Poetic RenderingHer words are sweet like sugar,but in her heart hides poison.To one she calls with smiles,to another she whispers in secret.O Koodalasangamadeva, hear medo not trust the deceiver’s charm.…

Poetic RenderingTo awaken with the dawnnot merely from sleep,but from the night of forgetting;To bow at the feet of the Linganot the stone shaped by hands,but the living flamequietly burning…

Poetic RenderingO mind, do not weary with play,do not falter with ease.Do not err when together,Speak not of worldly things,but with folded hands seekthe sharanas of Koodalasangama. Basavanna directly commands…

Poetic RenderingThe touch of the nobletheir company is sweet like nectar itself.The company of the ignobletheir presence is venom,a poison that seeps through the bones of the mind.Between these two…

Poetic RenderingThe pot shudders at the serpent’s bite;I tremble at the venom of my own tongue.I fear the sticky sweetness of home’s affections,and the snares of comfort that bind unseen.But…

Poetic RenderingWhen the living Linga dwells on your body,you cannot bow to lifeless gods of stone.Would one leave his own man for a stranger?If, with the Lord in your palm,…

Poetic RenderingThe snake-charmer’s own noseless wifeholds the serpent daily in her handsyet when seeking a bride for her son,she runs to another charmer to read their fate!Even as she stares…

Poetic RenderingLike the frog caught in the serpent’s jaws,yet still stretching toward a passing flysuch is our folly.Like the man condemned to the gallows,dreaming of savoring milk and gheehow long…