Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna makes remembrance the measure of life itself. When Kudalasangama Deva is remembered, it is dawn. When that remembrance is forgotten, it is sunset.
He then makes the teaching still more direct. The Lord’s remembrance is his life. The Lord’s remembrance is his prana. Remembrance is not treated as an occasional act, but as the living force by which he stands.
Basavanna ends with a prayer. He asks the Lord to press the imprint of His feet into his heart and to write the sacred mantra “Om Namah Shivaya,” traditionally known as the six-syllabled mantra (Shadakshari), upon his lips. Heart and speech must both be marked by Kudalasangama Deva, so that remembrance does not fade.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is dawn. Dawn does not merely indicate morning. In this vachana, dawn occurs when remembrance of Kudalasangama Deva rises within the seeker. Remembrance brings awakening.
The second image is sunset. Sunset occurs when remembrance is forgotten. Basavanna therefore treats forgetfulness not as a small lapse, but as the fading of inner light.
The third image is life. Basavanna says that the Lord’s remembrance is his very life. Life is not defined only by bodily existence, but by the continuity of Divine remembrance.
The fourth image is prana. This deepens the same teaching. Remembrance is not external to living; it is the breath-like support of living awareness.
The fifth image is the imprint of the Lord’s feet in the heart. Basavanna asks that Kudalasangama Deva’s feet be pressed into the heart itself. The heart must not merely feel devotion for a time; it must bear the Lord’s mark within.
The sixth image is the six-syllabled mantra, “Om Namah Shivaya,” written upon the lips. In the Lingayat tradition, this sacred formula invokes reverence and surrender to Shiva and serves as a constant aid to remembrance. Speech must also be marked. The mouth should not remain free for scattered or empty words; it must carry the mantra of remembrance.
Together, the images move from time, to life, to breath, to heart, to speech. Basavanna gathers the whole person into remembrance of Kudalasangama Deva.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches that remembrance must become continuous. The seeker does not merely remember during worship and then return to forgetfulness. Remembrance becomes dawn, life, and prana.
For Pranalingi Sthala, the word prana is central. The relation to Kudalasangama Deva must enter the living breath of awareness. The Lord’s remembrance is not outside life; it is the life within life.
The heart and lips show the two fields of practice. The heart must be inwardly marked by the Lord’s feet, and speech must be governed by the six-syllabled mantra. Inner feeling and outward utterance must both remain turned toward Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
The dawn and sunset in this vachana should be read through remembrance and forgetfulness. Basavanna is not describing ordinary time alone. He is showing that spiritual day begins with remembrance and spiritual darkness begins with forgetting.
The phrase “Your remembrance is my life, Your remembrance is my prana” should not be weakened into a general devotional sentiment. It is the core of the vachana. Basavanna places existence itself within the continuity of Kudalasangama Deva’s remembrance.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 630 — When Remembrance Dies
Prasadi Vachana 630 supports this vachana by showing the danger of broken remembrance. There, Basavanna says that when the eyes go astray, when the tongue speaks wrongly, and when the remembrance of Kudalasangama Deva is forgotten, that is Māri.
Vachana 498 says that remembrance is dawn, life, and prana, while forgetfulness is sunset. Vachana 630 supports this by showing the other side of the same truth: when remembrance dies, inner ruin has already entered. Thus Prasadi Sthala prepares the Pranalingi teaching that remembrance is not optional; it is life itself.
Advancing Vachana
Sharana Sthala Vachana 174 — The Eternal Now of Devotion
Sharana Vachana 174 advances this teaching by carrying remembrance into the present without delay. There, Basavanna says not to speak of yesterday or tomorrow, but to become the Sharana of Shiva and Hara in this very day, and to remember Kudalasangama without break.
Vachana 498 makes remembrance dawn, life, and prana. Vachana 174 advances this into Sharana Sthala by removing the movement toward past and future. The seeker must remain in the present day as unbroken remembrance itself. Thus the Pranalingi breath of remembrance advances into Sharana abidance in the eternal now of Kudalasangama Deva.
