Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna speaks to the inner one and asks it to listen.
He says that he appears again as man and again as woman. The forms change, but the one addressed is not exhausted by either form. Basavanna does not reject the body or its form; he refuses to let form become the final identity.
The final line gives the true relation. Before Kudalasangama Deva, he stands as a warrior. Before the Lord’s Sharanas, he stands as bride or servant. The two postures are not contradiction. One shows firmness before the Lord; the other shows humility and surrendered belonging before the Sharanas.
The teaching is direct: the Sharana is not confined by the changing forms of man and woman. His true measure is steadfastness before Kudalasangama Deva and surrendered service before His Sharanas.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The address to the inner one opens the vachana. Basavanna is not speaking only to outer appearance. He turns inward and asks the deeper self to listen.
Man and woman form the central pair of embodied appearance. Basavanna says, “Again I become man; again I become woman.” The repetition shows changing form, repeated embodiment, or shifting identity.
The point is not to despise these forms. The point is that neither form is final. The one who moves through them must not be reduced to them.
The warrior is the first relational image. Before Kudalasangama Deva, Basavanna stands as vīra — firm, courageous, and unwavering. This is the strength of one who does not retreat from the Lord’s path.
The bride or servant before the Sharanas is the second relational image. Before the Lord’s Sharanas, Basavanna does not claim superiority. He takes the receptive, surrendered, serving posture.
The contrast is important. The Sharana is not merely strong, and not merely submissive. Strength is directed toward steadfastness before Kudalasangama Deva; humility is directed toward the Lord’s Sharanas.
The movement of the vachana is therefore from changing form, to inward listening, to warrior-firmness before the Lord, and to surrendered belonging before the Sharanas.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches that practice must not be bound by bodily identity or social role.
The seeker should ask: what do I take myself to be? Do I stop at man, woman, role, appearance, or name? Basavanna points deeper. These forms may arise, but the path requires firmness before Kudalasangama Deva and humility before His Sharanas.
For Sharana Sthala, the practice-point is clear: stand firm before the Lord, but do not carry pride before the Sharanas. Let bodily identity loosen, and let service become the measure of maturity.
Editorial Commentary
The man/woman pair should remain central without unnecessary elaboration. Basavanna is showing that form is not the final spiritual identity. The final contrast — warrior before Kudalasangama Deva, bride or servant before the Sharanas — gives the vachana its proper balance of courage and humility.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 1046 — The Jangama: Guru of the Guru
Pranalingi Vachana 1046 supports this teaching by saying that Linga is primal, Jangama is beginningless, and service to Jangama is supreme bliss. It also declares Jangama to be the Guru of the Guru. This supports Vachana 704 directly. Vachana 704 ends with Basavanna standing as warrior before Kudalasangama Deva and as bride or servant before His Sharanas; Vachana 1046 gives the supporting ground for that humility before the living Jangama-Sharana presence.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 838 — The Abidance Where All Becomes One
Aikya Vachana 838 advances this teaching by showing Guru, Linga, and Jangama as one reality, and by saying that the one who makes these three one becomes the body of Prasada. This is the natural advancement from Vachana 704. Vachana 704 still speaks through relation: warrior before Kudalasangama Deva, bride or servant before the Sharanas. Aikya Vachana 838 carries this relation into fulfilled unity, where Guru, Linga, and Jangama are no longer held apart, and the seeker becomes established as the body of Prasada before Kudalasangama Deva.
