Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna names four mūlasthānas: Kedar in Kṛta Yuga, Varanasi in Treta Yuga, Virupaksha in Dvapara Yuga, and Parvata in Kali Yuga.
These four are acknowledged as root sacred places.
Basavanna then gives his own turn: he does not go touching many places. Before Kudalasangama Deva, he declares that he has trusted Jangama itself as Linga.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
Kedar is the first sacred place. It is named as the root-place of Kṛta Yuga.
Varanasi is the second sacred place. It is named as the root-place of Treta Yuga.
Virupaksha is the third sacred place. It is named as the root-place of Dvapara Yuga.
Parvata is the fourth sacred place. It is named as the root-place of Kali Yuga.
The four mūlasthānas gather the full field of sacred geography across the yugas.
The refusal to touch many places gives the turning point. Basavanna does not make movement from place to place the ground of realization.
Jangama itself as Linga is the final image. The living moving presence is not secondary to the sacred place. It is the Linga before Kudalasangama Deva.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches the movement from sacred geography to living recognition.
The practice-point is direct: do not scatter the sacred search across many places after the living Jangama has been recognized. See and serve Jangama as Linga, the living field through whom Kudalasangama Deva is approached.
For Sharana Sthala, this is the recognition that living Jangama-presence is greater than place-bound seeking.
Editorial Commentary
The word mūlasthāna should be retained as “root sacred place.” Basavanna does not spend the vachana attacking the four places; he names them and then states that he has not gone after many places. The decisive line is Jangama itself is Linga.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 821 — The Living Temple
Pranalingi Vachana 821 supports this teaching by contrasting built temples with the living temple of the body and by declaring that fixed structures may perish, while Jangama does not perish in that way. Vachana 395 carries the same movement into Sharana Sthala: instead of seeking many sacred places, Basavanna trusts the living Jangama itself as Linga before Kudalasangama Deva.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 840 — The Living Presence as Life Itself
Vachana 840 advances this teaching by declaring, “The Jangama is the Linga to me,” and further, “The Jangama is the very life within me.” Vachana 395 recognizes Jangama itself as Linga in place of sacred geography; Aikya Vachana 840 carries this into the completed state where Jangama is not only Linga, but life and Prasada between the seeker and Kudalasangama Deva.
