Summary In this vachana, Basavanna speaks from the burden of sustaining life on earth. To feed the body, he is driven into worldly transactions, like one who smears fruit to…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna confesses the condition of one born into an inherited religious direction. He refers to the Uduvu, the gripping lizard once used to climb high walls.…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna confesses the instability of his mind before Kudalasangama Deva. The mind is like the Othi, the colored tree-lizard, changing its hue according to where it…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna compares his own condition to a Mailara figure that appears striking from the outside but is filled with straw within. The outer color may be…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna speaks directly to the mind and warns it against remembered taste, backward pull, and scattered longing. Do not keep recalling sweetness like the monkey that…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna speaks from the pressure of bodily survival. From sunrise to sunset, the burning belly demands attention. There is no opening even to remember Kudalasangama Deva.…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna compares outer adornment without love to sacred marks without Shiva’s grace. A woman may bathe in turmeric and wear ornaments, yet without the love of…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna prays to Kudalasangama Deva not to be known as one of corrupt habit or wrong conduct. Instead, he asks to be known as Linga-vyasani and…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna examines how one becomes known as a Bhakta. Some wear the Linga because they have been kept within the tradition. Some wear it because they…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna teaches how one devotee must receive another. When a bhakta comes to another bhakta’s house, the proper response is servant-conduct. The meeting must not be…