மாளாத சக்தியடா மனிதன் சக்தி
மலிவாகக் கிடக்குதடா மனத்துக் குள்ளே
மீளாத மார்க்கமடா மின்னாத் தாளை
மேவியுனக் குட்காணும் வேதை மார்க்கம்
ஆளாக வென்றேனு மெப்போ தேனும்
அனைவர்க்கும் கிட்டுமடா ஞானப் பேறு
தூளாகக் காமத்தைத் துரத்தி விட்டே
துணையாகக் கம்பத்தே தூங்கு வாயே
maaLaatha sakthiyadaa manithan sakthi
malivaagak kidakkuthadaa manaththuk kuLLE
meeLaatha maarkkamadaa minnaath thaaLai
meviyunak kutkaaNum vEthai maarkkam
aaLaaga venREnu meppO thEnum
anaivarkkum kittumadaa gnyaanap pERu
thooLaagak kaamaththaith thuraththi vittE
thuNaiyaagak kambaththE thoongu vaayE.
Unfailing power—man’s power—lies (as though) cheaply available inside the mind.
It is the path from which there is no return; the “feet” that do not flash (do not glitter).
The Vedic path that, having been taken up, makes you see inwardly.
Even if you win and become a ruler—at any time—
the fruit of wisdom/gnosis comes within reach for everyone.
Drive lust/desire away until it becomes dust;
with the pillar as your support/companion, sleep (rest) there.
The Siddhar says: the real “power” is not outside; it is an indestructible śakti already present within the mind, yet people treat it as something ordinary. The true way is the irreversible path of inner realization—quiet, without outward display (“feet that do not glitter”), known by inward seeing rather than spectacle. This attainment of jñāna is not reserved for elites; it is accessible to all, at any time, if one pulverizes craving and rests the mind on an unmoving inner support—symbolized as “the pillar” (steadfast axis).
1) Inner śakti as the human endowment: The opening asserts that “man’s power” is an unperishing śakti located “within the mind.” The phrase “lying cheaply” criticizes how the priceless is overlooked because it is near at hand and inward. In Siddhar idiom, śakti can mean: (a) the capacity for awareness itself, (b) vital force (prāṇa), and (c) the latent energy that can be transmuted into higher cognition.
2) “Path of no return”: “Mīḷāta mārkkam” evokes the irreversible turn of realization—once the inner truth is directly known, one does not ‘return’ to the old delusion. It can also allude to classical yogic/advaitic language of liberation (mokṣa) as a non-regressive attainment.
3) “Feet that do not flash”: “Tāḷ” (feet) commonly signifies the guru’s feet or the Divine feet—i.e., the grounding principle of surrender and realization. “Not flashing” suggests the authentic path is not showy, not dependent on miracles, charisma, ornament, or public display. It may also imply subtlety: the ‘feet’ are not visible to the outward eye.
4) “Vedic path” as inner seeing: By calling it “Vēthai mārkkam” (Vedic way) and pairing it with “uṭkāṇum” (seeing within), the verse binds scripture/teaching to direct interior verification. It is not mere recitation; it is a method that culminates in inner perception.
5) Universality of jñāna: The line “for everyone” explicitly democratizes the attainment. Siddhar literature often challenges hereditary or institutional monopoly over realization, insisting that discipline and insight—not status—govern access.
6) Pulverizing kāma (desire) and yogic stabilization: “Make lust into dust” is both ethical and psycho-physiological. In Siddhar-yoga, unrefined desire disperses prāṇa and destabilizes the mind; its sublimation conserves and redirects energy toward clarity and steadiness.
7) “Sleep on the pillar” as symbol and practice: The “pillar” (kambam) can be read as (a) a literal support used for austerity, (b) the temple-pillar/axis (stambha) signifying the unmoving center (Śiva), and/or (c) the spinal axis (suṣumṇā/meru-daṇḍa), the inner ‘pillar’ in which prāṇa is made to rest. “Sleep” need not mean ordinary sleep; it can indicate yogic rest—settling consciousness in the stable axis so that mental fluctuations subside.