குப்பை மேனிச் சாற்றினிலே
கொழித்து வெடிக்கும் வெடியுப்பே
இப்பே ருலகி லெவைக்கும்மேல்
இதுகாண் தனமா கியதுப்பே
கொப்பே செம்புக் கிடைநாகம்
கொடுத்தே யூத மிகுகெம்பே
மப்பே யில்லை மாறாக
வைத்தாலாகும் பெருவம்பே
kuppai mEṉich chaaṟṟiṉilE
koziththu veṭikkum veḍiyuppE
ippE rulaki levaikkummEl
ithukaaṇ thaṉamaa kiyathuppE
koppE sembuk kiḍainhaagam
koḍuththE yUtha mikukempE
mappE yillai maaṟaaga
vaiththaal aagum peruvampE
In the extract/juice of the refuse-body (kuppai-mēni),
that “explosive salt” (veḍiy-uppu) swells and bursts.
In this world, above/over whatever there is,
see—this indeed is what has become “wealth”.
O (refrain) — within/along with copper (sembu) is nāgam;
when it is given/applied and the fire is blown (ūtha), the redness (heat) increases.
There is no falsehood; rather,
if it is kept/placed (in the right way), it becomes a great “vampu”.
From what looks like mere refuse—whether a compost-heap used for leaching salts, or the ‘impure body’ itself—one can obtain a volatile, forceful ‘salt’ capable of sudden release (an explosive reagent / an awakened force). The Siddhar calls that the real wealth of the world. Then he points to an operation involving copper and nāgam (readable either as zinc in metallurgical work, or as the serpent-force in yogic language): by “blowing” (bellows/heat, or breath) one intensifies the inner/outer fire until it glows red. This is not a trick; when handled and preserved correctly it yields a major result—marvel, benefit, or (if mishandled) a consequential commotion.
The verse speaks in a deliberately double register—laboratory and inner-yoga.
1) Alchemical/chemical register: - “Kuppai-mēni sāṟu” can indicate leachate from a compost/dung heap (traditional source for nitrates). From such ‘low’ matter one obtains “veḍiy-uppu” (commonly readable as saltpetre / a powerful reactive salt). Calling it “wealth” fits Siddhar rasavāda: the true treasure is not coin but a key reagent that enables further transformations (medicine, metallurgy, and reputed transmutations). - “Copper with nāgam” points to a metal-pairing/alloying or a catalytic relation. In Siddha material vocabulary, nāgam is often zinc (though other traditions read it as lead), and copper–zinc immediately evokes brass-making and related calcinations. “Blowing” suggests a bellows-driven furnace; “becoming red” marks the correct heat stage.
2) Yogic/inner-physiology register: - The “refuse-body” reading treats the human body as a heap of impure substances; yet from it, through discipline, an essence is drawn. “Explosive salt” can symbolize a concentrated force (kuṇḍalinī-like) that ‘swells and bursts’—sudden arousal, release, or breakthrough. - “Blowing” then becomes prāṇāyāma: breath as bellows, stoking inner heat (tapas/agni). “Copper” can stand for the solar principle/heat, while “nāgam” naturally supports a serpent-power reading. The insistence “there is no falsehood” functions as an oath of efficacy, common in Siddhar instruction, while also warning that correct containment/placement (vaittal) is crucial.
Across both registers, the philosophical claim is consistent: what is dismissed as base/dirty is precisely where the operative ‘salt/essence’ is found, and mastery lies in controlled heat—outer furnace or inner fire—rather than in external riches.