Summary Basavanna describes the Sharanas who worship the Linga with unwavering fidelity and know no other path. They are like the jewel upon a serpent’s hood—precious and resplendent as ornaments.…

Summary Basavanna speaks through the image of one whom the king has brought to his bed and joined with himself. Once the Lord has received the devotee into such intimate…

Summary Basavanna asks what is gained by practising with thirty-two weapons when one effective blade is enough to strike the enemy. The number of acquired methods does not determine the…

Summary Basavanna observes how children, once born, come to exercise mastery over wealth, life, and affection or self-regard. Family attachment allows these deeply held possessions to pass under another’s claim.…

Summary Basavanna presents the warrior’s fiercest action—tearing into battle, being made to fight unto death, and placing the chest before danger—as remaining under the authority of the patron who commands…

Summary Basavanna receives those whom society has humiliated, impoverished, or marked by bodily impairment as his closest relations. The woman called Gummadi is his mother, Kalaketana is his father, and…

Summary Basavanna declares that he will bind the Veda, shackle the Shastra, break the back of Tarka, and cut the nose of Agama. These established authorities cannot retain supremacy when…

Summary Basavanna rejects the condition of the ritualist who remains caught in the karmic net of gold, woman, and land and moves wastefully toward ruin. He then asks twice: is…

Summary Basavanna questions the final worth of elder brother, younger brother, father, and lineage when those relationships are not joined with the Linga. Blood relation and inherited descent do not…

Summary Basavanna asks why he should call anyone his own merely because that person stands within Ādi, Veda, Shastra, or Samaya. Scriptural, doctrinal, or inherited affiliation does not by itself…