Summary
Basavanna addresses the ritual practitioner who waits for dawn, midday, and twilight before performing prescribed worship.
He then asks what these divisions mean to the Sharana. The question does not deny the passage of time or the value of disciplined worship. It shows that the Sharana’s relation with Kudalasangama Deva is no longer limited to selected hours.
The image of one standing in the vast shadow of Mount Meru and searching for his own shadow exposes confused seeking. The person looks for a small, separate sign while already surrounded by a greater shadow.
In the same way, one may search for Divine presence at appointed moments while failing to recognize the presence that continues through every moment.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The vachana begins by addressing a karmi—one who performs prescribed acts after observing the proper time.
Dawn, midday, and twilight traditionally provide an order for prayer and ritual. Such discipline gives regularity to worship and helps the seeker remember the Divine.
Basavanna does not begin by condemning this practice. He says, “Listen,” and asks the practitioner to understand the condition of the Sharana.
“What is dawn to the Sharana?” is the first question.
Dawn marks the beginning of the day and is often treated as an especially suitable time for worship. For the Sharana, however, Divine presence does not begin when the sun rises.
“What is midday to the Sharana?” continues the correction.
Midday stands between morning and evening. It may be regarded as an ordinary period of work and activity, yet it is not outside Kudalasangama Deva’s presence.
“What is sunset to the Sharana?” completes the daily cycle.
The setting sun ends daylight, but it does not end remembrance. Kudalasangama Deva does not arrive with dawn and depart with sunset.
The three questions therefore remove dependence upon selected hours. The Sharana’s devotion is not divided into sacred time and non-sacred time.
The image of Mount Meru makes the teaching concrete.
A person standing within the immense shadow of Mount Meru may search for his own smaller shadow. Because the mountain’s shadow already covers the ground, the personal shadow cannot be separately distinguished.
Basavanna calls such a person confused in Bhava. The confusion lies in searching for a separate sign while failing to recognize the larger condition in which one already stands.
Likewise, the seeker may wait for a particular hour as proof of sacred presence, even though the whole movement of life already rests within Kudalasangama Deva.
The problem is not the clock or the ritual hour. It is the belief that the Divine is available only through those divisions.
The complete movement is therefore from time-regulated ritual, to three questions about the Sharana, to the image of searching for a shadow within a greater shadow, and finally to Kudalasangama Deva beyond such confused measurement.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, regular times of worship help steady attention and establish remembrance.
The practice must eventually extend beyond those appointed periods. Linga should not be remembered only during morning or evening worship and treated as absent during work, movement, difficulty, or rest.
The practical teaching is continuity: observe discipline without confining Kudalasangama Deva to the discipline.
Editorial Commentary
The vachana does not ask every practitioner to abandon timed worship. It contrasts time-dependent practice with the Sharana’s uninterrupted remembrance.
“Beyond time” does not mean that the Sharana ignores daily responsibilities or practical time. It means that changing hours no longer interrupt the inward relation with Linga.
The Mount Meru image should remain concrete. The person searches for an individual shadow while already standing within the mountain’s greater shadow. This illustrates failure to recognize the wider presence already surrounding the seeker.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Sharana Sthala Vachana 302 — The Unceasing Remembrance of Sharanas
Sharana Vachana 302 says that true Sharanas remember Kudalasangama Deva without interruption. Basavanna then confesses that his own speech is incomplete and his devotion is only half-formed because it cannot yet sustain such remembrance.
This directly prepares Vachana 1068.
In Vachana 302, unbroken remembrance is presented as the measure of true Sharana-being. Partial devotion still alternates between remembrance and forgetfulness.
Vachana 1068 shows the mature condition. When remembrance no longer breaks, dawn, midday, and sunset cannot determine when the Divine relation begins or ends.
The continuity sought in Sharana Sthala becomes freedom from time-dependent worship in Aikya Sthala.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 1074 — The All-Consuming Radiance
Vachana 1068 shows that Kudalasangama Deva’s presence is not restricted to dawn, midday, or sunset.
Vachana 1074 carries this into direct perception. Wherever Basavanna looks, he sees only the Lord’s radiance. In seeing, suffering, and remembering, Kudalasangama Deva alone is present; where that radiance shines, darkness cannot remain.
The continuation is precise. Vachana 1068 removes privileged times for encountering the Divine. Vachana 1074 removes privileged experiences as well.
The Lord is present not only during worship, but in perception, pain, and remembrance. Freedom from temporal division thus matures into all-pervading Divine vision.
