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 action, at the first movement of sight, speech, and craving.
He then gives the image of a dog clinging to the back of a mountain goat. Wrongful desire fastens itself in the same way, once it is allowed to attach. Basavanna warns that one such desire can lead to long suffering before Kudalasangama Deva.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The warning against looking is the first discipline. Desire often begins through sight.
The warning against speaking is the second discipline. Speech can strengthen what sight has awakened.
The warning against seeking is the third discipline. Once desire becomes pursuit, the seeker has already crossed the sacred boundary.
Another’s wife represents what does not rightly belong to the seeker. Basavanna does not condemn rightful relationship; he condemns desire that violates another’s rightful bond.
The dog clinging to the mountain goat is the central image. It shows desire as shameless, persistent, and difficult to loosen once it has fastened itself.
The warning of long suffering gives the image its consequence. Basavanna does not treat wrongful longing as a small fault. A single unrestrained desire can bind the seeker to deep suffering.
The vachana therefore teaches vigilance at the beginning of desire, before it becomes conduct.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, discipline must begin at the level of perception.
The Anga must guard sight, speech, and intention. If the mind allows wrongful desire to enter, the relation to Linga becomes disturbed.
Sense-restraint is not merely bodily suppression. It is awareness before attraction hardens into pursuit.
The seeker must not wait until action is complete before becoming alert. The first glance, the first word, and the first inner movement must be watched.
Practice matures when desire is kept within truth and the heart remains near Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana protects the sacred boundary of conduct.
Basavanna warns that wrongful desire begins subtly, but once it clings, it can drag the seeker into suffering.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Vachana 639 — The Sacred Boundary
Vachana 639 teaches that sense-restraint is incomplete if desire crosses into another’s wealth or spouse. Vachana 642 continues this by warning against the first movements of wrongful desire through sight, speech, and craving.
Advancing Vachana
Maheshwara Vachana 688 — The Futility of the Fortress
Vachana 642 shows how desire clings when it reaches toward what belongs to another. Maheshwara Vachana 688 advances this into the burning away of the final claim, where even subtle possessiveness must be consumed before Kudalasangama Deva.
