical Explanation

This verse strings together images of large-scale catastrophe—cyclones, volcanoes, epidemics, earthquakes, war, and economic ruin—but Siddhar speech commonly uses the outer world as a mirror for inner and social realities.

Literal layer (worldly omens): The poem reads like a catalog of “signs” of a deteriorating time: natural instability, new or persistent diseases, disorientation ("directions" confused), moral inversion (dharma falters; adharma flourishes), widespread bloodshed, and the evaporation of prosperity.

Interpretive layer (ethical and civilizational): “Straight paths” (நேரான நெறி) can mean dharma, disciplined conduct, and reliable norms; their “trembling and running” suggests that integrity becomes difficult to sustain. “Non-paths” becoming “full and dancing” implies vice acquiring confidence, glamour, and social legitimacy. The line about blood foaming “as if war” can include both literal warfare and pervasive cruelty—systems that run on harm. Wealth “smoked away” evokes impermanence: accumulation is not stable, and collective karma can turn abundance into ash.

Yogic/inner reading (kept deliberately tentative): Siddhar imagery often maps cosmic turbulence onto the body. “Storms” and “earthquakes” may hint at pranic upheavals, tremors, or destabilizations during intense practice; “volcano-fire” can allude to inner heat (tapas) or kundalini-fire. In such a reading, when energies surge without proper guidance, the practitioner’s “directions” (discernment, the sense of inner orientation) can become confused; the “right path” can feel as though it flees, while easier, compulsive patterns (“non-paths”) intensify. “Blood foaming” could point to inflammatory states, pressure, or rage; “smoke” to dissipating vitality or resources. The verse can therefore function both as a warning about times of collective decay and as a caution about uncontrolled internal forces.

Underlying Siddhar stance: Whether read outwardly or inwardly, the verse emphasizes instability (anicca/ நிலையாமை), the inversion of values, and the need for steadfast discernment (viveka) when conditions—worldly or bodily—become turbulent.

Key Concepts

  • Kali-yuga-like moral inversion (dharma weakening, adharma flourishing)
  • Collective karma and societal decay
  • Impermanence of wealth and worldly stability
  • Omens: storms, volcanoes, epidemics, earthquakes, war
  • Disorientation / loss of direction (discernment)
  • Inner turbulence in yogic practice (prana, tapas/kundalini as possible subtext)

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “Volcanoes will laugh” may be purely poetic personification, or a hint that destructive forces appear enticing/celebrated in a corrupt age.
  • “Directions will be confused” can mean literal geographic disarray (earthquake imagery) or loss of moral and cognitive orientation (ethical discernment).
  • “Straight path” vs “non-path” can refer to social dharma/adharma, the individual spiritual path vs distractions, or even medical regimen vs harmful habits.
  • “Blood will foam and surge” may denote war and massacres, but could also imply bodily pathology (hypertension/inflammation) or intensified violent passions.
  • “World’s abundance smokes away” can mean economic collapse and resource loss, or the yogic idea that worldly gain evaporates under time’s fire; it may also suggest alchemical ‘burning off’ of impurities, though the tone here is warning rather than celebratory.