அபாயமடா மர்மமுறும் கர்ம மார்க்கம்
அச்சமடா துச்சமடா உலகத் தோர்க்கே
சபாயமடா வீண்பேச்சு வாயரட்டல்
தரணியுளோர் தலைவனெனச் சாற்று வாரே
உபாயமடா உனக்குள்நீ உண்மை கண்டால்
உலகத்தின் கோட்டமெலா மொன்று மில்லை
சிவாயமடா சிவசக்தி விளையாட் டானால்
சிவசிவா யாவுமுந்தன் வசமாய்ப் போமே
abayaamadaa marma muRum karma maarkkam
achchamadaa thuchchamadaa ulagath thOrkkE
sabaayamadaa veeN pEchchu vaayarattal
tharaNiyuLOr thalaivanenach saaRRu vaarE
ubaayamadaa unakkuLnee uNmai kaNdaal
ulagaththin kOttamelaa monRu millai
sivaayamadaa sivasakthi viLaiyaaD Taanal
sivasivaa yaavumunthan vasamaayp pOmE
“It is dangerous, lad—the karmic path where secrets (marmam) are involved.
It is fear, lad; it is petty/mean, lad—for the people of the world.
It is in the public hall/assembly, lad—empty talk, mere mouth-rattling.
They are the ones who proclaim (you) as ‘leader’ of those on earth.
The means/skill (upāya) is, lad: if you see the truth within yourself,
all the world’s fortresses/strongholds are not even one thing (are nothing).
It is ‘Śivāyam,’ lad—if Śiva-Śakti have played their play,
then, ‘Śiva! Śiva!’—everything will come under your control.”
“Beware: the outward ‘path of karma’—entangled with hidden motives, secret pressures, and delicate ‘vital points’—is perilous.
Worldly people live in fear and smallness, and public arenas reward only noisy, empty speech.
Those who praise you as a ‘leader of the earth’ are often praising a mask, not the Real.
The true method is to turn inward and recognize what you are in truth; then the world’s apparent powers and defenses lose their substance.
When the reality of Śiva inseparable from Śakti ‘plays’ within you—when mantra and realization ripen together—everything that seemed outside your reach becomes workable, even obedient.”
This verse contrasts two orientations: (1) outward life driven by karma, status, and public display, and (2) inward realization in which the world’s threats and attractions are seen as insubstantial.
1) “Danger… the karmic path… marmam”: In Siddhar idiom, *marmam* can mean “secret doctrine/hidden matter,” but also evokes *marma*—vital junctions in the subtle/physiological body. The “karmic path” here can be read as ritualism, social duty, or action done for gain. Such a life is “dangerous” because it repeatedly strikes one’s vulnerable points: pride, fear, craving, reputation, and the body’s subtle knots.
2) “Fear… pettiness… for worldly folk”: Fear (*accham*) is treated as the emotional signature of identification with the perishable body-mind and with social approval. “Pettiness” (*tuccham*) points to how worldly values shrink the self into defensiveness and competition.
3) “Public hall… empty talk”: *Sabāyam* suggests the arena of public judgment—assemblies, courts, debates, the social “stage.” Siddhars often distrust eloquence without attainment; “mouth-rattling” implies speech divorced from inner transformation. The line about being called “leader of the earth” criticizes status conferred by crowds: it is unstable and often unrelated to spiritual authority.
4) “Upāya… find truth within”: The recommended method is not external conquest but inward verification. This aligns with Siddhar yoga: turning prāṇa and attention inward, dissolving egoic constructions, and recognizing the underlying reality (often framed as Śiva-consciousness).
5) “The world’s fortresses are nothing”: *Kōṭṭam* (fort/stronghold) can symbolize worldly power-structures, defenses, obstacles, and the seemingly solid architecture of saṃsāra. Once truth is known inwardly, these appear “not even one thing”—either as impermanent constructions or as expressions within consciousness itself.
6) “Śivāyam… Śiva-Śakti play… everything under your control”: The verse culminates in the Siddhar synthesis of mantra and nondual insight. “Śivāyam” can gesture to the pañcākṣara (Namaśśivāya) or a condensed invocation of Śiva. “Śiva-Śakti play” frames reality as dynamic: consciousness (Śiva) and power/manifestation (Śakti) are not two. When this is realized—not merely believed—‘control’ can mean (a) inner mastery: senses, fear, compulsions; and/or (b) siddhis (extraordinary capacities) traditionally said to arise when Śiva-Śakti unite within the sādhaka. The Siddhar tone preserves ambiguity: it both warns against worldly domination and hints that genuine realization makes the world’s forces cease to bind you.