Golden Lay Verses

Verse 218 (ஞான வைப்பு)

தமிழ் பாடல்

அடடா விஞ்ஞானீ யறையக் கேளாய்

யாவைக்கும் காரணத்தை அறிவா யோநீ

அடடா வகிலாண்டக் கவர்ச்சி யேனோ?

அணுவுக்குள் மின்காந்த மமைந்த தேனோ?

கொடடாடா நேர்நிரையான் வின்க ளேனோ?

குவிந்திணைந்து பிரிந்தரஸா யனமு மேனோ?

விடடாடா யிவையெல்லா மென்னே யென்னே?

விளக்கிடுவாய்க் களக்கமறச் சொன்னேன் சொன்னேன்

Transliteration

aṭaṭā viññāṉī yaṟaiyak kēḷāy

yāvaikkum kāraṇattai aṟivā yōnī

aṭaṭā vakilāṇṭak kavarcci yēṉō?

aṇuvukkuḷ miṉkānta mamainta tēṉō?

koṭaṭāṭā nērniraiviyāṉ viṉka ḷēṉō?

kuvintiṇaintu pirintarasā yanamu mēṉō?

viṭaṭāṭā yivaiyellā meṉṉē yeṉṉē?

viḷakkiṭuvāyk kaḷakkamaṟac coṉṉēṉ coṉṉēṉ

Literal Translation

“Ah! O scientist—listen to what I declare.

Do you truly know the cause behind everything?

Ah! Why is there this attraction that rules the whole cosmos?

Why has electromagnetism come to be established within the atom?

Why are the ‘heavens’/‘skies’ arranged in an orderly, straight sequence?

Why does the rasāyana—condensing, joining, and separating—take place?

Tell me—what are all these, what indeed are they?

Explain them so there is no confusion; thus I said, I said.”

Interpretive Translation

“You who speak in the language of science: if you claim to know causes, then tell me the hidden reason for the forces that bind the universe—cosmic attraction, the electric–magnetic principle within the atom, the orderly pattern of the heavens, and the continual chemistry/alchemy of combining and separating. What is the single root that makes things cohere, transform, and part? Speak with clarity, without mental turmoil.”

Philosophical Explanation

The verse is framed as a challenge to causal certainty. The speaker lists several layers of “why”: (1) a universal “kavarcci” (pull/attraction) that governs the cosmos (readable as gravitation, or more generally the binding force that holds worlds and bodies together), (2) “min-kāntam” (electric–magnetic force) inside the “aṇu” (atom, or the infinitesimal unit), (3) a “nēr-nirai” (straight/orderly arrangement) in the “viṇ” realm (sky/heavens—possibly the regularity of stars/planets, or a moral-causal order), and (4) “rasāyanam” (chemistry/alchemy) that repeatedly condenses, unites, and separates.

In Siddhar discourse, listing physical regularities often serves a second purpose: to point from proximate explanations (mechanisms) toward an ultimate kāraṇam (root cause) that science may describe but not finally ground. “Rasāyanam” is especially double-edged: it can mean ordinary chemical reactions, but also Siddha alchemical and medical processes (binding, purification, conjunction, separation) and even inner yogic “alchemy” (the management of subtle forces/prāṇa, the union of opposites, and the transformation of the body-mind).

Thus the verse can be read as: (a) a critique of reductionism—knowing “how” does not settle “why”; and/or (b) an invitation to become a different kind of “viññāni,” an inner experimenter, who can explain these forces as expressions of a single underlying principle (often named Śakti/prāṇa/Siva–Śakti in Siddha metaphysics) operating in both macrocosm (universe) and microcosm (body/atom). The repeated demand “explain without confusion” implies that the true account must calm rather than multiply conceptual agitation.

Key Concepts

  • kāraṇam (cause, root-cause inquiry)
  • viññāni (scientist/knower; can imply worldly science or inner knowledge)
  • kavarcci (attraction; gravity/binding power)
  • aṇu (atom/minute principle; microcosm)
  • min-kāntam (electric–magnetic force; subtle binding energy)
  • viṇ (sky/heavens; cosmic order)
  • nēr-nirai (orderly sequence/arrangement; regular lawfulness)
  • rasāyanam (chemistry; Siddha alchemy/medicine; transformative operations)
  • condensation–union–separation (a recurring alchemical/chemical triad)
  • kalakkam (mental confusion/agitation) vs clarity

Ambiguities or Multiple Readings

  • “வகிலாண்டக் கவர்ச்சி” may be a variant/misreading of “அகிலாண்டக் கவர்ச்சி” (“cosmos-wide attraction”). If read as அகிலாண்ட, the line clearly points to universal gravitation; if not, it could imply a more general ‘world-governing’ allure or binding power.
  • “viññāni” can mean a modern ‘scientist,’ but also a ‘knower’ in a broader sense—potentially including the yogi or jñāni whom the Siddhar tests.
  • “நேர்நிரையான் வின்கள்” can be read as (a) the orderly arrangement of stars/planets in the heavens, (b) the lawful sequencing of cosmic cycles, or (c) a moral-causal order (karma/vinai) if “vin” is heard as “vinai” by association—Siddhar texts sometimes play on such near-homophones.
  • “rasāyanam” may denote ordinary chemistry (reaction: combine/separate), Siddha external alchemy (metals, mercury operations, elixirs), or internal yogic alchemy (the joining and separating of subtle currents and elements). The verse leaves this deliberately open.
  • The tone can be read either as confrontational (“you don’t truly know causes”) or pedagogical (“if you know, teach clearly”), maintaining Siddhar-style strategic ambiguity.