தூங்குவாய்ச் சாமத்தே விழித்துக் கொள்ளு
தூங்காமல் தூங்கிவெறுந் தூக்கம் தள்ளு
நீங்காமல் நியமத்தே நிறைந்து நில்லு
நிலமான சர்மத்தைச் சுத்தம் செய்தே
ஆங்காரச் சாதியெலா மகற்றிப் போடு
அன்பாக வாதித்தே விரட்டிப் போடு
பாங்காக ஆதித்தன் துணையாய் நிற்பான்
பண்பாகப் போதித்தேன் சாதிப்பாயே
Thoonguvaaych saamaththae vizhiththuk kollu
Thoongaamal thoongiverun thoongkam thallu
Neengaamal niyamaththae niraindhu nillu
Nilamaana sarmaththaich suththam seythae
Aangkaarach saathiyelaa magatrip podu
Anbaaga vaathiththae virattip podu
Paangaaga aathiththan thunaiyaay nirpaan
Panbaagap bothiththaen saathippaayae.
In the night-watch when you would sleep, wake yourself.
Without sleeping—sleep; cast away mere/empty sleep.
Without straying, remain filled with (right) discipline/niyama.
Having cleansed the earthy skin/body,
Throw out all pride-born “caste” (egoic identity).
With love, contend (with it) and drive it away.
In fitting measure, the Sun (Ādittan) will stand as your support.
In good manner I have instructed; you will accomplish (it).
Rise at the very hours when habit pulls you into dullness. Enter the yogic paradox of “sleeping without sleep”—abiding in awareness while the ordinary mind’s stupor is dismissed. Hold steadily to niyama (disciplined observance) without deviation, and purify the gross bodily sheath. Uproot the ego’s inherited identities—pride of birth, status, and fixed self-notions—and expel them, not with harshness but with a compassionate, discerning inner dialogue. Then the solar principle—outer Sun and inner agni/prāṇa—will stand beside you as an ally, and the attainment taught here will be completed.
The verse is a manual for Siddhar sādhanā that begins with reversing tamasic habit: the “sleeping hour” is precisely when one should awaken (often read as the last watch of night or brahma-muhūrta). The cryptic command “without sleeping, sleep” points to a yogic condition in which bodily rest or withdrawal occurs while awareness remains unbroken—close to yoga-nidrā, turiya-like witnessing, or samādhi—contrasted with “empty sleep,” i.e., inert unconsciousness that increases dullness rather than insight. “Niyama” anchors this in ethical and practical discipline (purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, devotion), implying steadiness rather than sporadic effort. Cleansing the “earthy skin/body” evokes both literal hygiene and Siddhar-style purification of the gross sheath (annamaya/physical) so that subtler work can proceed; it can also hint at medical preparation (balancing humors, clearing channels). “Āṅkāra-jāti” critiques identity built from ego and social birth—caste-pride, lineage fixation, and the mind’s tendency to harden into categories—seen as a spiritual toxin that must be expelled. The instruction to do this “with love” emphasizes that purification is not mere aggression but a clear, compassionate inner disputation that drives out entrenched tendencies. Finally, the Sun (Ādittan) signifies more than a celestial body: it can indicate solar discipline, awakening of inner heat (agni), activation of piṅgalā nāḍi, and the supportive force of prāṇa/clarity that arises when one lives in aligned rhythm. The promise “you will accomplish” frames the teaching as pragmatic: discipline + purification + ego-disidentification + solar clarity culminate in siddhi or realization.