அணுவென்பா னணுவுக்கு எணுவே யென்பான்
அணுவுக்கு ளக்கினியைக் காண்பான் காண்பான்
அணுமைய்யத் திறலென்பான் அதிக மென்பான்
அகிலமெலா மழித்திடவே வல்லே னென்பான்
கணுவென்பான் கணுநெறியைக் கண்டே னென்பான்
காண்பதெலாம் மின்காந்தக் களியே யென்பான்
கணுவறியான் கணுவுக்குக் கணுவாய் நிற்கும்
காரணத்தைக் கண்டறியான் விஞ்ஞா னத்தான்
aṇuveṉpā ṉaṇuvukku eṇuvē yeṉpāṉ
aṇuvukku ḷakkiṉiyaik kāṇpāṉ kāṇpāṉ
aṇumaiyyat tiṟaleṉpāṉ adhika meṉpāṉ
akilamelā maḻittiṭavē vallē ṉeṉpāṉ
kaṇuveṉpāṉ kaṇuneṟiyaik kaṇḍē ṉeṉpāṉ
kāṇpatelām miṉkāntak kaḷiyē yeṉpāṉ
kaṇuvaṟiyāṉ kaṇuvukkuk kaṇuvāy niṟkum
kāraṇattaik kaṇḍaṟiyā
“He will say ‘the atom’; he will say that for the atom there is (only) counting/number.
He will see the fire within the atom—he will see.
He will speak of the atom’s central/core power; he will say it is immense.
He will say, ‘I am able to wipe out/destroy the entire cosmos.’
He will say ‘kaṇu’; he will say, ‘I have found the kaṇu‑path/way.’
He will say, ‘All that is seen is but the sportive play of electricity and magnetism.’
The man of science does not know—he does not discern—the cause
that stands “as kaṇu to kaṇu / as atom to atom,” remaining as (that very) kaṇu for the kaṇu.”
One who prides himself on atom‑talk—on measurement, sub‑units, inner ‘fire,’ and the immense power hidden at the center—may even boast of world‑destroying capability and reduce experience to electromagnetic interactions. Yet such “scientific knowing” still fails to recognize the deeper causal principle that silently abides between each unit and each unit—the ground that makes “particle/atom” and its relations possible at all.
The verse reads like a critique of knowledge that is quantitative, power‑oriented, and explanatory only in terms of forces, while remaining ignorant of the deeper “kāraṇam” (cause/ground).
1) Literal register (physics-like): - “Atom” + “number” points to quantification: reality treated as countable units. - “Fire within the atom” can be read as inner energy (nuclear fire/heat, latent potency). - “Central power” suggests the core/nucleus (or the concentrated heart of the unit) and the tremendous release available there. - “Able to destroy the cosmos” evokes destructive power (weaponized energy) but also functions as a Siddhar-style hyperbole about potency. - “All that is seen is electromagnetic play” frames phenomena as interactions of electricity–magnetism.
2) Siddhar/yogic register (inner science): - “Fire within” can equally point to yogic tejas—inner heat, kuṇḍalinī-agni, or the transformative “fire” used in inner alchemy. - “Destroying the cosmos” need not be literal annihilation; in Siddhar idiom it may signify dissolving the experienced “world” (nāma–rūpa) through inner realization—an inner pralaya where the constructed cosmos collapses. - “Electric–magnetic play” can also mirror the movement of vital currents (prāṇa), polarity (iḍā–piṅgalā), attraction/repulsion, and the felt dynamics of energy in the subtle body.
3) The philosophical thrust: The repeated “he says…” exposes a posture of claim-making. The final rebuke is that even if one maps units, forces, and paths, one may still miss the “cause” that ‘stands as unit to unit’—the connecting and underlying principle that is not merely another measurable unit among units. In Siddhar terms this can point toward: - the non-objectifiable ground (Śiva/Sivam, arut/Grace, pure awareness), - or the subtle causal body principle (kāraṇa), - or the intelligence by which relations and appearances arise.
Thus the verse contrasts vijñāna as external, analytical, and power-capable with jñāna as causal, inward, and liberative—without denying the former’s impressive reach.