Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna uses the image of ghee to speak of the Sharana’s transformed state.
He asks whether one can speak of the fitting word, like ghee that has been drawn out. Ghee is not raw substance. It has passed through refinement and become clear. Basavanna uses this image to suggest a state that has undergone decisive transformation.
He then turns directly to the Sharana. Will the Sharana forget himself? The question is not casual. It tests whether the one who has become Sharana can return to the old condition of self-forgetfulness.
The answer is given through Prasada. The Sharana lives by the Prasada of Kudalasangama Deva. His life is no longer sustained by ordinary self-dependence. He lives through what is received from the Lord.
The final question repeats the force: if he lives by Kudalasangama’s Prasada, will he forget himself? The implied answer is no. Prasada sustains remembrance.
The teaching is direct: the Sharana, once refined like ghee, does not return to ordinary forgetfulness. He lives by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada, and that Prasada becomes the ground of his steady remembrance.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
Ghee is the central image. It is clarified, refined, and made distinct from its earlier condition. Basavanna does not need a long explanation of the process. The image itself carries the meaning of refinement.
The drawing out of ghee suggests transformation through separation from impurity or mixture. What remains is clearer, steadier, and fit for sacred use.
The fitting word is connected with this image. Speech about the Sharana must be worthy of the state being described. The Sharana is not to be spoken of as one still raw, unstable, or unrefined.
Self-forgetfulness is the danger named by Basavanna. To forget oneself here means to lose the Sharana’s true standing and fall back into the old condition of misidentification.
The repeated question, “Will the Sharana forget himself?” gives the vachana its structure. Basavanna is not describing ordinary confidence. He is declaring the steadiness of one sustained by Prasada.
Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada is the final sustaining image. Prasada is not occasional favor here. It is the mode by which the Sharana lives.
Living by Prasada means that life is received, sustained, and ordered through the Lord’s grace. The Sharana does not stand by private strength.
The movement of the vachana is therefore from clarified ghee, to the right understanding of the Sharana, to the question of self-forgetfulness, and finally to life sustained by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches the steadiness of refined realization.
The seeker should ask: has my life truly been refined, or do I still remain in an unclarified state? Do I forget my own standing before Kudalasangama Deva? Do I live by possession and effort alone, or by Prasada?
For Sharana Sthala, the practice-point is clear: let realization become clarified like ghee. Do not return to self-forgetfulness. Live by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada, and let that Prasada sustain remembrance.
Editorial Commentary
The ghee image should remain central and simple. It is enough to say that ghee signifies clarified and irreversible refinement.
The phrase “will the Sharana forget himself?” should not be softened. Basavanna is asking whether the Sharana, once established, can return to the old forgetfulness. The answer is given not through personal power, but through Prasada.
The final line is the key: the Sharana lives by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada. This makes the vachana a teaching on stabilized life in Prasada, not merely on spiritual confidence or psychological permanence.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 759 — The Living Kayaka
Pranalingi Vachana 759 supports this teaching by describing the Padodaka-Prasada-jivi, one whose life is sustained by Padodaka and Prasada. It also recognizes the pure Sharana who goes to another’s house without seeking to fill his own belly as Kudalasangayya Himself. This supports Vachana 776 directly. Vachana 776 says that the Sharana lives by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada and therefore does not forget himself; Vachana 759 gives the supporting form of that life, where sacred receiving and offering sustain the person rather than private appetite or self-claim.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 1171 — Show Me That Prasada
Aikya Vachana 1171 advances this teaching by moving beyond Guru, Linga, Jangama, and even Prasada as outer forms and asking for “that Prasada” which alone can sustain life. This is the natural advancement from Vachana 776. Vachana 776 shows the Sharana living by Kudalasangama Deva’s Prasada and not returning to forgetfulness; Aikya Vachana 1171 carries this into completion, where the devotee seeks the true Prasada beyond external grasping and asks Kudalasangama Deva to sustain life by that Prasada alone.
