Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna speaks of the condition in which Prasada becomes fit to be offered to Linga.
If one understands the five senses and is able to steady body and mind, then Chennana’s Prasada becomes worthy of Linga.
The tongue’s desire for taste must be brought to shame. What is received should not be taken for taste alone. It must be turned back and made Linga-Arpita.
When this is done with the bhava of the mind, the offering can be given to our Kudalasangama Deva.
The teaching is precise: Prasada is not for personal taste. When the senses are understood, body and mind are steady, and taste-craving is overcome, what is received can be offered back to Linga.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is the five senses. Basavanna does not say that the senses must be destroyed. They must be understood. Their movement must be known before body and mind can become steady.
The second image is the steadiness of body and mind. Without this steadiness, Prasada may be pulled toward personal enjoyment. With steadiness, it can become fit for Linga.
Chennana’s Prasada is the next image. The vachana does not treat Prasada as ordinary food. It asks whether such Prasada becomes fit for Linga when the receiver has understood the senses and steadied body and mind.
The tongue’s taste is the decisive image. The tongue seeks flavor. Basavanna says this taste-craving must be brought to shame. The issue is not the existence of taste, but the claim of taste over Prasada.
Linga-Arpita gives the corrective movement. What is received is turned back toward Linga. It is not held as personal enjoyment.
The final phrase, “because the bhava of the mind is accepted,” shows the inner condition of offering. Kudalasangama Deva receives what is offered with the right inward state.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches that the senses must be brought into the path rather than allowed to rule it.
The tongue’s craving for taste is a direct test. If Prasada is taken for taste alone, the act remains incomplete. If it is returned as Linga-Arpita, the act becomes sacred.
For Prasadi Sthala, the point is exact: the Prasadi receives Prasada without possessive taste-craving and offers it back to Linga through the bhava of the mind.
Editorial Commentary
“Panchendriya” should be retained because the vachana begins with the five senses. The teaching depends on knowing their movement.
“Linga-Arpita” is central. It means that what is received is turned back and offered to Linga. This is the correction of tongue-centered enjoyment.
“Bhava of the mind” should also remain central. The offering becomes acceptable because the inner state has been taken up rightly.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Maheshwara Sthala Vachana 46 — The Ten Obstructions and the Consecration of the Senses
Maheshwara Vachana 46 supports this vachana by asking Kudalasangama Deva to remove desire, craving, falsehood, sense-hunger, and other obstructions, and to make the five senses His devotees.
In Vachana 1263, Basavanna says that Chennana’s Prasada becomes fit for Linga when the five senses are understood and body and mind are steadied. Maheshwara Vachana 46 prepares this by showing that the senses must be purified and made servants of Kudalasangama Deva.
Advancing Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 797 — The Inseparable Abidance in the Linga
Pranalingi Vachana 797 advances this teaching by saying that after receiving Prana-Linga, one cannot walk, speak, enjoy the five senses, or perform even a small bodily act apart from Linga.
In Vachana 1263, Prasada becomes Linga-Arpita when the senses, body, mind, tongue, and bhava are rightly aligned. In Vachana 797, this advances into Pranalingi discipline: sense-experience itself must not become Linga-virahita, separated from Linga, before Kudalasangama Deva.
