Summary In this vachana, Basavanna rejects caste and lineage as the true measure of a person. He asks, “What does caste matter?” He then gives the answer: the one who…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna makes an uncompromising declaration of spiritual belonging. He repeats, “I do not want, I do not want.” The refusal is directed toward those who are…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna examines the purpose behind daily effort. He says that if he rises early, rubbing his eyes, for the sake of his body, his possessions, his…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna guards the first arising of desire. He says that the body seeks nothing and the mind seeks nothing. The Sharanas of Kudalasangama Deva do not…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna separates outward disturbance from inward fidelity. He first names three severe outward conditions. Truth may be twisted into falsehood and spread with noise. Children may…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna refuses to turn devotion into asking, bargaining, or dependence. He begins with the image of temples being built in the world. The point is not…

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,…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna speaks from the company of the Sharanas. He says that, with the Sharanas, he will leave gathering and measuring. The point is not merely outward…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna exposes the limit of discipline when the inner wound remains unknown. He says that he built the arena and practiced the sixty-four methods. Yet the…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna warns against turning spiritual life into possession and account. He speaks first of what is tied and what is offered. What has been bound, held,…