திண்டாடு வார்மக்கள் வறுமைப் பேயின்
தீநிழலிற் புழுப்போலத் தீவார் தீவார்
துண்டாடு வார்மக்கள் தம்மைத் தாமே
துப்பான சாந்தமெனச் செப்பு வாரே
வண்டாளுஞ் சோலையென மதி மருண்டே
மதவேளுக் கடிமைகளாய் மக்கிப் போவார்
கொண்டாடும் நகரமெலாம் நரக மாக
கூற்றுவனை வரவேற்கும் கூத்துக் காண்பார்
thiNdaaDu vaarmakkaL vaRumaip pEyin
theenizhalil puzhuppOlath theevaar theevaar
thuNdaaDu vaarmakkaL thammaith thaamE
thuppaana saanthamenach cheppu vaarE
vaNDaaLunj chOlaiyena mathi maruNDE
mathavELuk kadimaikaLaay makkip pOvaar
koNDaaDum nagaramelaam naraga maaga
kooRRuvanai varavERkum kooththuk kaaNbaar
People who struggle and toil—under the demon of poverty—
In the shadow of fire (or evil) they writhe like worms, burning and burning.
People who are torn about and broken—about themselves, by themselves—
Call it “stainless peace” and speak as though it were so.
Their mind is bewildered, taking it for a bee-ruled grove,
They become slaves to the god of intoxicated desire and rot away.
The entire city they celebrate turns into a hell,
And they watch the spectacle that welcomes Kūṟṟuvan (Death/Yama).
Those driven by scarcity become possessed by “poverty” as if by a demon. They live in a hellish shadow, squirming like worms—consumed by constant inner burning. Though inwardly fragmented, they still name their condition “peace,” dressing restlessness up as serenity. Deluded by the sweetness of sense-pleasures (like a garden buzzing with bees), they become servants of lust and decay. Their festive world—what they call a thriving city—becomes hell, and in the end their entertainments turn into the very pageant that ushers Death to the door.
Karai Siddhar compresses a social and yogic diagnosis into harsh images.
1) “Poverty-demon” (வறுமைப் பேய்): Not only economic lack, but the compulsive mentality of lack—fear, grasping, bargaining with conscience. Siddhar usage often treats such forces as “pey” (possessing agencies) because they override discernment and make the person act as if not fully their own.
2) “Shadow of fire / evil shadow” (தீநிழல்) and “worms”: The worm-image points to a degraded, decaying mode of life—creeping, feeding on what is already decomposing. The repeated “burning” suggests ceaseless agitation: craving, shame, envy, hunger, and the heat of desire. Yogically, it contrasts with legitimate inner “fire” (tapas, kuṇḍalinī-heat) which refines; here the heat is infernal—consuming without transforming.
3) “Calling it peace”: The verse attacks self-deception and social hypocrisy. People who are inwardly torn (துண்டாடு) label their numbness, resignation, or superficial respectability as “śānti.” True śānti in Siddhar thought is the stillness that comes from mastery of mind and prāṇa; what is criticized here is a counterfeit calm that coexists with fragmentation.
4) “Bee-ruled grove”: A garden humming with bees implies honey, fragrance, intoxication—an emblem for sensory allure. In some Siddhar idioms, the “humming” also resembles the mind’s restless vibration. The mind mistakes this buzzing pleasure-world for a safe paradise.
5) “Slaves of Madavēḷ”: Madavēḷ (a name for Manmatha/Kāma) stands for erotic drive broadly—compulsion toward pleasure, status, and consumption. Becoming his “adiyār” (slaves) implies loss of sovereignty (āṭci) over one’s own body-mind. The result is “makkip pōvār” (rotting away): physical depletion (ojas/viriyam loss), moral corrosion, and spiritual stagnation.
6) “City becomes hell; welcoming Death”: The “celebrated city” is the arena of distraction—commerce, spectacle, festival, and noise—where the end is forgotten. Death (Kūṟṟuvan/Yama) is not merely an event but the certainty that exposes the emptiness of unexamined living. The “dance/spectacle” suggests that what people treat as entertainment ultimately becomes Death’s procession—life itself staging a final show in which they are not spectators but the subject.