Summary
Basavanna says: look at the path walked by those who came before; there was no fear. He invokes the testing connected with Ballala, who remained steady even amidst severe worldly trials, and the trial connected with Siriyala’s son, where even the deepest personal attachment did not give rise to fear, and again says: there was no fear.
The vachana then names Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas as those of impossible accomplishment and extraordinary conduct. The path they walked was a path without fear. The teaching is direct: the way of the earlier Sharanas is not measured by ordinary expectation, but by fearless steadiness before Kudalasangama Deva.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The path of those who came before is the first image. Basavanna does not describe a new path invented by himself. He points to the path already walked by the earlier Sharanas.
The repeated phrase “there was no fear” governs the whole vachana. It is not said once casually; it returns after each example. The repetition shows that fearlessness is the mark being emphasized.
Ballala is invoked as an example of testing. Basavanna does not pause to narrate the whole story. He uses the reference to show that even in a severe situation, there was no fear.
Siriyala’s son is the next example. Again, the force lies in the test and the response: there was no fear.
The words describing Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas as those of impossible accomplishment and extraordinary conduct are central. Their way cannot be reduced to ordinary social measure or ordinary human expectation.
The final statement gathers the teaching: the path walked by Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas was without fear. Basavanna asks the listener to see this clearly.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, the relevance of this vachana lies in the movement given by the source: the seeker is asked to look at the earlier Sharanas, to see their tested path, and to recognize that fear did not govern them.
The practice-point is direct: the seeker should not measure the Sharana-path by ordinary fear, comfort, or expectation. The path of Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas is to be seen as fearless steadiness.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should be read as a remembrance of the fearless path of the earlier Sharanas. Basavanna does not give these examples for storytelling alone. He uses them to show the quality of the Sharana-path: even where the situation is severe, strange, or beyond ordinary comprehension, fear does not rule. The explanation should therefore remain close to the source: earlier Sharanas, testing, extraordinary conduct, and the path without fear.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 994 — The Incomprehensible State of the Sharana
Pranalingi Vachana 994 supports this vachana by describing the state of Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas as beyond ordinary measurement and by identifying them as beings whose state cannot be fitted into common categories. Sharana Vachana 147 presents the same greatness through the path they walked: Ballala, Siriyala, and the earlier Sharanas are remembered as those who moved without fear through what appears impossible or extraordinary. The support is direct: Pranalingi names the immeasurable state of the Sharanas; Sharana shows their fearless path in action.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 1322 — Gently, Gently Beyond Even the Six Sthalas
Aikya Vachana 1322 advances this teaching by carrying fearlessness beyond even the named stages of the path. In Sharana Vachana 147, Basavanna points to the fearless way walked by Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas. In Aikya Vachana 1322, the movement passes gently through Bhakta, Maheshwara, Prasadi, Pranalingi, Sharana, and Aikya, and enters the Fearless State beyond stage-identity. Thus the Sharana-stage remembrance of fearless conduct advances into Aikya as the Niravaya state, where fear and stage-claim no longer remain before Kudalasangama Deva.
