Summary In this vachana, Basavanna questions who should truly be called elders. Are those learned in Veda and Shastra alone to be called elders? Are poets, singers, and skilled reciters…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna declares that God is one, though the names are many. The many names do not divide the Divine. But once the One has been recognized,…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna places highly regarded religious and contemplative practices beside the word of Kudalasangama’s Sharanas. He names Ashvamedha-yaga, Ajapa Upadesha, Samadhi, Homa, Nema, Gayatri-japa, and Janamohana-mantra. Yet…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna asks whether a bitter neem seed can become sweet by outer treatment. Even if it is tied with jaggery, soaked in cow’s milk, and covered…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna asks what night and day can mean to one who is blind. Night and day exist, but the blind person cannot perceive their difference. He…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna asks whether one condition can become another merely by remembering it. If the black remembers the red, does it become red? If the red remembers…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna questions the worth of outward grandeur. One may ride on elephants and horses. One may adorn the body with kumkuma, musk, and fragrance. Yet if…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna speaks plainly about the senses and right conduct. Even when the senses are restrained, faults may still arise. The five senses can come forward again…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna gives a direct warning against desire for another’s wife. He says: do not look, do not speak, do not seek. The discipline begins before outward…

Summary In this vachana, Basavanna addresses those who bathe in sacred waters. He calls to them repeatedly: renounce, renounce. What must be renounced is not ordinary life, but wrongful desire:…